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What I and Others Teach

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Investigating Unsubs * What I and Others Teach * The Novel * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” Reggie Leach, retired Canadian hockey player. “Do you set yourself on fire when you write? When the flame gets low, how to you make it glow again?” James Scott Bell Hmm. If you WITD, you’re just having fun, so the flame never gets low. Nor do you ever burn out. But no, I didn’t leave a comment. HS “You … Read more

Two Fiction Writers

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * JA Konrath * Stephen King * Google Translate * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Three months until the end of the year. You can get a lot of writing done in three months.” Dean Wesley Smith “[I]f you had a bad summer, fell off your goal for the year, whatever, reset your goal and when you get to January 1st, you will be feeling positive.” Dean Wesley Smith “The past is always tense, the future perfect.” Zadie Smith Fiction Writer JA Konrath This guy is special. He’s a very prolific … Read more

Traditional Publishing and CovID-19 Fraud

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Traditional Publishing * CovID-19 Fraud * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Let me be clear: I don’t dislike traditional publishing, but they’re operating in an antiquated system that has worked for them previously, but really doesn’t support the author or, for that matter, further book sales.” Penny Sansevieri (see first item in “Of Interest”) “Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own reason!” Immanuel Kant [Wow. Let that sink in.] Traditional Publishing We talked about this not too long ago. The Penguin Random House/S&S antritrust trial has forced … Read more

The Journal: How to Get Here, Part 2

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: How to Get Here, Part 2 * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “You have to believe in your long term plan, but you need short term goals to motivate and inspire you.” Roger Federer, professional tennis player (paraphrased) “Did you know that 94% of consumers in their 20s purchased boba (bubble tea) in the last three months?” 1440 Daily Digest Maybe a story starter? Soma, anyone? Topic: How to Get Here, Part 2 If you have chosen to opt-out of the responsibility-and-labor-and-drama-intensive myths and choose instead to trust yourself … Read more

The Journal: Readership and How to Get One

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Today, again * “What it is” * Readership and How to Get One * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Actually, practically nothing is going on.” Kurt Vonnegut “Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes.” John le Carre “Film adaptations of books gross 44% more at the U.K. box office and a full 53% more worldwide than films from original screenplays.” Adam Rowe in Forbes magazine “Writing is exactly like having a rare disease.” Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt Today I’m just chatting. Again, … Read more

The Journal: Links to Share

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Nothing to talk about * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.” Willa Cather, My Ántonia “Writers … brag about the years they worked on something or the number of drafts they’ve done. It’s as if they aren’t making art but operating a plastic pellet factory.” Lincoln Michael I have nothing to talk about really, only a thought on goals and a few links to share. We’re a third of the way through … Read more