A necessary part of my DIY speech therapy is listening to my recordings to evaluate the successes and needs-work of my smooth jazz DJ voice. When I’m reading something that causes me to have outbursts, those interjections revert to my default offended-crow squawk. Between the switch-flipping and the commentary, it’s hard to keep a straight […]
KDP publishers can now one-click “AI” “translate” their books into other languages. (In beta for now.) Do you know how many shitty “translations” have already been done on the cheap by “translators” running text through Google Translate? Hey, at least now when readers mercilessly ridicule you because the “translation” of your book is nonsense, you
A book was recommended to me. The premise was fun, but the author exhibited a writing tic that had me screaming and casting the book aside by Chapter 4. The prose was littered with somehow, somewhere, sometime, someone, and something. Someone tidied my study while I was at the museum. Is it really a mystery
In response to a challenge to engage with readers as a reader, this is a chronicle of my recent reading, which should swiftly demonstrate why talking about what I’m reading won’t actually make me any friends. I am constitutionally incapable of lying about how much I love everything I read. Some of the things I
I was searching my mother’s bookshelves for a particular ancient paperback. Her books are mostly romance or romance-adjacent, so the cover reveals led to reminiscing about the eras of fabulous painted covers and boring floral covers that didn’t even give us fabulous painted stepbacks. One anomaly, however, prompted a very different reaction. Obviously, there was
TL; DR: Amazon just expanded the pipeline dumping bot-voice audiobooks into Audible. Let me start by saying I have ethical objections to bot-voice audiobooks. A) Labor solidarity with actors, musicians, visual artists, and everybody else ripped off and told they’re obsolete because now Johnny NoSkills can push a button and “do” their job. B) Where
I’ve been using IRS Direct File for a number of years, after “free file” from other sources decided to exclude 1099s. This year, IRS Direct File has likewise stopped accepting the stack of 1099-MISCs* that I and all freelancers/gig workers have. If you find it worthwhile to pay to file your taxes, carry on as
As of today (February 14, 2025), a whole bunch of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books are $1.99 at multiple retailers. This is a great opportunity to fill in gaps in your collection. If you’re new to Sir Terry, Discworld is a massive series that does not have to be read in order. (In fact, I disliked
Last post, I floated the idea of writing Grave Oversight 2 as an antidote to my creative malaise. The following day, I dusted off John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story, my favorite dense, demanding craft book. I came to it after perhaps 18 years of being a published writer and absolutely do not recommend it
Most of my income for 2024 came from ghostwriting memoirs for the niche-famous—people significant enough to have a Wikipedia page, but unless you’re into the thing they do, you’ve never heard of them. These books have relatively few but devoted buyers, subjects humble enough to care that those readers aren’t disappointed by a half-assed book,