Thought of the Day: Annie Dillard on Writing, Giving and Ashes

Smokler on May 1, 2017

"“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”

 

— Annie Dillard (via The Writers Almanac) 

New Article: “User Generated Content: There Just Isn’t Enough to Go Around.”

Smokler on April 13, 2011

My second article for the good people at Paid Content was published this week. 

"Citizens of the 21st century have a glut of platforms on which to tell their story—and a limited amount of time and energy to do so. Generally, they will default to where their friends already are, which technology is easiest to use, or which one scratches a desire they didn’t know they had (like accumulating imagery “badges”). For the companies that can reach all three of these summits, below lies the sunlit valley: a kind of biography of their habits and aspirations that consists of a giant pile of user data on where we go, who we go there with, how often and how much money we spend upon arrival. To imagine what can be built using that information as data or as platform boggles the mind.

But the companies that don’t reach those summits should not be under the illusion that users will keep giving forever."

Read the rest of the article here. 

Book Promotion Series Continues: Part VIII: “Your Book Tour and How to Plan It”

Smokler on November 28, 2010

Last time we talked about how to give a great interview. That was probably the first time in our series that book promotion has sounded not just practical but glamorous, maybe even fun. Of course it’s important to describe your book in a smooth, clean sentence, or get your friends excited about the promotion process. But these are functions and not sexy ones. The sexy part of doing all this, we dream, is the unexpected interest, the strangers saying "I love your work," the out-of-the-blue calls saying "could you be at the studio tomorrow afternoon?"

The sexy part of book promotion is going on a book tour.

(Full Post, Entire series on Book Promotion). 

 

Book Promotion Series Continues: Part III: “Getting Your House in Order.”

Smokler on August 9, 2010

My 10-part series on book promotion continues today over at the BookTour blog. Today's segment: "Getting Your Own House in Order." 

Imagine that you’re in the weeks and months right before your book is published. What’s the best way to get ready for the big day? How much time will it take and what needs doing? All of these questions are part of the answer to the one that keeps authors awake at night when they have a new book on the horizon.

How ready would you like to feel?

When entertaining guests, we clean the house and stock the icebox. Before a trip, we pack a suitcase and notify the neighbors. We do this because the best antidote for fear of the unexpected is readiness. Just as you won’t be a good host if you don’t plan for your guest’s arrival, you’ll be a lousy spokesperson for your book if you don’t get ready before its due date. Put more simply…

In order to best promote your book, make sure your own house is in order.

Read the rest of the essay here. 

10-Part Series on Book Promotion Begins Today: Part I: “Tell Me About Your Book.”

Smokler on July 26, 2010

I'm writing a 10-part series over at the BookTour blog. Today was Part 1: "Tell Me About Your Book" 

A highlight…

If book promotion is matchmaking between your book and everyone who you want to know about it, “tell me about your book,” is the first date. And nobody wants to be on a first date with a motormouth who can’t keep their thoughts straight. If you WROTE the book and can’t say, with confidence, what it’s about, is there any point to continuing the conversation? All I’m thinking is “If this author writes as badly as they explain…”

I know you’ve worked on this book for two years and want to talk about everything in it. But it isn’t time for “everything.” You’re on a first date. You goal is to get a second date.

Read the entire essay here. 

Interview with Oscar Villalon, Publisher of McSweeney’s

Smokler on December 11, 2009

Oscar

Recently I spoke with Oscar Villalon, my former editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, now Publisher of McSweeney's. I wrote up the interview for The Rumpus some time later.

As publisher of McSweeney's, Oscar was one of the driving forces behind "San Francisco Panorama", the gigantic, beautiful newspaper experiment that came out earlier this week.

Our conversation happened before that or else I would have asked about it. Oscar summed it up pretty nicely in this radio interview, if you're curious.  

Anyway, we talked mostly about reading, writing and books. Enjoy! 

"You could easily argue, yes, they’re the most
important thing going on in our culture, is fine literature. Is fine
non-fiction, and fiction, and poetry, etc., and essays. Because of
that, it does carry a disproportional weight. So, I find it
disheartening when, for example, when we read a review by someone who’s
very critical of a big shot author, and it’s a sound review, and the
criticism I get back from our readers is, “Well, this person has never
written anything important, so why should I listen to them?” Now, they
didn’t bother—you read the review based on what’s presented. Who the
person is, what their bona fides are, is meaningless. Who cares? If
what they’re saying is true, it’s true. I don’t care if the guy’s a
parking lot attendant or if he’s got a doctorate from Harvard, what’s
the difference?"

—Oscar Villalon

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