GRIFTERS, GHOSTWRITING AND THE PRICE OF STAMPS

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

Unsure but sure: I've been slowly getting into The Guest by Emma Cline. The book follows Alex, who seems to be a total con and grifter (so far, I'm only 20% into the pages). This book is challenging me because I love to love my main characters, and I do not love this woman so far. But I'm wondering when and if we'll get a backstory that helps me understand her and her choices better...stay tuned! The reason I haven't powered through this book isn't because I don't like it, but more because there's a different book I'm loving – about how we decide who we become. A dazzling woman asked me to be a beta reader on a deadline! And I've loved stepping to the other side of the beta process not as a writer but as her reader.

What I'm writing: Over the weekend I finished laying the tracks on a 62,000 word manuscript. Ghostwriting is always a process, but milestones like finishing the first draft with your collaborators are an achievement. Sometimes it seems like you'll never get there. I can't tell you how many writing sessions I've sat down for, only to feel uninspired that morning and realize I'm only 1,400 words into the 4,200 section. There are good ghostwriting days and bad ones, just like anything else. The trick, if there is one to anything in this wild life, is to just keep chipping away. Eventually, the stone will reveal herself to you.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history. A few for the canon:

On the topic of ghostwriting, people ask me about this mystical profession all the time. I could go on and on, but this Economics of Everyday Things: Ghostwriters podcast episode does it better than I can. I loved the history lesson they gave, the reality check on just how many books are written by people like me, and the wild insider baseball stories of what it's like to steward someone's book into the world. I always say that it reminds me of surrogacy: I might usher your book baby into the 3D realm with my body, but it's the author's DNA: their ideas, their wisdom, their insights, and their stories. The episode is a fun nerd out on this invisible world of ghostwriters. And a craft that I just so happen to treasure.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

The price of stamps went up yesterday!! Which is probably the most Granny thing I've ever written. But it's also a fact that led to my buying not one but two packs of Ansel Adams forever stamps, inspired by my upcoming trip to the West Coast. I bring up USPS because I'm obsessed with a little posto. And given how absolutely f*cking chaotic this country is at the moment, sending mail brings me little bits of joy. Not only did I buy stamps, but I headed to the art supply store to top up on new fresh stationery that I can decorate myself, new pens, and some cool craft paper to wrap books because giving books is my love language (media mail!!!). More love in this world means more love letters from me. Take this as your sign to send a little posto!!

Woman on xx