About 30,000 people receive my newsletter. I send it every two weeks. Subscribe and get a free list of my favorite digital tools.
[Electric Speed] Don’t look at the peak | Chocolate!
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 Process, not outcome. I am forever looking for new ways to express this sentiment, to help creative people retain their focus and reduce anxiety. If you’re only interested in the outcome and hate the process, that’s quite problematic for a writing career. I recently stumbled on an interview that expresses this beautifully, with the late Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Here’s what he said. “When you go mountain climbing, the first thing you’re told is not to look at the peak but to keep your eyes on the ground as you climb. You just keep climbing patiently one step at a time. If you keep looking at the top, you’ll get frustrated. I think writing is similar. You need to get used to the task of writing. You must make an effort to learn to regard it not as something painful but as routine. But most people tend to give up halfway.” Watch the full interview clip. Jane ISSUE SPONSORJane’s Electric Speed ListHere are some of the latest things I’ve discovered. (I am not paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.) Do you have an LLC? There’s a new federal filing requirement known as BOI.This was not on my radar at all until a reader asked me about it. In January 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted by Congress, which requires business entities to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network within the US Department of the Treasury. The CTA went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. If you have an LLC, you have one year to file your BOI. There is no fee to file, but you may be fined if you don’t file on time. If you’re thinking, “Surely this does not apply to my little LLC,” I’m here to tell you that it likely does. Here is an article from The National Law Review that explains the details. Consult with your CPA or business attorney, if needed; your Secretary of State may also offer guidance, as mine (Ohio) does. H/t reader Wendy Sunshine. A printable single-page calendarThis is the sort of thing my husband loves. Go get it. You might not realize you want one until you see it! The best show notes I’ve ever seen for a podcastLast year I read Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia, then signed up for his newsletter to keep tabs on new health studies, since he’s fairly obsessed with reporting on them. He’s also a professional podcaster using a freemium model, but since I am not a podcast listener, I was never tempted to subscribe. However, I was persuaded recently when I realized he has extensive show notes for each podcast—meaning I don’t have to listen to the show at all. I can read the takeaways. It’s glorious. Here’s an example from an episode that is currently free. With the growth of generative AI, I have to wonder how long it will be before these show notes can be generated with little or no labor involved. Publishers Marketplace now features AI-powered search to help you find an agentPublishers Marketplace has long been my suggested (paid) resource for researching literary agents. However, it does require combing through the deals database and narrowing your search to specific categories or genres, or keyword phrases, then reading through dozens (or hundreds) of deals. Recently, the site debuted an AI-powered search called “Matcher.” Now you can type in a natural language description of your work to find the right agent based on deals logged in the system. You can try Deal Matcher, which brings up potentially relevant deals (with the agent/editor associated with them) or Agent Matcher, which produces a list of most likely agents for you. As always, keep in mind AI tools can be horribly wrong, plus the feature remains in beta. Still, it could surface results you might otherwise miss, or cut down on your research time. NEXT ONLINE CLASSFeb. 6: Pitch, Publish and Get Paid with Allison K Williams One of the surest ways to sell your book and build your writing career is by sharing your “big idea” with the world. Publishing a strong, short piece in a major media outlet can get attention from agents and publishers as well as building your own audience—witness how many New York Times Modern Love columns have become books. This class will teach you how to sell essays and op-eds—both already written and “on spec”—and the key components of a strong editorial pitch. You’ll also learn how to write a reader-centered blog in an hour (really!), tailor your essay to your ideal publishing venue, and construct a powerful, provoking op-ed.
Your turn: chocolate for special occasions 🍫In the last issue, I asked you to share your favorite purveyor of chocolate for special occasions. The response was enthusiastic; here is a small selection of what you said.
Browse the full and glorious list. Next question: Tell me about a documentary you’ve seen and appreciated that is under-recognized or not well-known. Hit reply to this message, or head over to Discord to share. Free resources featuring Jane
Upcoming online classes
Meet Jane at an event
“At electric speed, all forms are pushed to the limits of their potential.” 109 Dorsey St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 |
Electric Speed: resources for creative people
by Jane Friedman
About 30,000 people receive my newsletter. I send it every two weeks. Subscribe and get a free list of my favorite digital tools.
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 The best quality books are not the ones that typically sell. The most talented writers are not always well known. The worthiest information rarely spreads the farthest. Or: The cream does not necessarily rise to the top. This is a message I repeat across my classes and writings, not to discourage people, but to reassure. It applies to...
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 One of the best literature classes I ever took was called Shadow Literature. It focused on texts that subtly expressed the Jungian theory of the shadow self, or the parts of ourselves that we find unacceptable (whether emotions, thoughts, or personality traits). While the shadow self isn’t inherently negative, it’s what we repress or...
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 I’ve had a trick shoulder for a decade now, the result of a pinched nerve that was never treated properly. Due to a mixture of laziness and hopelessness, I gave up on achieving normalcy. Recently, someone questioned why I wasn’t seeing a therapist for it. So I began reflecting on why I’d given up on healing. When it comes to a few...