The grinding dogma of fifth-grade English teachers everywhere has done incalculable damage to the sensitive psyches of countless school children. One of the most onerous dicta of Miss Vera Strict was this: “Never use I when you write.” The calcified trauma of this lives on in otherwise normal adults.
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Two Views of Ourselves
In a recent column, David Brooks recommends a wonderfully healthy form of personality disorder. While he begins a bit humorously, Brooks works his way to a serious conclusion when he suggests that we embrace two very different views of ourselves at the same time.
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Steve Jobs: Genius or Jerk?
Jeff Crosby, our associate publisher for sales and marketing here at IVP, said Walter Isaacson’s book [Steve Jobs](http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343677623&sr=1-1&keywords=steve+jobs) was simultaneously among the most inspiring and disturbing books he’d ever read. The uncompromising despot of perfectionism at Apple regularly screamed obscenities at coworkers and rolled out one megahit product after another, making Apple one of the most successful companies of our era.
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Fifteen Minutes a Day
When I first entered publishing, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the folks at InterVarsity Press had a slogan for a reading program they were promoting: “Fifteen Minutes a Day Is Fifteen Books a Year.” The idea was that if you could give on average fifteen minutes a day to reading, over the course of a year you could read fifteen books.
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The Sparrow Again
I can’t remember the last time I read a book a second time–except perhaps for Goodnight Moon.
But when our neighborhood book club decided to discuss The Sparrow, I was delighted to read it again.
They Just Love My Title
“I asked five friends, and they all told me they loved the title I’m thinking of for the book.”
“I randomly surveyed a dozen people at the mall and most liked my title best.”
“I’ve been speaking on this topic lately, and when I mention my working title for the book, I get a very positive response.”
Over the years we at InterVarsity Press have heard many variations on this theme from authors. They mention their working title to friends, relatives, coworkers or people in the intended audience, and the reaction they get leads them to believe they have a winner. And they might. But why should a publisher be cautious about such a conclusion? Why should an author also be cautious about such a conclusion?
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First-Book Syndrome
The other day one of our editors, Dave Zimmerman, came to me with a proposal from a prospective author for a book. It was on prayer, mission, evangelism, the history of global Christianity, the future of Christianity, the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God and justice.
I looked at Dave and said, “First-Book Syndrome.” He grimly nodded in agreement.
What is First-Book Syndrome?
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Don’t Tick Off Your Copyeditor
At the end of last month Postmedia Network, Canada’s largest newspaper publisher, announced layoffs that targeted copyeditors. The next day, Canada’s National Post published a crossword puzzle that was completely filled in.
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Editing an E-book
I know how to edit print. Been doing it all my life. But what are the differences when editing digital content? That’s something I’ve been giving thought to.
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The Stats Solution
The problem with publishing? Clearly, not enough statistics.
Baseball has wins and losses, RBIs, home runs, strikeouts, saves and ERAs. But those are so twentieth century!
Today what matters is OBP (on base percentage), SLG (slugging average), TBs (total bases), DICE (defense-independent component ERA) and RF (range factor).
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