← Feed

Posts

• Post #4336199

  @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange Precisely. A good friend who is also a world-class scholar got 10K for a book that she spent 10 years writing. On one hand, there is not a huge audience for academic books. On the other hand, everyone in the publishing house was earning a living wage.

• Post #4280437

  I did it. It's a blog post. Ideally, publishers—like librarians—should see themselves as guardians of the culture, but, well . . . 🤷 Ready for a legal breakdown of the literary agent model? Me: Why make all those people angry? Also me: But this is what I'm thinking about. Along the way, I’ll offer a personal publishing horror story and advice to writers considering traditional publishing. So here goes. (Warning: I think the rebel in me is coming out.) https://terikanefield.com/tra...

• Post #4143801

  . . . what they called a slush pile. These were the manuscripts that people send in They were of course printed (usually photocopied at a photocopy place) and put into a manuscript box. The author was directed to include SASE (self address return postage) and when I tried to tell one publisher (recycle the paper and send me a letter) the response I got was, "Do you not value your manuscript?" (me: It's a copy!!) Anyway, eager beavers with freshly minted English degrees , . . 3...

• Post #4142983

  Sometimes I don't like stepping into a hornet's nest . . . but what I really want to write about are the problems with the traditional publishing industry and the literary agent model. Me: Why make all those people angry? Also me: But this is what I'm thinking about.

• Post #3450873

  I am going to tell you a story. About 30 years ago, before law school, I was teaching creative writing at the college level and trying hard to get my stuff published. Younguns' probably don't know that in the old days, before the Internet torpedoed traditional publishing, it was difficult to get published. In fact, when I published my first book, a novel for young readers, I had a party, invited everyone, and papered two walls with rejection letters. One friend called it the wailing w...

• Post #3450298

  I updated my "Things I've Been Thinking About" page with the new piece: https://terikanefield.com/things-ive-been-thinking-about/ For now I put it at the top, but later I'll put it where it goes conceptually. Why am I doing it this way? Well, I'll suggest I'm a rebel and I don't like running with a pack. Also I see the problems. If you read my new piece, you will understand whatI see as the problem with blogging and newsletters. My new piece: https://teri...

• Post #3437999

  Hi, Everyone, Last week, I gave two talks in Madison, Wi. Here is what I had to say: https://terikanefield.com/the-power-of-lies/ It was my first time in Wisconsin. The weather was perfect, the lakes were beautiful, and the Verona Public Library is an amazing building.

• Post #3311312

  Hi, Mastodon Peeps: I haven't been blogging much, so instead the usual blog page, I created a new (super cool) page. I went back over my key pieces from the past 7 years, updated stuff, and added new stuff. https://terikanefield.com/things-ive-been-thinking-about/ (Maybe you missed something interesting?) Adding: Making website pages is fun. Who knew?

• Post #2643346

  I understand the 60 day clock, and the power of the purse, and the War Powers Reolutions, and I understand that Trump's war in Iran is illegal. However I think the whole "Congress can end this mess" argument is incorrect and simplistic. To begin with, I don't see any way to "win" at this point. 1/

• Post #1787247

  This week's blog post: All About Appeals. https://terikanefield.com/all-about-appeals/ Includes insights into the work of a criminal defense appellate lawyer. For example, my cycle with cases:

• Post #1787246

  Another detail worth noting: I liked Harris’s use of the word "unserious." She said something like, "In many ways Trump is an unserious person, but the consequequences of a second presidency would be devastating." "Unserious" succeeds the way understatements succeed. An accurate statement "buffoon" would sound like hyperbole and would come across like namecalling. "Unserious" is descriptive and understate...

• Post #1787245

  The "again" in "MAGA" creates a reactionary / regressive manifesto. "We are not going back" is the perfect counter-slogan. While Harris laid out a progressive agenda, "We're not going back" invites traditional conservatives (who are not reactionary) to feel comfortable.

• Post #1787244

  One of my favorite lines so far: "We need a president who shatters the boundaries of what is possible, not a president who shatters the boundaries of what is legal."

• Post #1787243

  One more: My favorite lines from the entire convention came from Michelle Obama (why is that not a surprise?) I did a screenshot because the text won't fit. "The affirmative action of generational wealth" was perfect.

• Post #1787242

  When I taught fiction writing at the college and university level before law school (yes I did that ) I used to tell my classes that characters need to get what they deserve but in unexpected ways. Trump will not only be beaten by a woman, he will be beaten by a woman who is not white.

• Post #1787241

  Greetings from the south part of Chile. One reason for my social media / blogging sabbatical is a visit to Chile for a sibling reunion (husband's sibs) and the Chilean independence festivals. I met a woman wearing traditional dress and I asked if I could get a picture with her. All of her friends wanted to jump into the picture. I asked permission to share and they were delighted. More pictures coming. (Can you spot the gringa?) Yes that's a volcano in the background.

• Post #1787240

  More greetings from southern Chile (Pucon) To quote my brother-in-law, "We have everything here! Big earthquakes. Big fires. Big volcanoes." Signs remind people to run if the volcano erupts. I asked if people really need to be told that. Brother in law: "Yes. Chileans will stop to take pictures." The beach has black lava sand.

• Post #1668593

  Hi techie friends, I have a contact button on my website and suddenly (like the past few months) I have been getting tons of spam. Most of the spammers know my name but not much else. I thought having a contact button instead of an email address would solve that. Have bots or whatever just gotten better? (They all want to help me get rich 😂 Former public (appellate) defender here. Some want to improve my brand, which is even funnier)

• Post #1602439

  Today is an important anniversary. 75 years ago, on April 23, 1951, in Farmville, VA, Barbara Johns led a walkout of her segregated high school to protest the unfair and deplorable conditions of her school. What?! You don’t know who Barbara Johns was? She led her walkout more than 4 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, and before MLK, Jr. embraced nonviolence as the way to equality. After she and her classmates turned the rural town of Farmville upside down . . . 1/

• Post #1066140

  Hi, Mastodon friends, I've been busy. I decided to turn that long blog post into a free book. Once I started working with it, I saw a million ways to improve it and make it more readable, so I think it's better. I had it professionally proofread, copyedited, and fact checked. Any errors are mine because I had to transfer all the marks to the Indesign document. Anyone wanna advance peek? I don't know how to put a PDF here, so it's on the blog page: https://t...

• Post #467117

  @rvaughnmd Are you quoting that because you like it? Or did I make an error? Karen Stenner wants to do a podcast with me. I offered to interview her but she wants us to have a discussion. That may be my next project.

• Post #467116

  @Chip_Unicorn @misseli It's a mainstream literary novel.

• Post #289102

  My sixteen-year-old Chilean nephew was curious about what’s going on with ICE. In Chile, the word “conservative” is associated with capitalism, and the word “liberal” is associated with communism. He observed that Donald Trump says he’s a capitalist but doesn’t act like one. I told him things are different here and labels have different meanings because we have a different history. 1/

• Post #81693

  Are there any librarians here with time to read something I wrote? PM me.

• Post #24407

  😂 I learned that some people are using AI to generate a summary of my book! I therefore decided to compete with AI by writing my own summary, which I am calling Over the Cliff Notes. The Over The Cliff Notes are here: https://terikanefield.com/over-the-cliff-notes/ I also linked to them on the main page: https://terikanefield.com/whyextremismhappens/ But nobody ever reads just the Cliff Notes, right?

• Post #14432

  I remember the time I turned in a manuscript to this editor and mentioned things like "selling securities" and "mercantilism" and "due process." My editor was like "This is for 8th graders." Me: "So?" I suggested adding text boxes with definitions for hard words and everyone was happy.