Greetings from the mountains
I’m on vacation this week. My gaze is infinite. So don’t expect much in the way of wisdom.
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How to quote people in books
I’ve edited a bunch of manuscripts lately in which the authors handle quotes awkwardly. This is an easy problem to solve. I’ll explain how. The first principle is this: direct quotes should reflect and amplify insights you’re including in the text. Here are four formats for quotes that work well. Notice that each quote amplifies…
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Public spaces, personal spaces, and civility
I’ve been studying social media for 20 years now. It’s become an increasingly tendentious and fraught space. People feel they can say or write anything they want, including falsehoods and insults. Their justification: “free speech.” It’s true: you can say pretty much anything you want online, short of libel. But not every space belongs to…
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Books | Media | Newsletter
Bogus book credentials; Laureates’ AI lament; Google scrapes bottom: Newsletter 15 July 2026
Newsletter 160. Why you shouldn’t be impressed by most of what authors brag about. Plus, Nobel Laureates in Economics gnash their teeth about AI, publishers evade Google, three people to follow, three books to read, and one trip to the mountains of Maine. Be skeptical of author accolades Authors send all sorts of signals that…
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What it means to be a writer
If someone asks me what I do for a living, I tell them I’m a writer. It took a long time to get here. Very few people can actually make their living as a writer. Most writers do something else to support themselves. Despite the fact that I’m was trained as a mathematician, my first…
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What to do about “The End of Reading”
In The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch has written an essential and terrifying article describing what she calls “The End of Reading.” I enthusiastically encourage you to set aside 15 minutes and read it. Thinkers have been decrying the end of reading for many decades, citing causes from television to video games. That doesn’t make Horowitch wrong….
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Should you work with AI or a book coach?
The purpose of a book coach is to help you become a better writer and write a better, more effective, book. Now you can, at least in theory, hire an AI to do the same thing. Which is better? Let’s compare. AI wins on price, availability, and flexibility From a purely mechanical standpoint, AI wins….
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Me, senator?
I am a moderate liberal from Maine. I’ve been disappointed by Susan Collins, the current Senator running for reelection, because of her votes to confirm dubiously qualified Supreme Court Justices and for RFK, Jr, an idiot, for Secretary of Health and Human Services. I have never sexually assaulted anyone. I’ve been happily married to the…
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AI | Books | Newsletter
Just write; AI-proof skills; Wikipedia on the brink: Newsletter 8 July 2026
Newsletter 159. Learn to write and you’ll never be bored. Plus, Simon & Schuster puts self-publishing in its pocket, Hachette unionizes, three people to follow, and three books to read. Endlessly diverting What do you like to do? Play golf? It’s torment, from what people tell me, but it’s an enjoyable challenge. Plant a garden?…
