RIP Shelby Foote

Shelby Foote to Walker Percy, 18 Feb 1952


I think each book has its own problems. All a writer can do is tackle it on its own terms, see it the clearest he can, and then sail in. Each is a voyage beset by shoals. If he fails, he fails and thats most miserable...but there is a great resource left--there will be other books and other problems; life is long and the individual facets of Art are fleeting, except of course in the long view: which no writer ever takes, being a particular sort of fool, & therefore wise.

Part of the difference between us proceeds from a basic difference of approach. You, I think, believe that you have something to TELL people, and youd appreciate any help from anywhere that you thought would enable you to TELL them this thing more effectively; also you have a sort of modesty. I'm different on both counts. I don't want to TELL anybody anything; I want to SHOW them--I believe that is the only way to tell them; I want to communicate a view of the world; I think thats true wisdom. So that our difference springs from the fact that you think my end-endeavor is merely a stop on the way and you are willing to jump over it, take the word of others as to how to accomplish it--you want to get by it as swiftly and effectively as possible...Youre so wrong. Youll come before long to see that I am right; wisdom is frequently just an ability to see that you passed the really important point somewhere back down the line--as in this case. DONT PASS IT; STOP AND SEE WHAT I'M TRYING TO EXPLAIN. If you let anyone fiddle with your way of seeing--fiddle deliberately, I mean: not by example but by pointing out--youll nick this instrument beyond repair; youll wind up with nothing but regrets.

Thursday: To Do

Check out random sample pages from Xlibris' publishing service:

It's easy--and fun!!

Copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://xlibris.com/bookstore/book_excerpt.asp?bookid=

Then, at the end, where it says "bookid=" type a number between 1 and 2000. You might experiment with numbers outside that range, too. 10000 is invalid, but 10001 has a sample page. I found some as high was 20000.

Any favorites yet? This is mine so far. Opening line: Cy stood erect from a scrootch position.

What Could Go Wrong?

Everything.

[via the Onion]

How advances are calculated!

Too lazy to read the Guardian article below?

Here's the best/worst part:

Williams punched Carpenter's forecast into an in-house spreadsheet that uses the estimate to compute a suggested advance to be paid to the author. "The problem is that it almost always comes up with a figure of about £4,000, so you have to ignore it," says Williams. By Monday morning, she had made a low five-figure offer.

How Sausages--oops!--Books Get Made

More than 100,000 books are published every year in the UK. Some go on to become multimillion bestsellers, the vast majority do not. Oliver Burkeman follows the 18-month-long journey of one novel, from the author's flash of inspiration in a pub, to the moment it hit the shelves at Books Etc

How to Make a Book from the Guardian.

Someday, when I get a book "made," I'll blog out the whole process...from the author's splash of inspiration in a hot tub to the moment it hits the shelves at mom & dad's house...

Hooray for Hollywood

I'm learning more about good promotion every day.

Christmas Comes Early This Year, Kids

NY Times: The New Yorker, the weekly magazine that started as "a hectic book of gossip, cartoons and facetiae," as Louis Menand once wrote, and has evolved into a citadel of narrative nonfiction and investigative reporting, will publish its entire 80-year archives on searchable computer discs this fall. They're saying it's gonna cost like $100.

Me and my buddy, Interior Minister Otto Schilly

Me and my buddy, Interior Minister Otto Schilly
Originally uploaded by dontoine.

Schilly was also the defense lawyer for various members of the Bader-Meinhof gang, aka Red Army Faction, back in the day.

Publicity Budget $$$$$$$$$

Hey folks, I opened my mailbox to a nice looking 6 x 9 inch envelope from The New Yorker. Hefty for its size, almost four dollars in postage to send it my way first-class.

What was inside? A free copy of Simon Doonan's book Nasty and a xeroxed note from David Rosenthal, executive vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster books, hoping I'll enjoy the book and "graciously help spread the fun and good words" to my friends.

Did anyone else get one of these? Did they pick people randomly, or according to some New Yorker profiling? I can only assume that they couldn't send one of these to every subscriber... Or could they? Maybe I'm some kind of a tastemaker. I have influence! I have a blog!

Nobody reads it!