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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

It’s Hard Out Here for a Pragmatic Optimist

Sanctum Sanctorum, 01/10 by glecharles
Sanctum Sanctorum, 01/10 by glecharles

“Publishing was never a business based on Wharton standards. It was a rich boy’s hobby.”

–Steve Wasserman (Kneerim & Williams)

Working in publishing isn’t for the meek. Neither is writing for that matter. They’re two things I’m really passionate about, though, and I’ve always counted myself lucky to work in the publishing industry, despite the ever-present danger of familiarity breeding contempt.

Over the past couple of years, though, it’s been particularly tough; like playing on a solid defense for a football team that has a terrible offense, constantly watching the QB get sacked, the RB get stuffed, WRs getting manhandled… and running on fumes by the 4th quarter as a result.

I consider myself a pragmatic idealist with an optimistic lean, but when you see colleagues and friends losing their jobs due to reasons beyond their control and underlying problems they didn’t create, it can be tough to feel good about the good things you’re involved in.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

New Year’s Publishing Predictions, Resolutions

#32 be the change by the8rgrl
#32 be the change by the8rgrl

I’m not usually one for making predictions — the only thing I hate more than gurus and pundits are self-proclaimed futurists! — but I couldn’t pass up offering my two cents to Folio: for their 2010 round-up of magazine and media predictions:

Consolidation and debt restructuring will continue apace. More niche brands will focus on ‘communitizing’, with magazines becoming part of a larger ecosystem that will include virtual events and books, both print and electronic. Advertising will finally stabilize, but “growth” will mainly come from search and custom initiatives, including some ill-conceived “conversational marketing” programs that imagine Twitter as a viable hub. Digital magazines and mobile apps will be a bust for all but a few brands as the ROI fails to materialize. The Apple Tablet will be more horse than unicorn, becoming a major player in portable gaming but with minimal impact on publishing.

New Year’s resolutions have never been my thing, either, but in light of all of the negativity and DOOM! surrounding the “future of publishing”, I thought it would be fun to make a few public resolutions, if for no other reason than to see which ones I can stick with, and how long before I break the others.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

My Next Tattoo?

The 100 Greatest Movie Characters | Empire | 79. Boba Fett “Before his back story was rewritten, Boba Fett was the coolest thing in the Star Wars universe that wasn’t played by Harrison Ford.” I’ve been trying to decide what my next tattoo would be for about 3-4 years, and have wavered between text and image. I recently saw a very cool tattoo of Boba Fett, my favorite character in Star Wars, and easily one of my Top 10 favorite characters ever. Pop culture tattoos can be really corny, though; plus, the one I saw was likely no less than…

Continue ReadingMy Next Tattoo?
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Bury Me in the Leaning Rest (for Veteran’s Day)

Bury Me in the Leaning Rest C-130 rollin’ down the strip Airborne Daddy gonna take a little trip Mission Top Secret Destination Unknown He don’t know if he’s ever coming home… An old Army buddy emailed me out of the blue a while back. Found me on the Internet amongst too many "friends" I barely knew and wouldn't take a bullet for. Fills me in on the guys we used to run with, some in, some out, some completely off the grid. He puts me in touch with one whose name rings a bell --out now, married with kids-- and…

Continue ReadingBury Me in the Leaning Rest (for Veteran’s Day)
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

My To-Read Pile is Growing

Something old, something new, something recommended, and something downloaded for free that will likely never be read... Year of the Gun by Giff Cheshire Day of the Guns by Mickey Spillaine Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock Thriving on Chaos by Tom Peters Trail of Feathers by Tahir Shah Spaceman Blues by Brian Francis Slattery South by South Bronx by Abraham Rodriguez Boneshaker by Cherie Priest Funny Papers by Tom de Haven Everything is Every Thing: Poems by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz Dialect of a Skirt by Erica Miriam Fabri Kokopelli: The Magic, Myth, and Mischief of Ancient Symbols by Dennis Slifer Technology…

Continue ReadingMy To-Read Pile is Growing
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Six People in My (Virtual) Neighborhood

Bottled Liquor Newsstand by Bill on Capitol Hill
Bottled Liquor Newsstand by Bill on Capitol Hill

This fervid desire for the Web bespeaks a longing so intense that it can only be understood as spiritual. A longing indicates that something is missing in our lives. What is missing is the sound of the human voice.

David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto

A year ago, I used to get most of my information from a variety of traditional and new media sources primarily via Google Reader. Now, loathe as I am to admit it, Twitter has replaced it as my primary aggregator, and the mix of sources is very different, too.

This past weekend, I did a major purge of my RSS feeds in Reader, clearing out more than 2/3rds of them (now down to 61 feeds), including some that were duplicates of Twitter feeds I follow, and many others I realized weren’t terribly essential when a hectic day found me hitting “Mark all as read” on 1,000+ items. But while Twitter is good for taking the pulse of the moment and flashes of conversation (or debate), I still look to blogs for more thoughtful insight and, increasingly, a sense of community.

I’ve noted before that Twitter is a great professional networking tool, more cocktail party than office, and the people I follow there are primarily in publishing and marketing, but there’s a specific subset of which I’ve become particularly fond: writers with great blogs.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

NaNoWriMo: Just Write. (This is where I fail.)

Third, what the hell was I waiting till November for? You want to want to be real boy, Pinocchio? Er, I mean, a real writer? Then don’t set 1/12th of the year aside to do it. Do it always, and do it unconditionally. You don’t have to write a novel between November 1st and 30th. That is not your limitation. When I did it, I didn’t want to cheat, and I wanted to hit the mark, but it was all… illusory. Somebody else made up these rules. Not me. You want to write a novel? Write a novel. Start now.…

Continue ReadingNaNoWriMo: Just Write. (This is where I fail.)
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