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A note from Jane

At the top of my Twitter profile, I pinned this quote from Jeff J. Lin:

“Much is made of genius & talent, but the foundation of any life where you get to realize your ambitions is simply being able to out-last everyone through the tough, crappy times—whether thru sheer determination, a strong support network or simply a lack of options.”

Someone noticed this quote and asked me, of those three things, what am I most thankful for or encouraged by?

Lack of options.

• I grew up in a place that lacked options and resources.
• I had only one internship offer in college, but I only needed one to get my career started.
• I didn’t have the money for full-time graduate school, so I signed up for a program that allowed me to take classes for free under specific conditions while I worked in publishing part-time.
• There was only one commercial publishing company in my city, and very few in the Midwest. So I stayed put even when I was unhappy.
• When I was about to get fired from a mid-career publishing position, I quit without having another job lined up. What started as temporary freelancing became permanent entrepreneurship.

Whether it’s “lack of options” or “bloom where you’re planted,” I’m grateful I’ve been able to make the most of what I have.

I’ll close with another quote, from L.A. Paul on life choices (found in the James Clear newsletter):

“As we live our lives, we find ourselves confronted with a brute fact about how little we can know about our futures—just when it is most important to us that we do know. For many big life choices, we only learn what we need to know after we’ve done it, and we change ourselves in the process of doing it. I’ll argue that, in the end, the best response to this situation is to choose based on whether we want to discover who we’ll become.”

Jane

P.S. Most popular blog post this month: How My Newsletter Helped Me Land an Agent and Big Five Book Deal​

​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.)

Facilitate secure downloads at a Wordpress site

For years now, I’ve depended on the freemium Wordpress plugin, Download Monitor, to facilitate the download of video, audio, PDF, and other types of files from my website. If you’re willing to pay for the premium version, you can integrate your preferred cloud storage into the process—Google Drive or AWS. (Here is the free version to start.)

For Krogering: the Kroger app

I am not typically a fan of any retailer-focused app, of any kind, for any reason. Then I learned I could store my payment method in the Kroger app for in-person checkout. The app also keeps a log of past purchases, allows ordering ahead, offers digital coupons, and more. Maybe I am behind the curve on this (e.g., I never got into Instacart), but Kroger has made me quite unwilling to grocery shop at any other chain, at least for everyday staples.

Explore college syllabi on any topic

Trying to uncover the critical texts or authors on any subject? Check out Open Syllabus, where professors freely share their syllabi. You can search by field as well as author, title, and more. If you're the kind of author whose work might be assigned in a college class, you might want to try a little vanity search! The most frequently assigned book? The Elements of Style by Strunk & White.

Just for fun: Hood Maps

If you live in a city of size like I do (Cincinnati), Hood Maps is an entertaining way to view neighborhoods, plus it will give you the lay of the land if you’re traveling away from home. Basic color coding identifies where you’ll find office towers, parks, the rich, the hip, tourists, universities, or “normies.” Then, crowdsourced labels get layered on top. In Cincinnati, that includes “Old Crusty Bridge” for the Brent Spence Bridge and “Crazy Man’s Grocery Store” for Jungle Jim’s.

NEXT ONLINE CLASS

July 26: The Author Platform Accelerator with Catherine Baab-Muguira

It’s possible to hack together a platform in a relatively short amount of time, and you don’t have to be a social butterfly or supermodel to do it. Take it from someone who’s been there: Author Catherine Baab-Muguira found her dream agent and received her dream book deal with a Big Five house without ever racking up zillions of social-media followers, and in this frank, friendly, and informative webinar, she will teach you how to do the same thing.

Your turn: favorite (non-digital) games

In the last issue, I asked you to share your favorite games—inside or outside (non-digital/non-video). Here’s a selection of what you said.

• I love the game Relative Insanity, created by comedian Jeff Foxworthy. It’s a card game. Really fun to play with friends and family. Gets everyone laughing and puts them in a great mood. —ZG
• I love Codenames. It’s fun to play in person with the board game but also works very well online via Zoom. My family played online throughout the pandemic. It was a fun way to connect with each other. —Christine Cook Mania
• My partner and I take Five Crowns with us on trips. It’s a fun and easy card game, compact, can even be played on a train or plane tabletop, and you really don’t know who will win “till the kings go wild.” —Christy Obalek
• One of the games we truly enjoy at large family gatherings is Fishbowl. It always results in hilarity and challenges our creativity and ingenuity. —Natasha Yim
• My favorite board game is Conspiracy Theory by Neddy Games. It isn’t political, just out of this world, easy fun. If you miss The X-Files, this game is for you! —Sharon Wagner
• Ransom Notes. Remember those Magnetic Poetry tiles? You use them to create responses to situations selected at random, such as “draft an instruction manual for toilet paper.” Creative and hilarious. —Sandy
• If you like fast and furious slapping games, then you will definitely LOVE Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Basically it’s like slap jacks and nertz, which are also really fun to play! —Katelynn
• While there are a great many I enjoy, I have to say my favourite is Terraforming Mars. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a space nerd (MSc in Astronomy) or just like this particular style of game. We love it so much we play it nearly every gaming session, even though it can take several hours. —Heidi Kneale
• ​Browse all recommendations. (Thank you!)

Next question: Do you buy frames or eyeglasses online? Who do you use? Hit reply to this message, or head on over to Discord to share.

Free resources featuring Jane

• Video: Spotting Scams & Bad Deals with Jane Friedman
• Business Clinic (Aug. 22): When You’re Too Nice (and Get Trampled By Clients)​

Upcoming online classes

• ​The Author Platform Accelerator with Catherine Baab-Muguira, July 26
• ​Writing Irresistible Picture Books with Mary Kole, Aug. 9
• ​Will Your Nonfiction Book Sell? with Jane Friedman, Aug. 17
• ​The Psychology of Memoir (three-part series) with Lisa Cooper Ellison, Aug. 23 | Sep. 27 | Oct. 26

Meet Jane at an event

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

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