Here’s a timely slice of publishing history from Michael Korda’s book, Making the List: [Before World War Two] the mass-market paperback business was still in its infancy. The war decade to come would change that. Pocket Books had been founded in the thirties, to sell books at twenty-five cents a copy. These paperbacks were distributed by […]
Category: publishing
How to strengthen your case
Whether or not I agree, I’m honored to be part of the conversation when you . . . Represent the opposition accurately (no straw men) Speak with confidence (no defensiveness) Address me as a peer (no talking down to the reader) Remain calm (no shrill crescendos) Treat me with respect (nothing uncharitable) Give me something […]
100-Word Novels
There’s writing and there’s pruning. Both benefit from practice. Here’s a pruning exercise to hone your valuation of words. Tell a story in exactly one hundred words. You can condense a novel (Les Miserables!), render some portion of a larger story, or make it up. Just give it enough arc to satisfy the reader and […]
Editorial wisdom from the Chicago teachers’ strike
Amanda Ripley made this point in her WSJ piece from last Saturday: The all-important issue is not how easy it is to fire the worst teachers; it’s how to elevate the entire craft without going to war with the teachers. In her mind, both sides are crucial to the health of the system. Not unlike […]
Things you can’t say in words
As an author, the less you say, the better. Strunk and White ring this bell in Rule 17 — omit needless words. But what if your theme eludes description? Novelist Jennifer DuBois provides an example of what to do in her Word Craft column from last Saturday: In the middle of a novel about music […]
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