Writing is Painting with Words

When most people think about artists, what first comes to mind are painters, sculptors, film makers, musicians, or composers. Writers are usually an afterthought. “Yeah. I guess they’re artists, too.” In a way it makes sense. Visual arts and music are immediate. Striking. The object itself engenders a reaction. If you look at a book, though, it might be the cover art that grabs your attention, but the text itself isn’t much to look at – until you start immersing yourself into it. The beauty of writing is that it’s arguably even more of an act of co-creation than other Read More …

Judge a Book by Its Cover

They tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but, hey, the cover is its calling-card. It’s like the first impression you form of another person, and I suppose it’s just about reliable. Which is to say, it’s mostly a pretty good approximation, unless the person’s a consummate actor, or the publisher slapped a cheap stock cover on the book and thereby left a good part of its chances in the marketplace on the table. Sometimes I wonder if giving a new or mid-list author a mediocre cover may not be part of the strategy. After all, Read More …