Writing
-
The Merry Band of Walking Felonies (Iconic Poet Edition)
Howl Redux I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, tired hungry desperate, playin’ a little Frogger on the Atari 2600… Related articles Bryan Cranston’s 1980s Atari 2600 Mega Force TV Commercial (geektyrant.com) Atari classic Pitfall reborn for iOS (reviews.cnet.com) The First Big Video Game Console, Now The Latest Tiny… Continue reading
-
The State of Publishing: The Sound of Ice Cracking
Yesterday I wrote about the possibility of small presses playing a key role in the publishing process – not as a filter deciding which books get published in the first place, but in their ability to make already published books more widely available. IntoPrint is a good example of how this might work: this small publishing house… Continue reading
-
Crashing the Gates: Self-Publishing and the National Book Awards
Fascinating look at the National Book Awards process from Eric Obenauf, publisher and editor of the press Two Dollar Radio. Obenauf’s jumping-off point is this year’s expansion to a longlist for fiction nominees (from five to ten), which sounded promising to him, as it did to all lovers of good fiction. Until, that is, he… Continue reading
-
A Self-Interview with the Author, Jacke Wilson
Today’s self-interview is with the author and sole proprietor of this blog, Jacke Wilson. Jacke’s novella The Race is available now at Amazon.com. Q: Thank you for sitting down with me today. A: It was no trouble at all. Q: How long have you been writing fiction? A: As a serious endeavor, approximately 18 years. Q:… Continue reading
-
Advice from Saint Stephen: Don’t Punch Down
Longtime readers will recall my struggles with tone. I honestly am trying to keep this blog positive, forward-looking, and helpful. A beacon of fairness and integrity. And yet… one of my most popular posts refers to a famous novelist as a Horse’s Ass. And then there’s the series of posts referring to a prominent reviewer… Continue reading
-
The Jacke Wilson One-Word Test: Are Your Themes What You Expected?
Years ago The New Yorker ran a cartoon after Ken Burns had just come out with his second major documentary, Baseball. (The first, of course, had been the masterpiece The Civil War.) The cartoon showed a man’s hand holding a piece of paper with “Ken Burns To-Do List” at the top. Underneath the title it said: WAR SPORTS… Continue reading
-
NaNoWriMo: A Full-Throated Defense
This is national novel writing month (NaNoWriMo), which isn’t something I’ve ever participated in, mainly because I write fiction year round and don’t need any extra incentive. What has struck me this year is that there are such strong opinions AGAINST it. Even purported supporters often give NaNoWriMo participants the back of their hand –… Continue reading
-
The Spirit of Self-Publishing: William Shakespeare Edition
So you’re thinking about self-publishing. You take some consolation in the dignity of small audiences and the examples of Marcel Proust and others. You use examples like the great Joanna Penn to show you the way. She reminds you that you’re keeping 70% of your sales (and 100% of your control). David Gaughran explains how… Continue reading
-
Writing For Free: Must We Be Blockheads?
Blogs are free. Podcasts are free. Why not e-books? Umm…. Because I hope people think they shouldn’t be? Derek Thompson takes a thoughtful look at the arguments for and against writing for free: This discussion typically ping-pongs between two extremes: (1) It’s deeply unjust and insulting to ask people for free work, including free writing; and… Continue reading
-
What They Knew #12
“WAIT.” –Franz Kafka (from the sign he had posted above his writing desk) Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 