Linkee-poo ain't afraid of ever losing faith in you

Shimmer asks how much to (authors) write in a day. That's the result of "butt in chair" time. Really wish my life would settle down so I can do that again. Or, as I filled out a form in class last night to allow the company sponsoring the class to call me, they asked, "What's the best time to call?" I circled evening because 2016 wasn't an option. And I wrote under it, "Good luck getting a hold of me." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Writer Beware with what hell hath Amazon wrought. Or how Amazon ate the publishing industry. (Grokked from Absolute Write, I think)

David Ogilvy (seminal figure in American Advertising) with 10 tips on writing. Given my many years in-house, and dealing deeply within organizations (as phantom employee, ie. they weren't supposed to know I didn't work for the company), yes, this. Especially #4. Alas, in this day of email and IM, #10 is dead. Although, as I had to explain to a vendor, "I write an email because I know you have other clients, and it's not a 'do it now' kind of thing. I try to ask far enough in advance to give you time. When I'm on the phone with you, it means it's an emergency. Drop everything else and get what I'm asking for done." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

The hidden value of editors. Or, why that self-published book is a big question mark. Basically it all boils down to the stories we tell ourselves. It's the popular myth that the writer types up all the pages, in order natch', and then sends them off, still steaming, to their publisher which promptly prints them. And Brittany Spears just up and started singing at 16 and landed a big record contract. Works well in the movies, not so much in real life. (Grokked from someone, sorry, lost the link)

For you young writers out there, this is what happens when you tempt to curry favor with the Gods of Writing. Or, never as John Scalzi to retweet your post unless you really, really, mean it. I'm just kidding, John's a great guy. To get a critique at VP, he only made me eat a habanero while he poked holes in my plot. See, nice, nice guy.

"As legislative leaders secretly developed new election maps last year to strengthen their majority, Republican lawmakers were told to ignore public comments and instead focus on what was said in private strategy sessions, according to a GOP memo that became public Monday. Other… documents also show almost all Republican lawmakers signed legal agreements promising not to discuss the new maps while they were being developed." And that, friends, is a subversion of democracy. "But you say we must love Democracy, but you say we can't be democratic, but you… Karl Rove, coordinate, coordinate!" (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Vince is very smart regarding the teapot tempest that is the "Obama's making us buy birth control" controversy. It's employment law. Many states already require it. The Church has already litigated it, and lost. Even up to the Supreme Court (who refused to hear the appeal).

"Republicans are beginning to grasp their own inadvertent complicity in Obama’s comeback. Some, of course, believe that their failure lies in having compromised too much." There's the "not clapping hard enough" crowd. "The payroll tax fight offers the first test of whether or not the new breeze of tactical realism will prevail, or be overwhelmed by countercurrents of militant obstruction." I'm laying my bets on the later. (Grokked from Jay Lake)