Electric Speed is a biweekly newsletter that shares resources for creative people (since 2009!), brought to you by Jane Friedman. Sign up here.​

A note from Jane

All spring I’ve been seeing articles, reviews, and interviews about a new health book, Outlive by Peter Attia ... and trying to dismiss them.

The last time I bought a health book was 10 years ago, when I was suffering from chronic back pain and learned about The Egoscue Method. I read Pain Free by Pete Egoscue but was overwhelmed by how to apply the advice to my situation. Ultimately, I ended up seeing a physical therapist who uses Egoscue’s methods, and it worked wonderfully. The experience convinced me that finding an expert to assess the root of your problem—one who has multiple tools for attacking that problem—are worth their weight in gold.

Back to Outlive by Attia: I first heard about this book in a politics newsletter that went way off-message and reviewed it. The ideas piqued my interest, but I did not see myself as the target audience. The author is clearly a wealthy guy with a podcast appealing to the tech bro/life optimization crowd. Meanwhile, I believe health is far too individual and subjective for a national bestseller to teach me anything that I don’t already know. (Yes, I can be like that.)

But I kept seeing the book everywhere (kudos to the publicist), and eventually I realized my perception of the book was colored by those early reviewers whom I didn’t identify with. So I slowed down and took a closer look. The book wasn’t what I initially thought. (Well, maybe it is, sort of.) I bought it and have finished reading it. And I’m glad I did.

So here’s the kicker: I just read a New York Times Q&A with the author. The interviewer is surprisingly antagonistic, while Attia responds with grace. The comments are full of people dismissing him because of his wealth and even making assertions about his ideas that are incorrect. But it’s hard to fault any of them—they are essentially like me. We are not the sort of people who listen, or want to listen, to men like Peter Attia. In this case, it’s a shame, because his message is reasonable and deserves to be heard.

Fortunately, you don’t need to buy his book to learn the most important message. Here’s a good (not combative) interview with him.​

Jane

​ P.S. Most popular blog post this month: Are You Sure You Don’t Have an Author Platform?​

​Bob Eckstein​

ISSUE SPONSOR

Jane’s Electric Speed List

Here are some of the latest things I’ve discovered. (I am not paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.)

Audiopen: turn voice notes into summarized text

​Audiopen is a free-to-start app that converts your voice notes into concisely summarized text using AI. No more filler words, repeated sentences, and unnecessary umms.

The free plan allows for three-minute notes; you have to pay for longer notes. Maximum length if you pay: 15 minutes. The paid plan also allows you to upload your own audio files.

The tool is minimalist and easy to grasp from the start. It doesn’t keep your data for longer than needed to provide the service. Your information will not be used to train AI models.

Stress-reducing Google Calendar settings!

​Yes, please. My favorite: Fade events that happened in the past.

How the pros pitch podcasts

A “podcast matchmaker” offers concrete, helpful tips if you want to pitch yourself as a guest on a podcast—whether you have a new book, an old book, or no book at all. This is from Leigh Stein’s Attention Economy newsletter, which writers may want to subscribe to. (Look for the subscribe link in the upper lefthand corner.)

Super rare health-related suggestion from me

Since I was a teenager, I have dealt with recurrent UTIs. Recently, I stumbled on Uqora, a set of supplements to help prevent UTIs. I wish I had found this ages ago—it has been a game changer. I recommend trying it if you consistently deal with this issue and wish you didn’t have to keep calling your doctor about it. (Here’s the only other health issue I’ve written about, on chronic back pain.)

NEXT ONLINE CLASS

June 14: Bring Your Story World to Life with Julie Artz

Whether you’re writing sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, romance, or mystery, taking an iterative approach to world-building will make your story come alive on the page for readers. Fantasy author and book coach Julie Artz will teach you the concepts, research, exercises, and tools for building a world that draws readers in. Learn to avoid common pitfalls, tropes, and stereotypes; explore ways to take a universal story theme and express it in a fresh way; and build rich worlds big enough to support a series.

Your turn: T-shirts

In the last issue, I asked you to share your favorite everyday T-shirt vendors. Here’s what you said.

• Goodfellow & Co. by a mile! Don’t know why men’s T-shirts are so much better (and cheaper!) than women’s, but a 4-pack of these soft, substantial (not embarrassingly sheer like so many women’s shirts) white V-neck shirts is $15 at Target, and they’re my go-to shirts year-round. Highly recommended! —Jo Anne Burgh
• Talbot’s (any color or print): nice meaty cotton, washes and dries well, keeps its shape. Isaac Mizrahi’s on QVC. Also hefty (but not hot) feel, no show-through. Last forever. —Maria Murad
• My favorite place for T-shirts is my own shop, Next Paragraph, which sells bookish-themed T-shirts for readers and writers. You can find plenty of soft, cozy shirts with funny phrases for the literary-minded! —Lauren
• TeePublic has great graphic T-shirts and you can search based on your obsessions (art, poetry, tea for me). Reasonably priced and good quality. —Linda Simone

Next question: Do you have a cheapskate habit you are proud of? (While not necessarily proud, I will admit to hanging on to a single tissue for two days.) Hit reply to this message, or head on over to Discord to share.

Free resources featuring Jane

• June 18: Making Tough Decisions with Nell Wulfhart
• ​Heart of the Story podcast (Episode 119): The Best Writing Advice with Book Biz Expert Jane Friedman
• ​Draft2Digital show (June 1): Hot Industry Trends and What They Mean to You

Upcoming online classes

• ​Bring Your Story World to Life with Julie Artz, June 14
• ​Create an Author Website with Jane Friedman, June 22
• ​Writing Middle Grade Fiction Today with Mary Kole, June 28
• ​Write Powerfully in Deep Third POV with Tiffany Yates Martin, July 12
• ​Establish (or Improve) Your Email Newsletter with Jane Friedman, July 13

Meet Jane at an event

• ​An Evening with Jane Friedman (Cincinnati), June 26
• ​Midwest Writers Workshop (Muncie, Ind.), July 19–22
• ​Into the Springs Writers Workshop (Ohio), Aug. 4–6
• ​Writing in the Ozarks (Eureka Springs, Ark.), Oct. 12–14

“At electric speed, all forms are pushed to the limits of their potential.”
—Marshall McLuhan

Created by Jane Friedman I report on the publishing industry and help authors understand the business of writing. Connect on Twitter | Instagram | Discord​ P.S. I have a paid newsletter, too.

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