Writers choose pain; Open-source infrastructure; Remembering Shel Israel: Newsletter 13 August 2025
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Writers choose pain; Open-source infrastructure; Remembering Shel Israel: Newsletter 13 August 2025

Newsletter 106: Writing incurs pain, but it’s up to you which pain to suffer and when. Plus, a new survey on AI and the Writing Profession, Bookshop.org surges, three people to follow, and three books to read. Writing? Choose your pain. Writing, like anything else that requires effort and growth, involves pain. The good news…

Treat AI as a slide rule, not a calculator

Treat AI as a slide rule, not a calculator

This is my father’s slide rule. For those unfamiliar with this vintage computing instrument, a slide rule was how scientists, engineers, and technicians did mathematical calculations for much of the twentieth century. You’d carefully align the sliding middle portion with outer frame and read the result off the scales, using the cursor (which was a…

Purge the I4’s from your writing: Inane, Irritating Ironic Instructions

Purge the I4’s from your writing: Inane, Irritating Ironic Instructions

Relax. Take it easy. Be creative. Do your own research. I’ve noticed phrases like these creeping into writing that I edit. I call them I4’s: inane, irritating ironic instructions. They turn how-to advice from specific to infuriating. Stop writing this way, please. What is an I4? An I4 is useless, vague advice included in a…

Red and green flags for your ghostwriting or editing relationship
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Red and green flags for your ghostwriting or editing relationship

After a while, experienced ghostwriters and editors get a sense of which clients are going to be a problem. But it goes both ways: if you hire folks like us, you should also be aware of problems to watch out for in your editorial partners. Red flags for ghostwriters, editors, or book coaches evaluating clients…