Category: The Wingback
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Sci-Fi Facing Backward
For decades, genre fiction of all kinds—sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, and historical fiction—was relegated to the pulp racks and considered beneath the notice of serious readers. Many of these books, while fun, were not masterpieces, and the few that could have been considered masterpieces—maybe a Ray Bradbury novella or an Ursula le Guin series—were disdained…
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Bête of Burden
During the first summer of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, I decided to tackle my first translation of a book from French to English. Voyage Around My Room by Xavier de Maistre seemed like an obvious choice that summer, since it’s a novel about the author’s house arrest in the late eighteenth century. He spent…
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Must Of Been a Mistake
I received an email from my website form about people using “of” where they should use “have” in their writing. It was really more of a comment than a question. I wasn’t going to address it because I didn’t know where I’d talk about it, but then I started this newsletter, and here we are.The…
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Donna Tartt, Queen of Punctuation
My friend Carly, who knows how my brain works and can wind my literary obsessions up like a toy, told me over dinner one night that she had decided that Donna Tartt was the queen of punctuation. She was reading The Secret History for the first time, though it was Carly herself who had insisted…
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My Go-To Freelance Tools and Apps
I’ve noticed, after six months of stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, that a lot of people are striking out on their own to build freelance businesses. I’ve been out here living a freelance life since 2006, and I would like to welcome you all! It can be tough going for the first few years,…
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Making a Mistake, Then Making It Better
On May 19, publication day for Life Among the Paiutes, I sent out about a half-dozen copies to friends and family, including the artist who did the cover. I printed out the labels and left them for the mail carrier to pick up in a responsible, socially distant way. I was so proud. A couple…
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A Translation for the Quarantimes
I’m working on a translation of Une Voyage autour ma Chambre (A Voyage Around My Room), by Xavier de Maistre, from French to English. He was confined to his room for 42 days in the 1790s as a punishment for dueling, so this is a perfect project for these quarantimes. It includes his thoughts on the soul, his…
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How to Make a Book Step 7: Book Marketing
In this eight-part series, I’ll walk you through the creation of a book using the next release from Practical Fox as an example. As I do the steps to make Life Among the Paiutes, I’ll write about it! You can start with Step 1. Ah, book marketing. There are so many ways to do it, and so many…
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How to Make a Book Step 5: Make a Cover
In this eight-part series, I’ll walk you through the creation of a book using the next release from Practical Fox as an example. As I do the steps to make Life Among the Paiutes, I’ll write about it! You can start with Step 1. Okay, you’ve got the text, edited it, and designed the interior. Now comes the…