Not dead yet; lean book launch; Wikipedia AI ban: Newsletter 1 April 2026

Newsletter 145. Why, even in your sixties, standing still means going backwards. Plus, journalists draw the line on AI, why your family doesn’t love your memoir, three people to follow, three books to read, and one place to draw your own line against AI encroachment.

Conserve or create?

In the heart of our careers, we often focus on creating. We generate new and ever-more exciting ideas. We rise through management ranks and take charge of bigger projects. We focus more on making money and less on saving it. We build.

Sure, if we’re smart, we invest some of what we make for the future. But we don’t worry about that far-off future as much as what we’re creating in the present.

Inevitably, things change.

As a former madly productive creative worker now in my mid-to-late sixties, I’ve had to shift my focus. Like most of us boomers (ugh), I’ve looked more carefully at conserving what I have.

How can I ensure that the assets I’ve assembled will support my spouse and me for our retirement?

How can I conserve what’s left of my health to keep alive and well?

How can I maintain a feeling of emotional and mental well-being?

How can I help ensure my adult children can be successful and happy?

But I realized something important. Conserving by itself carries a risk of going backwards.

The classic example: I could move all my financial assets into a solid savings account. But that’s a very bad plan. At 3% inflation, my investments would be worth one-third less in real terms ten years from now. Conserving cash is insufficient. I need exposure to the growth of the market to build on what I have and exceed the forces dragging the value down.

The same has proven true of my health. I started strength training with a personal trainer a year ago. It’s amazing to me how much stronger (and lighter) I now am at this advanced age. I never would have believed this kind of growth was possible for somebody my age. The goal is not to be less feeble. It is to be more resilient and more capable, with fewer limitations.

I keep working and writing to keep my brain nimble. Work continually challenges me and exposes me to new ideas. My brain keeps working better because I count on it to keep working. Creative work (like my daily blog post) enables me to actually grow and learn, rather than becoming a little slower and dumber every day.

And my relationships with my children are far richer now that they are people with their own careers and ambitions. It’s a relief not to have to protect and raise them any more, but that just opens up time for sharing great experiences with them.

I do less than I used to. I work fewer hours. I relax more. I spend more time with my wife.

But it’s become clear to me that simply fighting the tide of receding capability is a mistake. Standing still means going backwards.

I’m now free to create what I want, and I’m not stopping any time soon.

News for writers and others who think

Ben Putano 📚 published a guide to the lean book launch. You have to subscribe to his newsletter to get it, but it’s full of great ideas.

Florent Daudens analyzes where journalists using AI draw the line regarding what’s human and what’s machine-generated.

On their podcast “For Immediate Release,” Shel Holtz, SCMP and Neville Hobson discuss when AI writing at work is cheating

Wikipedia banned AI writing. Good luck enforcing that.

Hong-Kong police arrested a bookseller for selling “seditious” books. Could this happen in your country?

Allison K Williams explains why your family isn’t all that excited that you published your memoir — on Jane Friedman’s blog.

Three people to follow

Penny Sansevieri, purveyor of countless book marketing tips.

Jess Filippi an insightful, smart, experienced and connected editor

Nir Eyal , bestselling author focused on how we think — and how to improve

Three books to read

The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness by Arthur C. Brooks (Portfolio, 2026). “What the hell am I doing here?” A happiness expert actually tells you how to find the answer.

Architecture in Music by Charles Brooks (a kickstarter project, 2026). Explore the beauty of musical instruments through clever and fascinating photographs.

The Mind Is Flat: The Remarkable Shallowness of the Improvising Brain by Nick Chater (Yale University Press, 2019). Do we follow patterns just as an AI does?

Who owns you?

There’s only one right answer, regardless of what AI giants might think.