Articles from June 2004

It’s Not Written in Stone

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on It’s Not Written in Stone

We attended a reading last night, and, as is our habit, eavesdropped shamelessly on others. At one point, a writer (we can identify them quite readily) put her hand on her hip and, addressing a younger (chronologically) writer, said, “So, are you first or third?” Which makes it sound a bit like you’ve registered in […]

File Under: Square Pegs

Heart Pounding Success

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on Heart Pounding Success

Have we mentioned how much we love reading what authors have to say about their work? We suspect so, but it bears repeating. The Elegant Variation turns the blog over to Gayle Brandeis to offer a twist on the author reading story. Instead of describing the event from an attendee’s perspective, we learn what the […]

File Under: Square Pegs

A Horror Story, Cont’d

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on A Horror Story, Cont’d

We don’t enter many writing contests (having retired from the field due to extreme laziness — all those deadlines and postage and whatnot), but we often wonder about the wide variety of options we see as we scan our magazines and email. Of course we want to believe they are legit and worthwhile. Given that […]

File Under: Square Pegs

Evolution and The Artist

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on Evolution and The Artist

We don’t normally link to book reviews — we find them interesting, but not necessarily fascinating. But Salon’s review of David Foster Wallace’s Oblivion made us pause. So much so we had to make a second pot of coffee to think it through. Laura Miller describes Wallace’s shift in humor as shedding his inner Thomas […]

File Under: Square Pegs

Consider the Source

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on Consider the Source

Just the other day, we pointed to a story about the changes in academic and scientific publishing. You know, where the scientists were all excited about new and different ways to get their research out there. But wait! This may be bad. Yes, for the traditional publishers. After all, bypassing the middle man may impact […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors

Outsourcing Art

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on Outsourcing Art

We have mixed feelings on outsourcing — it’s our darn ability to explore every twist and turn of an idea. Economies are rarely static; sometimes outsourcing feels like a natural evolution. Despite this, we try to buy locally (and domestically produced) as much as possible (thankfully, California has an excellent wine industry which makes this […]

File Under: Square Pegs

A Publisher with a View

June 30th, 2004 · Comments Off on A Publisher with a View

Last summer, we were feted by various publishers*, and found ourselves on an upper floor of the Flatiron Building, staring uptown. It was a lovely evening, and we could see straight through to Central Park. We believe, but can’t be certain, that was when decided to stalk St. Martin’s Press in earnest. Yes, shallow is […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors

And This Is Bad?

June 29th, 2004 · Comments Off on And This Is Bad?

Sometimes (okay, more often that not), we find ourselves behind on reading such things as newspapers and magazines (by this, we mean online reading, though we’re behind on those items in the physical world as well). Thus, we read critiques of articles before we read the actual articles. This may, at times, color our opinions […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs

The Author as Human

June 29th, 2004 · Comments Off on The Author as Human

Authors, as we know too well, put their pants on one leg at a time. Okay, perhaps some do that weird two-legged thing, but we suspect they’re looking for attention. In this Los Angeles Times profile, we see a glimpse of the author as a rock star. Except, perhaps, without dry ice and drummers singing […]

File Under: Square Pegs

Our Second Clinton Story

June 29th, 2004 · Comments Off on Our Second Clinton Story

As noted previously, we have very little to add to the Clinton story (how rare that the mainstream media covers our territory with such thoroughness). Our previous analysis remains unchanged, though we might add an extra adjective before “a lot.” But that won’t stop us from sharing our delight with The Globe and Mail’s profile […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors