If you have Zen or Buddhist inclinations—and you’re also in the profession of writing and publishing—you will love this story and meditation by Gillian Burnes. It begins:
In the middle of a Vipassana meditation retreat last summer … I went up to the teacher at the end of the dharma talk and said, as sweetly as I could, “Editors are usually really nice people.” He’d been using “editor” to stand for the harsh inner voice of self-loathing, and of course I understood what he meant, but as a magazine copy editor I had to stand up for my professional brotherhood.
Burnes goes on to discuss the difference between generation mode and analysis mode. Read the full piece in the latest Glimmer Train bulletin.
Also check out:
- Poking the Tiger: Thoughts on Characterization and Story-Building by Dennis Bock
- What We Settle For by Tracy Guzeman
- The Dialogue Zone: When Characters Take Over by Tom Kealey
Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) has nearly 25 years of experience in the media & publishing industry. She is the publisher of The Hot Sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2019.
In addition to being a professor with The Great Courses (How to Publish Your Book), she is the author of The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal.
Jane speaks regularly at conferences and industry events such as Digital Book World and Frankfurt Book Fair, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. Find out more.