My aim is to write something easy to be read. I don't want a reader to have to work too hard. The point is for it to be a hopefully fun read that takes them away from the troubles of their world for a while.
Unfortunately, being simple and straight forward does not seem to be the aim of a lot of companies now. Anthropic stole a bunch of my books, along with a lot of other authors. There is a class action suit that has led to a settlement. But in order to be part of it, I had to fill out a lengthy document to qualify. It was tedious, but I did it. It seemed finished, but then a week or so ago, I got a new document I had to deal with. The publishers were claiming half the money. The instructions of how to address this new document were confusing and overwhelming. Not just for me. There were posts on Facebook and a note from the president of Sisters in Crime about how to deal with it. It was down to trying to figure out what words like default meant in the publisher's claim.
Once I figured out what it meant, I still had to go through a list of books and adjust my claim. Instead of clear instructions how to do it, the ones provided by the law firm handing the settlement were confusing and probably deliberately not helpful. Eventually, I stopped going in circles and figured it out--at least I hope I did, and did it correctly.
That was easy compared to dealing with a Chase bank credit card this week. I went to the online site to get some information for doing our taxes and a screen popped up trying to get me to go paperless. I won't go into trying to describe how confusing it was. I thought that I handled to not going paperless. And then an email came that appeared to say that I had agreed to go paperless. What came after was long and boring, but basically, there was no way to tell if I had agreed to go paperless or to be sure that I let them know I still wanted a paper bill. The so-called help was all not helpful. So now all I can do is wait to see if they continue to send a bill or not. If there's no bill, I will call them and we all know how that goes.
It's the intent that is so bad. We the customers are treated like the enemy and every effort seems to be made to confuse us. It seems to be the world now and there's no choice but to deal with it.
Back to writing and trying to keeping those sentences clear.
9 comments:
Oh yes, those forms that say "For your convenience" are anything but!! The patient portal at the doctor's office is a total pain to figure out. And the forms my son has to complete for my grandson's school are ridiculous.
I got the sweetest letter and picture recently. Years ago, I'd made two big granny square blankets for a friend's granddaughters. The girls are now grown, married and one has a baby of her own. She sent me a picture of the baby covered with the blanket I'd made. So sweet.
My neighbor and I share an entryway -- she nicely lets me decorate it anyway I choose. I've just added several big potted plants and also painted one wall an accent color. I love to paint a room -- my husband said our rooms got smaller as I added layers of paint!!
And, of course, I continue to crochet blankets. By the end of next week I'll have 10 to take to the cancer care center. They are always so appreciative.
I hope you dotted all the i's and crossed the t's properly on the forms you had to complete -- good luck!!
Good morning, Betty. Yes, I truly believe that sometimes all these legal terms and conditions are designed to confuse us. I prefer simplicity and good old pen and paper. Remember when you had to physically go into a bank and they had to find your signature card to compare it to the signature you just signed on the check you wanted to deposit into your account? There were no cyber attacks by people trying to steal your identity and banking information. Life was simpler. I hope you get a resolution soon to your issues of your books being stolen. My heart aches for you that someone could do that. Have a great weekend!
Patty, How nice that you got a photo of the baby enjoying what you made. I bet the recipients of the blankets you take to the cancer care center are deeply appreciated.
Sharon, Anthropic took my books and many, many other authors' books and fed them to AI. They didn't even buy the books they used. I think part of the settlement is that they can't use what they took. I hope so. It was definitely simpler not to have to worry about all the scams and AI taking over everything.
Back in the mid-1950s, when my husband was in the Navy, his social security number was part of his address. Can you imagine that now!!
Some of my books were also stolen by Anthropic, Betty, and although I've made a claim and attempted to follow up with the additional requirements I suspect I'm still behind. AI is definitely confusing!
Linda Johnston, I would be glad to share what I figured out if you need help.
I'm so sorry you and all authors have to go through the AI problems. I listen to a lot of author talks and it is amazing how many authors were not even aware that this happened to them. Good luck with filling out the forms. So far, for me, I have remained with paper statements at Chase no matter how many times I refuse their paperless offers. I hope that gets straightened out too. When I have a problem with Chase I call or go into a branch. They are usually good about fixing the problem.
Your books are definitely a fun read.
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