Recent Updates
Why My W. W. Norton Book Deal Wasn't Random, Though It Felt That Way
I was invited—out of the blue— to write an academic book by W. W. Norton, a publisher of books essential to the practice of psychiatry and neurology. I’ve been writing and practicing psychiatry for decades in obscurity and felt like a long-time actor might feel who gets “discovered overnight”— Disbelieving. Thrilled. Validated.
Thinking through how it happened makes me believe that you, too, can write an article that leads to a book deal.
Writers and Creators, Stop Worrying About Procrastinating and Learn to Love the Deadline
From newbies to seasoned professionals, we’ve all submitted at 11:59 to meet a midnight deadline. Worse, no matter what we promise ourselves, that seems to be the norm not the exception. Who hasn’t thought: Why do I do this to myself? What is wrong with me?
The good news: nothing is wrong with you. Procrastinating is not the problem.
The Spring Book Cull Comes To An End
Finished! What a slog. 42 boxes! At about 45 books a box that’s a staggering 1,890 books liberated from my library’s bookshelves. As I filled box after box with increasing weariness, what kept me going
Spring Book Cull Continued
I was doing great letting go—releasing books into boxes then sending them on their way to loving new homes—despite a strong urge to cling. Hoarding is selfish. Books need to circulate and be read. But after folding closed the 36th box (at 45 books a box, about 1600 books), I hit the wall.
Bon Mot: We’ve Got Your Word Needs Covered
Dear Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop (EBWW) 2020:
Thank you for choosing Bon Mot as your personal moniker shopper. We appreciate the opportunity to help you choose the appellation that accentuates your positives.
We spent the weekend browsing the hangers in your word closets in #virtualErma and private facebook group. Using proprietary algorithms, we culled the following arty creations for further analysis:
Ermite
Ermas
Ermazon
Erma Nation
These are all superior to the generic Hey you, Yo gurlfriend and Ladies! Ladies! However, if there can be only one, let it be
When I Published an Essay On Talking Productively About Racism with a Friend, the Conversation Continued in the Comments
I recently had a dialogue with my friend Hector about racism which was so productive that I published an essay about it on Medium. He went from denying he was racist to being willing to accept that since we are all products of our culture and our culture is racist, therefore, both of us, being White, are unavoidably racist. (Cookies were also involved.)
The piece went modestly viral. I received a variety of thought provoking comments. They came from three types of readers: Black readers, reasonable White readers and White male trolls.
Draft. Revise and Revise and Revise. Publish.
A box packed with copies of an author’s newly published book should be called a…