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Jane Friedman: newsletters for writers & creative people

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Cartoon by Bob Eckstein. An enormous X-shaped platform with a red floor, making it appear as a red cross, is atop a concrete pillar which stretches downward into seeming infinity with no entrance or exit. At each far end of the X sits a person at a desk w
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[Electric Speed] Confidence-humility | Ken Burns

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 once saw a doctor who exuded confidence that he understood my situation entirely and would “fix” me. I welcomed this. After a long period of struggle where nothing seemed to help, I felt buoyed by his tone and attitude. After some months, I was not fixed—quite the opposite. But there wasn’t curiosity from the...

6 days ago • 5 min read
Cartoon by Bob Eckstein of an optometrist assisting a male customer. The optometrist holds two pairs of glasses, handing one of them to the customer, and says, “Let’s see if you look smarter in these.”

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 When you query agents and publishers, should your book title be in all caps? What about comparable titles? What’s the best timing for the query? Exactly how long should you wait to nudge an agent or publisher after submitting the manuscript? What if you use AOL for email—will you earn a demerit? These are but a handful...

20 days ago • 6 min read
Cartoon by Bob Eckstein. A caveman stands beside the enormous stone wheel he’s carved. Nearby, Leonardo da Vinci Stands with a similar large circle upon which is drawn his Vitruvian Man.

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 The number of AI-powered scams targeting writers this year has become overwhelming. And sadly, the high alert level in the community has started feeding on itself: I’ve recently encountered a few lawyer-powered, predatory schemes that target writers who feel wronged and want to fight back. (For an example, see...

about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Cartoon by Bob Eckstein of an airplane in flight with the caption, “Folks, if you would kindly look to your left, you’ll see Husband of the Year.”

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 was spending Thanksgiving with friends when I announced that my Mark had just won husband of the year. They responded with surprise, not because it was hard to believe but because it is completely not in my nature to offer superlative praise unless I’m talking to my cat. This stands in stark contrast with my friend,...

about 2 months 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 was only a month or two into my new job as managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine when my boss asked me to sit in on a conference call with a self-publishing services company. I’ve since forgotten the news development associated with the call, but I’ll never forget how I felt: in awe. My boss asked questions that...

2 months ago • 6 min read
Cartoon by Bob Eckstein. Jane Friedman runs up a stairway made from thick hardcover tomes.

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 Earlier this year, I read The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant, which was immensely engaging but incredibly short, leaving me wanting more. Online, I started eyeing the Durants’ 11-volume series, The Story of Civilization, which was written and published over four decades. The first volume alone is 1,000 pages....

3 months ago • 5 min read
Illustration by Bob Eckstein of a bust statue of Billy Joel as he looked circa 1978.

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 was in college before I discovered it was uncool to like Billy Joel. By happenstance, I stumbled on a message board for Joel fans and found it was consistently infiltrated by trolls who belittled Joel and anyone who celebrated him. I don’t consider myself a music aficionado, nor had I been exposed to much music in my...

3 months ago • 8 min read
Illustration by Bob Eckstein of two smiley face emojis side by side, each with their fingers in their ears.

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 rarely enjoy talking on the phone and my feelings about it align with Gen Z, the infamous avoiders of phone conversations. A psychologist explained the aversion to the BBC recently: “Phone calls are more exposing and require a higher level of intimacy whereas messaging is detached and allows you to connect without...

3 months ago • 6 min read
Cartoon by Bob Eckstein. At a festival a Scotsman wearing a kilt is prepared to toss a caber, but in his path are five vehicle tires he’s expected to step through, followed by a ladder so tall that it extends off the top of the cartoon panel, and lastly a

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 What’s the worst that could happen? This is a common reassurance offered to people who risk rejection and it’s well intentioned. Don’t let fear get in the way, what do you have to lose by trying, that sort of thing. But the question has become a rhetorical one instead of a question meant to be answered. And this can...

4 months ago • 5 min read
Cartoon by Bob Eckstein of a robot hand-writing a letter that reads, “Dear Amazing Author, you are great!”

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 had a meeting with an author (I’ll call her Kay) who published a business memoir and wants better visibility and book sales. She brought a file folder thick with notes and printouts, and pulled out a reader email she’d saved. It was the type of email most authors love to receive: someone had carefully read...

4 months ago • 6 min read