Thank you Steve for this very personal essay and ask. You are an inspiration. You’ve given me several things to think about and work on with my journey to record my life.
Thanks for sharing your personal history of inspiration from some great writers (the four you highlighted and the others you mentioned). Most of these also have been impportant inspiration for me (I'd of course add few more - Edward Abby off the top of my head). I hadn't heard of the CSL - something to think about.
A couple of preteens gave me a reading list. The daughters of fine women in my bookclub, decided to share their favorites and give me some ideas.
I read their colored pencil list and found that we have very different tastes- as fantasy and sci-fi are not big/ present in my library. But, too honor their kindness and the fact that they are reading anything, I gave them my list of books for their future consideration.
It was filled with your favorite nature writers and a couple of YA fiction that were also nature related. They may never pick one. It was a challenge to make a reading list for teens. It reinforced my own taste...but half a century older than they, I'm good.
Thanks for sharing. Story telling and reading are timeless and I've enjoyed people telling me some of their "favorite" authors they've met and read since I made this post. I also like anything that involves colored pencils! :)
I so appreciate what you do, and you're so right about NY publishers being uninterested in Midwestern stories, for the most part. I sent my food memoir to exactly two NY agents who both admired it for this-and-that, but didn't think it would sell to a national audience. Just as I was going to send it out to another batch of agents, a regional publisher picked it up. I knew that that was best for this little book.
I also thought what you said here was interesting:
"I could sell 10,000 copies of a book, and the author would almost instantly wonder why I didn’t sell 11,000."
Sometimes I think in "Big" publishing it's the other way around. That is, say I've sold 15K cookbooks (which I have), they'll wonder why I didn't sell 20K! The onus often feels on the writer these days. Of course, it's on both writers and publishers, but it's nice to know how hard YOU work to sell your authors' books!
Steve, Many lessons in your missive.I have five full bookshelves that I am pruning for the local little libraries. Ice Cube Press books (many signed by the author) are on a SAVE shelf.
I cannot help but thinking how many have you on their list of people to thank for the time and words you have shared with them. I imagine the number is far higher than you might expect.
Well. All good questions. I may have to make the replies part two of this column. Jackson did play a large role in my “start” … I’ll give these all some better thought out responses for you. Thanks!
Thank you Steve for this very personal essay and ask. You are an inspiration. You’ve given me several things to think about and work on with my journey to record my life.
On words your journey will flow. Thanks
Thanks for sharing your personal history of inspiration from some great writers (the four you highlighted and the others you mentioned). Most of these also have been impportant inspiration for me (I'd of course add few more - Edward Abby off the top of my head). I hadn't heard of the CSL - something to think about.
Yes I'd add Abbey too, I just never met him. I think I may have invented the CSL. Thanks for reading.
A couple of preteens gave me a reading list. The daughters of fine women in my bookclub, decided to share their favorites and give me some ideas.
I read their colored pencil list and found that we have very different tastes- as fantasy and sci-fi are not big/ present in my library. But, too honor their kindness and the fact that they are reading anything, I gave them my list of books for their future consideration.
It was filled with your favorite nature writers and a couple of YA fiction that were also nature related. They may never pick one. It was a challenge to make a reading list for teens. It reinforced my own taste...but half a century older than they, I'm good.
Thanks for sharing. Story telling and reading are timeless and I've enjoyed people telling me some of their "favorite" authors they've met and read since I made this post. I also like anything that involves colored pencils! :)
I so appreciate what you do, and you're so right about NY publishers being uninterested in Midwestern stories, for the most part. I sent my food memoir to exactly two NY agents who both admired it for this-and-that, but didn't think it would sell to a national audience. Just as I was going to send it out to another batch of agents, a regional publisher picked it up. I knew that that was best for this little book.
I also thought what you said here was interesting:
"I could sell 10,000 copies of a book, and the author would almost instantly wonder why I didn’t sell 11,000."
Sometimes I think in "Big" publishing it's the other way around. That is, say I've sold 15K cookbooks (which I have), they'll wonder why I didn't sell 20K! The onus often feels on the writer these days. Of course, it's on both writers and publishers, but it's nice to know how hard YOU work to sell your authors' books!
I’m not very fluent in coastal thinking. I have always wanted to do exactly what I do. Help one author at a time as best I can. Ripples not splashes
Thank you for doing such great work. I always love reading your pieces.
Thanks. Lots of writing out there so I appreciate you saying that. I enjoy yours too.
Steve, Many lessons in your missive.I have five full bookshelves that I am pruning for the local little libraries. Ice Cube Press books (many signed by the author) are on a SAVE shelf.
Thanks for the nice comment Mary.
I cannot help but thinking how many have you on their list of people to thank for the time and words you have shared with them. I imagine the number is far higher than you might expect.
Alrighty then::
1) say more about Wes Jackson
2) the 2nd day of IFU missed you … and vice versa
3) you don’t know what you’ve missed if you don’t show up.*
4) can a person start a bookstore in small town IA with a yearly CSL? (for real question) need more details on how CSL works please
* See you at the next event or Dec 17 barring blizzards of course ✍🏻🥶❄️
Well. All good questions. I may have to make the replies part two of this column. Jackson did play a large role in my “start” … I’ll give these all some better thought out responses for you. Thanks!
Very generous of you to say this. What you say is certainly what I hope for. Thank you!