Search found 33 matches

by djf881
March 20th, 2011, 11:33 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: Does grammar matter, and will it?
Replies: 17
Views: 10125

Re: Does grammar matter, and will it?

Anything you submit should be as clean as you can possibly make it. It's normal, in a book-length manuscript, to have a few typographical errors and the occasional editing glitch. That's why you get several sets of eyes on your work before it goes to press. If there are any technical flaws in your q...
by djf881
September 8th, 2010, 5:11 pm
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: Finding an agent with a sense of humor
Replies: 16
Views: 7011

Re: Finding an agent with a sense of humor

How can writing be funny?
by djf881
August 19th, 2010, 5:43 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

And by the way, I wouldn't even discount that the reading experience of e-books will soon surpass print books. Maybe not as much for fiction (black and white words are black and white words), but imagine say INTO THIN AIR interspersed with color photography of Everest, which isn't financially viabl...
by djf881
August 18th, 2010, 5:41 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: Agenting needs to evolve
Replies: 53
Views: 24609

Re: Agenting needs to evolve

Knight, the fact is, this happens. It's just not happening to you. Talented writers get fellowships to go to MFA programs. There are folks out there getting artist-in-residence grants and other funding that allows them to write full-time even though their writing isn't paying their bills. There are ...
by djf881
August 18th, 2010, 12:00 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

The fight over control of Barnes and Noble indicates that Len Riggio and Ron Burkle believe that the bookstore business is worth investing in. The Shatzkin kind of analysis is a better news hook ("Things to Stay The Same" is a poor headline), but it seems like the people who have skin in t...
by djf881
August 17th, 2010, 3:28 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

I mean, saying that there are no benefits besides the ease of distribution is kind of like saying CDs or records are the same as mp3s because it's still the same music. The ease of distribution and storage are pretty much the entire benefit of mp3s, and it's why they've taken over the world. Purist...
by djf881
August 16th, 2010, 4:55 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

Weirdly, Bryan, your bad eyesight makes Kindle a significantly more attractive prospect for you. You can resize text on an e-reader very easily. It doesn't matter to me; I keep it set on the smallest text size to minimize the frequency of the device's slow-ass page-turns. but you might appreciate it...
by djf881
August 16th, 2010, 12:55 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

Just strictly speaking about the dictionary function, I also have never been someone who stops and grabs a dictionary when I don't know a word or the exact meaning of one. But there's a big difference between putting your book down, getting up, going across the room, finding the dictionary, looking...
by djf881
August 15th, 2010, 10:41 am
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: MC "hijacking" query?
Replies: 14
Views: 5871

Re: MC "hijacking" query?

This may be an absurd idea, but I need an answer. Would having your MC "hijack" your query be a bad idea? Even if they were the type of person to do something like that? For instance, say my MC is an alien creature. In the query they could say some human (i.e. me) has taken it upon themse...
by djf881
August 15th, 2010, 8:20 am
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

Sentimentality won't save a format from real progress. People loved video stores and record stores and those are mostly gone. People probably thought the printing press was a vulgarization of the elegant work performed by scribes. The question is whether e-books represent a real step forward. The st...
by djf881
August 13th, 2010, 4:48 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

Re: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

10. I disagree. The book is text on a page, but reading is a much larger experience driven by numerous factors. Improving the experience improves the story. Imagine a book that comes with its own soundtrack, or that links out to reference material so you can better understand historical elements, o...
by djf881
August 13th, 2010, 11:21 am
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 10 reasons e-books might not eat the world
Replies: 90
Views: 41280

10 reasons e-books might not eat the world

The idea that e-books are going to largely replace regular books is quickly becoming conventional wisdom, and the market has grown quickly in two years. But I wonder if the e-book audience won't soon reach saturation instead of continuing to grow. Maybe I am like the people who thought music lovers ...
by djf881
August 5th, 2010, 10:44 am
Forum: Social Media and Book Promotion
Topic: Do you have a new blog post?
Replies: 2655
Views: 818744

Re: Do you have a new blog post?

The worst pick-up line I've ever heard: http://somethingpersuasive.blogspot.com
by djf881
August 2nd, 2010, 9:54 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: Justin Beiber Writing a Memoir... oh, he's 16 yrs old
Replies: 9
Views: 3832

Re: Justin Beiber Writing a Memoir... oh, he's 16 yrs old

He should milk it for all it's worth while he still can. That kid is already a quarter of the way through the transformation from adorable moppet to weird-lookin' dude. Do you think that nose he's got will work on the face of an adult man? He's at the top of the big hill on the rollercoaster, and wh...
by djf881
August 1st, 2010, 10:13 pm
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: The 75% Rule
Replies: 11
Views: 4982

Re: The 75% Rule

Hi all - Appreciate the discussion here -- thank you. I thought I'd add a couple clarifications & comments: * The 75% rule came from novelist Marcus Sarkey, who has a background in advertising. I think this detail is important, because from his point of view, the query letter is a marketing pie...