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

In my early twenties, I stumbled on The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. While it’s not technically a history book, it is as much a history of power and powerful people as it is a practical guide.

Few books are as readable and engaging—it is brilliantly structured and designed. But I didn’t finish it. Or, rather, I couldn’t finish it. It made me anxious and paranoid, unable to approach day-to-day life without assuming everyone was out to manipulate me or take advantage.

Around the same time, I also discovered The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander. I found its philosophical approach far more conducive to joy and happiness, but it has been criticized as a lot of positive-thinking nonsense. Regardless, it imparts one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned. It succinctly expresses how we can easily slip into downward spirals: “For the same reason that red Dodge pickups seem to proliferate on the highways as soon as you buy one and that pregnant women appear out of nowhere approximately eight months before your baby is due. The more attention you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence of it will grow. Attention is like light and air and water. Shine attention on obstacles and problems and they multiply lavishly.”

Ever since I figured that out, when I’m feeling bad, I reflect on where I’m focusing my attention, and why.

Jane

P.S. Most popular blog post this month: Successfully Pitch Op-Eds and Timely Cultural Pieces​

​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.)

Avoid pointless scrolling through social media

Picture this: it’s 9 or 10 p.m., and you’re on the couch killing some time, waiting for your partner to join you to watch the latest episode of something. You tap on a social media app for no good reason and start scrolling, and inevitably see posts that upset you and partly ruin your evening.

You can end this self-sabotage by installing the OneSec app that makes you pause before engaging in mindless social media scrolling.

Did someone clone your site?

Throughout the years, I’ve discovered people who have duplicated the content at my site on a massive scale—essentially recreating my blog archive. It’s not a pleasant discovery and often I don’t figure it out until a reader contacts me. Recently, I learned about Did Someone Clone Me?, which will alert you when this happens. People who actively blog may want to sign up at no cost. It does require being tech-savvy enough to insert a code snippet on your website.

My favorite YouTube channel—for my cat

An outstanding illustrated book to help you say goodbye to loved ones

It’s hard not to buy every single book that Wendy McNaughton illustrates. How to Say Goodbye is no exception.

NEXT ONLINE CLASS

Sept. 15: Handling Multiple Storylines with Tiffany Yates Martin

Multiple storylines and timelines can bring wonderful added depth, dimension, and texture to a story, broadening its scope and making the whole more effective and resonant than it might have otherwise been. But the challenges are legion, such as: How do you decide whether more than one storyline will enhance or complicate the overall story? How do you structure and weave the various storylines together? This workshop will address all these questions and more, and feature published novels to demonstrate techniques you can use.

Your turn: favorite books to gift

In the last issue, I asked you to share a specific book you like to gift people. Here’s a selection what you said.

• One of the books I recommend most is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. He says resistance keeps us from being our best and doing our best in artistic pursuits, in all things. —Sunjack
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I love giving children’s books as gifts in general, but this is one that suits all occasions and everyone should have on their shelves. ❤️🌲🌳 —Jennifer Addison
• I like to gift the book The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Most people today could benefit from reading it, especially the section on children. —Antaeus Balevre
• Melvin the Mouth by Katherine Blanc. Based on the true story of Mel Blanc, the voice of over 1000 Looney Tunes characters, it calls out that weird and quirky can turn out to be your best assets. The illustrations are beyond amazing. Fun for all ages! —Debby Putman
• I find myself recommending Susan Tweit’s Walking Nature Home to anyone who is having issues with illness—which is a lot of us. It’s very positive, while remaining clear-eyed. In her 20s, Susan was given a fuzzy diagnosis and an expected additional lifespan of a few years. She’s still with us decades later, still working and writing with zest. —Deborah Robson
• A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies by Anne McCracken and Mary Semel. I have given this book to friends who are suffering the most grievous loss imaginable. The authors, a psychotherapist and literature professor, have both lost children. Together they have assembled the works of notable writers and thinkers such as Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Isabel Allende and others, many of them bereaved parents. —Ellen Kirschman
• I often gift StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath to good friends. The very idea we should develop our strengths rather than work on our weaknesses, while both simple and intuitive, is revolutionary. It includes access to a web-based assessment tool to identify the reader’s top five strengths. Invaluable. —William Ramshaw
• My go-to gift book is Risk Forward by Victoria Labalme. It’s in hardback and paperback, and either version provides beauty as well as genuinely helpful thoughts to guide you through common dilemmas and to encourage you to be creative in how you think about the challenges and decisions you face. —Mary Rosewood
• Without question it’s A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen. One year I gave it to all my female friends for Christmas! As the name implies it’s a short read—but for a 10-minute book it’s pretty extraordinary in its depth. —Penny Sansevieri
• I received far more suggestions than I can include here, so please go and browse the full list!

Next question: Smartwatch bands: Is there a brand and/or retailer you prefer aside from Apple? Bonus points if the bands are made with small wrists in mind! Hit reply to this message, or head on over to Discord to share.

Free resources featuring Jane

• Podcast: There Are No Girls on the Internet (my thoughts on AI)
• Podcast/video: Writer’s Digest conversation (my AI story, again)
• Podcast: Velocity of Content (yep, about AI)
• Video: When You’re Too Nice (and Get Trampled By Clients)​
• Sunday Business Sermon (Sept. 17): Negotiating Book Contracts​

Upcoming online classes

• ​Handling Multiple Storylines with Tiffany Yates Martin, Sept. 15
• ​Writer Mind, Marketing Mind with Allison K Williams, Sept. 21
• ​Author Website Mistakes with Jane Friedman, Sept. 22
• ​The Psychology of Memoir (Part 2: Revise) with Lisa Ellison, Sept. 27
• ​Effective Book Marketing for Any Author with Jane Friedman, Sept. 28
• ​Start on Substack with Power & Purpose with Dan Blank, Oct. 4
• ​Master the Flashback with Tiffany Yates Martin, Oct. 18
• ​Social Media Bliss with Jane Friedman, Oct. 19
• ​Build Your Developmental Editing Business with Allison K Williams, starts Nov. 1

Meet Jane at an event

• ​​Writing in the Ozarks (Eureka Springs, Ark.), Oct. 12–14, 2023
• ​Craft & Publishing Voyage (cruise ship), April 28–May 4, 2024

“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 LinkedIn | Instagram | Discord​ P.S. I have a paid newsletter, too.

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