SlushPile.net

Gawker continues to pound on non-paying magazines. Some mind-boggling stories here, although I’m not surprised. Unfortunately, anyone who does any freelance work for any length of time will rack up their own “where is my money?” stories. I don’t know what the answer is. I know a number of people who work at magazines and they [...]

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  Randee Dawn provides an interesting report for Reuters on the relationship of novelists and movies. “So it was, and so it almost always is: Authors write books,” Dawn writes. “Screenwriters write screenplays. And while there are strong exceptions to every rule (Herman Wouk, Larry McMurtry), a savvy author tends to know when to step aside and [...]

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The Elegant Variation points out this Jonathan Yardley article that states the amazing thing about the The Great Gatsby is “not merely that it is Fitzgerald’s masterwork but that it is the American masterwork, the finest work of fiction by any of this country’s writers.” I can’t say I disagree. Although Faulkner’s work might feature more literary pyrotechnics, [...]

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  I’m listening to Van Halen’s Diver Down disc and, as I enter the URL for eBay, the cymbals fade in and the bass line starts for Where Have All the Good Times Gone?. Eddie’s rhythm parts kick in as I click on the link to buy Books. Diamond Dave sings, “Will this depression last [...]

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  Bankrate.com interviewed bestselling author Clive Cussler about his path to writing success, his automobile investments, and his nautical recovery activities. “I wrote evenings and weekends for the first two manuscripts, then got an agent and decided I wanted to do that full time,” Cussler told the website. “So since I could write anywhere, we [...]

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It’s amazing how some book covers just shout from the shelves, grab your attention, and demand your focus without looking at anything else. I don’t know why certain covers are effective, they just are. Of course, the whole effective thing is highly subjective. One book cover that just sucks me in every time I go [...]

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Bookninja pointed out a listing of deserving books you might have overlooked this year. It’s an interesting list because it’s not the same old titles mentioned over and over again. There are definitely a number of books that seem interesting on here.

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While you’re contemplating your New Year’s resolutions of losing weight, paying off the credit card, finally completing that 10,000 piece Alf puzzle, and teaching the cat to paint, don’t forget to plan your writing goals for the upcoming year. Almost every self-help or motivational text explains the importance of setting goals. But you shouldn’t just set broad, [...]

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As 2006 comes to an end, it’s useful to reflect on this past year and evaluate our writing successes and shortcomings. For me, I had a mixed but mostly positive year. On the positive side, I published pieces in Paste, Inked  and Columbus Monthly along with several write-ups for Stuff. I also had a piece accepted for [...]

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