Readers all have favorite books—book we re-read, books that encouraged us, inspired us, challenged us, and soothed us. However, I wonder, is there a difference between most memorable books, and the individual characters who stay with us far after we finish the last page? I think so. I’m not an academic scholar who can deconstruct … Read more
For weeks before my book launch, I obsessed about the party I was giving. Maybe it was because it was a hard bricks and mortar thing—I was facing people in person—or maybe because it was easier to worry about facing an empty restaurant than worrying about reviews. Whatever the reasons, I had many (and conflicting) … Read more
Writing a book resembles entering a reverie where the entire world is your playground. Birth, death, war, and peace (it’s in your hands. Then you finish. It”s the next step and you can’t get a handhold anywhere. Control is gone. You are subject to the whimsical tastes of agents and editors who hold the key … Read more
Books on Writing: Part 1 Whisper the words books on writing to a bunch of writers and you might have to watch the whoosh of air as they take sides so fast it’s like being transported to West Side Story. Jets: “Books, I don’t need no stinking how-to-learn-to-write books. Long as I have John Gardner, … Read more
The Ambivalent Writer, The Natural, The Wicked Child, The Self Promoter, The Neurotic: which one are you? These are the first five chapter titles of Betsy Lerner’s (agent, writer, editor) book, The Forest for the Trees. It was published in 2000, and I’ve probably read it yearly since buying it. (Note picture of worn book … Read more