There is even too much to sum up. But I did progress a little on the reading list.
Janiece is starting up her summer reading contest.
The Clarion Write-a-Thon is still accepting sign ups.
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Well, okay, it's Jennifer Laughran, and this post is not really about gardening. It's about editing. (Grokked from AbsoluteWrite)
Jan O'Hara with the CORBS critiquing model.
David B Cole with some insight into marketing a book. He makes the case about marketing a new genre mix and how to send signals to readers about what is inside the book (judging the book by its cover). And it reminded me of a story I heard (and now I can't remember from where) about how new music is introduced. See, people love new music, they want to hear it (just like editors what to see something new, something that surprises them), except that they don't. Because it's new and unfamiliar, the radio audience has a high tendency to turn the channel. But, a while ago, radio stations figured out the clue as to how to get people to listen to something new. You bracket it with something familiar. You play a song everybody likes (and here, they did a thing about how everybody says they hate a certain song/artist but you hear it played at the top of the hour on almost every radio station, why? Because people actually like that song because they're familiar with it, so on the hour, when people are ready to turn the radio station, the stations plays songs that the audience is comfortable with to keep them from turning the station), the you play the new song, and then you play another song (or even the same song you started with). And you let people know what is coming up in the playlist. So people stick around and listen to the new thing, but are comforted by their old friends (or at least songs they're comfortable with). After hearing the song that way a few times, you're now comfortable with the new song. Tricksy, ain't they.
Jim Hines shares more on his journey with depression. Good luck with the talk therapy, and thanks for being willing to share.
At 28,000 years, this is the oldest rock art found in Australia to date. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
On the importance of not burning bridges, no matter how badly you believe the bastards deserve it. Having had close experience with this recently, you can have emotions and still be professional. People talk. You may not think it's fair, but I've also looked at some ideal candidates and thought, "They'd work very nicely." Then I started a background search on them and seeing who has had contact with them and ended up with the same advice, "Run." This is what branding is, it's your reputation. When someone hears your name, do they wince or think, "Yeah, I'd like to work with them again." My guess is in this case it wasn't just the burning wreck of a bridge they left in their wake, that was only the topper. Although, if you're retiring or getting out of the game (and here, you'll never know who knows whom even in different professions), as the legendary memo goes, "Let the smoke from the bridges I've burned today be seen far and wide." And consider how bad this must be for the person contacted to risk a potential lawsuit to say "Run" (which is why most businesses have a policy only to confirm the applicant was a former employee and what their employment dates were).
The food desert isn't just for poor neighborhoods. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Cry entitlement and let slip the Jim of snark.
Along the lines of refuting the "can't be that bad" mentality, a sampling of threats sent to climate scientists. So glad the conservative mentality is on the rise. Whackaloon quotient is going back up. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
More photos from the other American space shuttle program, the X37.
Alligator Quotient: They're still feisty, but not as bighty today.
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