Tag: writing

Read, Eat, Drink–Weekend Roundup

by Maria

Read:

Amazon Kindle and ebooks

Ebooks. It’s hard to believe that the e-book as we know it didn’t exist until 7 years ago. As Jason Matthews noted in Ebooks: What a Long Strange Trip on The Book Designer, Amazon didn’t launch the Kindle (and therefore the e-book market as we now know it) until 2007.

I still vividly remember sitting in on an editorial meeting at Simon & Schuster in 2009 and hearing the caution in the voices of editors as they discussed this new format. Back then the prognostications were big and bold (ebooks would take over the world and wreck all our lives!), but the numbers were tiny and insignificant. Ebooks were maybe 2-3 percent of the market–not a number anyone could really act on.

Between 2009 and 2012 we saw huge double-digit growth in the e-book market, and though we seem to be past the largest spike in e-book adoption, the market still grew from 23% to 27% of all book sales between 2012 and 2013.

What I wonder most: how will people read another 7 years from now? I don’t think this is an e-book vs. print book debate. I think it’s an e-book vs. print book vs. blogs vs. magazines vs. newspapers vs. online verticals vs. any other format, digital or print, where readers go for words.

As complex as the landscape is, we all want something very simple: to get our authors’ words in front of readers. I think that’s the only certainty we can cling to in these uncertain times.

So here’s hoping 2015 (and beyond!) will bring us even more ways to get writing to readers!

Eat:
Huge milestone alert! I finally, finally, finally (finally!) ate at Rose’s Luxury. It. Was. Incredible.

Which was a bit of a surprise, given that my expectations were sky-high. I’d first read about Rose’s in this article from August’s issue of Bon Appetit, when Andrew Knowlton named it the Best New Restaurant in America in 2014. So yes, I was expecting greatness.

And I am so happy that I was not disappointed. I can easily say it’s the best restaurant I’ve eaten at this year, and that the Pork Sausage, Habanero, and Lychee Salad was one of the best things I’ve eaten, ever.

But my very favorite moment of the night? Digging into the Cacio e Pepe Pasta and being absolutely floored by how something so simple can be so delicious. Granted, I have a soft spot for pasta, always and forever, but this? This was special. I would give all my worldly possessions to be able to know how they did it.

Cacio and pepe pasta rose's luxury
Cacio e Pepe Pasta from Rose’s Luxury. ‘Tis a thing of beauty. Source.

Oh, and there was also a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream that blew our faces off. There was much moaning and gushing from our table that night!

Drink:
Kicking it over to Jarrett, our resident bartender, for a fun drink recipe:

The holidays are behind us, and you know what that means: taking stock of all the liquor left over from holiday parties. Some bottles you savor, like that glorious bottle of Bulleit Bourbon Uncle Bob gave you as a present. Others make you cringe, like that fifth of vanilla vodka your cousin’s girlfriend brought to New Years.

This year, I decided to come up with a plan for that nasty vanilla vodka once and for all by playing a fun game. It’s called: “figure out how to make a decent cocktail with disgustingly flavored alcohol” (FOHTMADCWDFA for short). Catchy, I know. But, in the end, I actually came up with a pretty good drink – we’ll call it the Apple Pie Cocktail.

Apple Pie Cocktail (Vanilla Vodka)
Apple Pie Cocktail (Vanilla Vodka)

Apple Pie Cocktail

• 2 lime slices
• One granny smith apple (for garnish)
• Two leaves of mint
• 3 oz. vanilla vodka
• Ginger ale
• Apple juice (we used honeycrisp apple juice, but regular works)
• Dash of cinnamon

Muddle lime slices and mint leaves in bottom of an old-fashioned glass. Fill glass half way with ice. Add vanilla vodka. Then fill remainder of glass with ginger ale and apple juice (2/3 ginger ale and 1/3 apple juice). Add a dash (around 1/8 teaspoon) of cinnamon. VERY briefly shake in a shaker (but only a shake or two because ginger ale carbonation will make it explode if shaken too much).

Using a paring knife or peeler, cut a strand of the granny smith skin off and add it as garnish. Imbibe and enjoy!

Read, Eat, Drink–Weekend Roundup

by Maria

Read: 

Screen Shot 2014-11-20 at 10.57.33 AM
Leo Babuata of ZenHabits, one of my favorite sites on creativity and living, is finally launching his new book. Watching this launch has been incredible–it’s funny how sometimes we can learn so much more from people who are outside of the publishing industry.

He traditionally published a few books several years ago, and he’s self-published a few ebooks since then, but this is his first self-published print book to be sold direct to his fans (he has over a million readers on his blog). And he decided to approach writing a book the way a coder would approach writing new software. As he explains:

The traditional way of writing a book is like the old Microsoft model of developing software: you write it in isolation for a year or two, and then put it out as a fully-formed product.

The problem with that method is that it’s never been tested in the real world. You don’t know if readers (or users) will want it, you don’t know where you’ve made huge mistakes, you don’t know how it will work in the wild.

That “Microsoft” model of making programs has been replaced in the last decade or so by iterative programming, where you make a Minimum Viable Product as soon as possible, and let a small group of people (alpha or beta testers) use it and give you feedback and report bugs. Then a new version is made, more testing and feedback, and so on, making the product better and better each iteration. I love this model, because it leads to a better product over the long run.

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How To Be an Editor’s Favorite Author

by Maria

Favorite Author

I’m excited to have one of my favorite editors, Christine Dore, back on the blog today with some fabulous advice for authors. She’s shepherded dozens of books from the idea stage to final printed copies, so she’s seen it all. And one thing authors sometimes forget is that it is always to your benefit to be working with your editor, rather than against him or her. Publishing people are all in the business because we genuinely care about books and want to see authors thrive. We want to make sure you and your book are a success, and the more we can rave to our teams about how professional, gracious, and hard-working you are, the happier we all are.

Of course, every editor has their own idea of how casual or formal they like to be with their authors, but here are Christine’s great tips for building a happy, productive relationship with any editor:

Email Rules – Or: How To Make Your Editor Not Want to Reply to You

Most editors thoroughly enjoy the lax-professional relationships we build with our authors. We know we’re working on “your baby,” and don’t take that honor lightly. We want to get to know you; we want you to trust us (so you’ll trust us when we suggest changes to your writing).

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Read, Eat, Drink–Weekend Roundup

by Maria

Read:
As much as agents do our best to try to help writers and offer insight into the wild, whacky world that is publishing, sometimes nothing resonates quite like hearing directly from other writers. So here’s my favorite author blog post of the week–Colleen Hoover’s incredible story of how writing changed her life. Three years ago, she was living in a trailer, working 12 hours a day, and barely making ends meet. She picked up writing in her spare time and self-published her first book. She sold about 30 copies in the first week, but she kept at it. Today, she’s the New York Times bestselling author of 6 books and has a lucrative book deal with Atria/Simon & Schuster. And the best part of it all? In her words:

Three years ago, my husband and I dreamed about the day we would be able to build a new house. Tomorrow, that’s going to happen. On the same land where we happily lived in our single-wide trailer, we will be breaking ground on the house we will spend the rest of our lives in, and I still can’t wrap my head around it.

I know this started with the fact that I wrote and finished a book, but that was as simple as putting a pen to paper. Nothing would have followed had it not been for the support of my readers. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the motivation. And remember-

Dreams are free, so make sure you have a shit-load of them.

And THAT right there is exactly why we’re all in this crazy, unpredictable, shaky business.

You can read Colleen’s full story here.

Eat:
Raise your hand if you like bacon. Looks like…everyone on the planet. And the only thing better than bacon is bacon + pasta, especially when it’s Mario Batali’s Spaghetti Carbonara. This is (I think) the same recipe he uses at his restaurant Otto in New York, but you can make it yourself at home for, oh, a 95% discount.

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