Getting a Novel Published

     Even if you've published short stories or a nonfiction book or two, you'll have to have a complete manuscript before you try to market your novel. Agents and editors generally insist on this, sometimes even for your second and third novel. This is because too many of them have signed contracts with new novelists, only to discover that the writer can't finish the work. In your query, remember to include an exact word count for your manuscript; a phrase like "approximately 125,000 words" will make an agent or editor think that you haven't finished the novel.

     When you get a request for more material, many agents and editors won't ask for the full manuscript. Instead, they'll ask for a synopsis and perhaps the first fifty pages or the first two or three chapters. Only when they've had a chance to review these will they ask to see the entire manuscript. [To me, the idea of a novelist, after completing a novel, being asked to write a synopsis of it, is infuriating. It's no wonder so many novelists self publish.]

Meg Schneider and Barbar Doyen, Get Published, 2008

The Psychology of Looting

According to John Pitts, a Vauxhall Professor of social-legal studies at the University of Bedfordshire, England, the act of looting makes "powerless people suddenly feel powerful." The experience of looting a store, according to the criminologist, is for the thieves, "intoxicating." Unfortunately, it is no longer dangerous.

"Public Servants" Aren't Servants and "Private Individuals" Have No Privacy

 The way things are supposed to work is that we're supposed to know virtually everything about what they [politicians and bureaucrats] do. That's why they're called public servants. They're supposed to know virtually nothing about what we do, that's why we're called private individuals.

Glenn Greenwald, investigative journalist, 2012

The Presidential Biography

The reception of presidential biographies usually centers on how to rank the chief executive in question--a perennial parlor game. Was the president overrated or underrated? Does he merit new appreciation or a thorough debunking? But these evaluative questions are the least interesting ones to ask. More meaningful are analyses that locate a politician in context--that explain how an individual, with unique character and set of ideas, fared in tackling the nation's problems at a turning point in history.

David Greenberg, The New York Times Book Review, October 11, 2020

The Thrill of Surprise

 The thriller genre is premised less on subject matter than on the direct promise of a sensational response. Unlike, say, crime or western or romance, with a thriller there's no hint what will happen, or where it will happen or whom it will happen to. There's only the pledge that once it happens, you will be--or should be--thrilled.

Adam Sternbergh, The New York Times Book Review, July 26, 2020

The Reality of Horror Fiction

 If art imitates life, horror fiction is a great mimic, predicting and exploring the frightening and surreal realities of the contemporary world.

Danielle Trussoni, The New York Times Book Review, July 26, 2020

The Death of Political Satire

 American political culture quickly and always outpaces any attempts to satirize it.

Glenn Greenwald, investigative journalist, 2012

William Kunstler On Fighting The Government

Government takes away a certain amount of liberty and in some countries it takes away all of liberty. And it will everywhere, if people who fight government do not fight government any longer.

William Kunstler, activist lawyer (1919-1995)

Self-Deluding Criminals

Criminologist Robert J. Kelly interviewed several inmates at Rikers Island in New York City, and observed that "in their own words, my inmates see themselves as putty in the hands of fate." They blamed bad luck, coincidence, unforeseen circumstances--the victims shouldn't have been there, the cops shouldn't have shown up. The inmates could not explain what they did in terms of their own moral choices; they had to explain it in terms of forces beyond their control. It isn't just because criminals aim to get away with their crimes, it's also because they need to live with them. "A frank and sincere acknowledgment of responsibility would result in a collapse of the psyche," notes Kelly. Criminals are compelled to reconstruct events in such a way that the aftermath is bearable. They need to maintain a sense of self-worth. Announcing to themselves in the mirror "I am evil" is not a popular option.

Patricia Pearson, When She Was Bad, 1997

Careful Diction Produces Clarity

In writing, diction relates to the choice of words and phrasing. In nonfiction, precision and clarity are the goals to aim for. In fiction, the writer's capacity to choose words carefully for their effect as well as their accuracy is a measure of the writer's literary ability. The opposite of careful diction is "top-of-the-head" writing , words put down as fast as they come to mind, without revision for accuracy and effect. It is found most often in hurried popular writing in which communication of content or story dominates the precise and fresh use of words and expressions.

Sol Stein, Sol Stein's Reference Book For Writers, 2010