Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane One afternoon, out of the blue, my mom texted me, “While you were building your career, did you ever step outside your comfort zone, that is, were you nervous or scared about what you were doing or planning?” My immediate response was, “All the time!” But why was she asking? Apparently, she was having a conversation...
16 days ago • 7 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane I hate giving high-fives. First, I rarely recognize when I’m being signaled to give one. So it’s embarrassing when I’m standing there with a blank expression, wondering what the person wants. Then, when I finally recognize I’m being asked for a high-five, it ends up a slippery-soft hand touch, one without the commitment...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane Do you assume the professionals you hire will do their job properly? I don’t, and this has become an area of disagreement between me and my husband. For the past few years, we’ve worked with a CPA that I chose myself when returning to Cincinnati. I had good memories of working with him when I was early in my freelance...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane I had lunch this week with a writing colleague in San Francisco who has worked with startups for more than 15 years. On the side, she also coaches people in the tech industry who want to write and publish. Discussion inevitably turned to AI and I mentioned how it’s an emotionally charged issue among novelists and...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane I’m busy planning my first trip to Australia and New Zealand (I’m speaking in Darwin in August), and was evaluating Airbnbs when I ran across a host who breaks all the rules of posting property photos. The first two photos don’t even show the property; instead they offer a general ocean view from two angles, neither...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane A common fear of writers—a fear that runs across all professions—is that they’re too old to succeed. So I was grateful to see this study that shows we reach our most productive years in midlife. Not only that, but writers and philosophers in particular can maintain a steady output through to retirement. (I find that’s...
3 months ago • 8 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane In 2006, I sat alone at an AWP Bookfair table and waited for people to come buy Writer’s Digest titles and Writer’s Market, where I was editorial director. I met and knew hardly anyone but remained convinced we should have a presence. Fortunately, I sold nearly every book at the table, which helped ensure we had the...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane Mark and I have been watching—savoring, really—the TV series All Creatures Great and Small, the 2020 version, based on books by veterinarian James Herriot. If you’ve ever heard people say they read for the “vibes” rather than the conflict, that very much applies to watching this show. The conflicts are slight and easily...
4 months ago • 8 min read
Electric Speed is a free newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. | View in browser | Sign up here A note from Jane Recently I was buying a new office chair online, and several hours after I placed the order, I returned to the website to look up additional information about the chair. It was then I realized belatedly that chair size selection (tall or short?) wasn’t about personal preference but rather one’s specific height, and I...
4 months ago • 7 min read