A note from Jane

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As I wrapped up my undergraduate degree in creative writing in the late 1990s, I decided to apply for a Fulbright. I can’t remember if I was encouraged to apply, or if I sought it out for myself. Either way, I didn’t have the slightest idea what to research or study—but I sure liked the idea of being a Fulbright scholar.

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Rather than ask challenging questions about what I wanted to accomplish, or consult with a mentor, I instead researched which country would be the easiest to get a fellowship for, based on the ratio of applications to awards. That country was Jamaica.

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I had no knowledge of Jamaica or its writers, but I put together a proposal anyway, focused on Caribbean poetry publishing. I tried emailing the one publisher I found in Jamaica, hoping for a letter of support. They never responded.

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There is no twist ending to this story. I predictably did not get selected for a Fulbright, and thank god I didn’t.

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When I pitch or pursue projects these days, I always think about why this project now and why me? I look for a clear and direct line from the work I’m doing or have demonstrated care about, and what I propose to do next. And I look for the story that might persuade others to support my work.

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Jane

P.S. Most popular blog post this month: Author Platform Is Not a Requirement to Sell Your Novel or Children’s Book​

​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.)

Just discovered “swipe type” on the iPhone (!)

I’ve been pecking out texts with a single finger since 2010, and it never occurred to me that technology has progressed beyond this clumsy method.

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This week I discovered you can use your finger to swipe from letter to letter (not lifting your finger), and the iPhone will automagically know what you’re trying to type. Here’s a full explanation. I doubted it until I tried it. It just works.

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You can also buy a disc stylus that works well with this method. H/t Nicole Klungle.

I loved this profile of a script doctor

This New Yorker profile of Scott Frank has so many nuggets of wisdom, I hardly know where to start. The overall gist is that Frank has made his name and his money by rewriting others’ work, despite launching his career with an original, stunning screenplay (Little Man Tate) at the age of nineteen. Only now, late in life, is he focused on his own material.

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He says, “My career is probably best defined more as a failure of nerve than anything else. I used to book myself up three years in advance, out of fear.” Writer Patrick Radden Keefe comments, “Such anxiety can be a great motivator, but it can also amount to a life of safe choices.”

AI tool to auto-rename your screenshots

Do you take countless screenshots during the day? It’s a huge pain to rename and organize them to remain useful later, so if this is a continuing problem for you, consider Keep It Shot. For Mac users only.

Stop the annoying Facebook sounds

Anyone else notice that Facebook now chirps as you scroll down the newsfeed on mobile? It drives me bonkers. Fortunately, you can turn off the sound effects. Click on your profile picture/menu > tap on Settings & Privacy > tap on Settings > tap on Media > toggle off In-App Sound. 😅

NEXT ONLINE CLASS

Feb. 21: Find the Memoir Structure That Works for You with Lisa Cooper Ellison

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Have you started a memoir only to get lost in a sea of stories that never seem to end? Structure, and its sidekick narrative arc, are the two concepts writers grapple with most, and nailing them can help you craft a satisfying book with the best chance for publication. This webinar will introduce you to the most common memoir structures, help you better understand your story, and give you the tools needed to choose a structure that marries your talents with the form that best suits your narrative arc.

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Your turn: documentary recommendations

In the last issue, I asked you to share with me a documentary you’ve seen and appreciated that is under-recognized or not well-known. So many wonderful suggestions came in—here is a selection of what you said.

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• The King of Kong is my all-time favorite movie and happens to be a documentary. It’s about competitive video gamers from the heydays of 1980s arcades. As a character study, it cannot be topped. Hilarious. Highly recommend. —Catherine Baab-Muguira
• Paper Tigers: documentary about a high school in Walla Walla, WA, where the faculty engages with students in meaningful ways by understanding the complex trauma from which many of the students suffer. —Dave Malone
• I just had the absolute pleasure of stumbling across the 2022 British documentary Hello, Bookstore while on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Manchester to New York. Matt Tannenbaum owns a used and selectively curated new bookshop in Lenox, Massachusetts, that falls upon hard times during the pandemic. But Matt is determined to keep his community resource open despite mounting debt. This documentary is a gem and Matt is a literary treasure. —Megan McDonald
• I enjoyed watching Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time, a documentary that is about the 25-year friendship that developed between the person who was filming the documentary and Vonnegut. Lots of footage shot in and around Indianapolis on trips when Vonnegut came back to see the house he grew up in, the high school he went to, etc. —Carol Michel
• The Farthest: Voyager in Space: a documentary about the scientists who experienced the thrill ride of the Voyager spacecraft mission starting in 1977. Even if you’re not a space or science nerd, the emotional testimony of each scientist just might make you cry. I recommend watching it with a loved one now. —meier_link
• A State of Mind: the first British crew allowed to film in North Korea, the movie traces the path of two child gymnasts to participation in the Mass Games, the world’s largest patriotic pageant. It’s the best example I’ve ever seen of “show, don’t tell” because they could not criticize the government or bring up anything political. They don’t have to—we see the empty storefronts outside the bus windows, the joy of the family getting an extra chicken to feed their gymnast daughter, and the propaganda speaker inside their home that can be turned down but not off. I’m still waiting for it to be safe enough, but this is the film that made me want to visit the DPRK. —Allison K Williams
• Jane recommends: Look Away, Look Away, about the fate of the Mississippi state flag, the last one to incorporate the Confederate flag

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​Browse the fascinating list of recommendations.

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Next question: Tell me about your best tip/hack/secret to keep indoor plants thriving. Hit reply to this message, or head over to Discord to share.

Free resources featuring Jane

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• March 17: Reduce Your Writerly Anxiety with Jane Friedman
• Video: 3 Keys to Pitching with literary agent Lucinda Halpern

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Upcoming online classes

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• ​Memoir Structure That Works for You with Lisa Cooper Ellison, Feb. 21
• ​How AI Is Changing the Writing World with Jane Friedman, March 3
• ​Secrets, Twists, and Reveals with Tiffany Yates Martin, March 6
• ​The Pleasures of Personal Essay with Dinty W. Moore, March 13
• ​Getting Past the Gatekeepers with Allison K Williams, March 20
• ​From Anxious to Savvy: How Every Author Can Build a Lifetime Book Marketing Foundation with Jane Friedman, March 23
• ​Literary Citizenship with Jane Friedman, April 11

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Meet Jane at an event

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• ​Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop (Dayton, Ohio), April 4–6, 2024
• ​Write to Publish (Chicago), June 11–14, 2024
• ​Midwest Writers Workshop (Muncie, Ind.), July 11–13, 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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