@janiceharayda
Critic, novelist, award-winning journalist. Former book editor of the Plain Dealer and book columnist for Glamour. Words in NYT, WSJ, and other major media.
Trade Secrets of Sensitivity Readers: More editors and literary agents are using them to vet manuscripts before publication, but some publishers say they go too far and are pushing back for reasons I explain at @medium.
A new book from a highly respected press blows the lid off how sensitivity readers work and where they can go wrong:
#Writing #Medium #Books #Diversity #Trends #Journalism #Publishing
@medium keeps showing me very old stories (e.g., five years old by people no longer active on #Medium) despite a new "presentations" system. The incredibly disappointing subtext of this is: What members are currently doing isn't good enough, so we had to reach far back to find something worthy.
My two latest stories also had awful distribution although timely, personal, etc. Just can't fathom why Medium keeps pushing stories that make it look old and tired instead fresh and up-to-date.
Are The Media Biased Against Conservative Books? You might think so from the vastly different coverage of two new memoirs: "A Different Kind of Power" by Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's progressive former prime minister, and "I Am Giorgia" by Giorgia Meloni, Italy's conservative current prime minister.
What's going on here? At @medium, I weigh in after having edited the book section of a large newspaper in a "swing" state.
I Learned How Not To Do a Podcast From A Leader In My Field. I write about books and journalism and thought the New York Times books podcast would be a great model, but it wasn't. At @medium I write about mistakes I saw the host making and how others might avoid them:
#Tech #Technology #Medium #Books #Journalism #Culture
https://medium.com/lit-life/i-learned-how-not-to-do-a-podcast-from-a-leader-in-the-field-87ac9d96e596?sk=5493f37b08cf341109227e9e9ac61423
Today! The movie version of the global bestseller "The Thursday Murder Club" starts streaming on Netflix in a Steven Spielberg production with an all-star cast that includes Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley.
I wrote about "The Thursday Murder Club" at @medium when the novel first appeared:
#books #movies #Medium #ThursdayMurderClub
What Nobody Tells You About Rejections By Book Editors: The reasons are often more complex and less rational than writer think.
At @medium, I write about a few of the misunderstood reasons for rejections of books and how to respond to them, based on my experience as a journalist who's known a lot of editors:
How Writing Helped a Couple Stay Alive After a Whale Sank Their Boat: Keeping a journal made a difference when Maurice and Maralyn Bailey spent 118 days on a raft in the Pacific as gales and sharks threatened.
Sophie Elmhirst's "A Marriage at Sea," the true story of their ordeal, has become a smash hit and a bestseller on two continents. At @medium I explain what you can learn from it:
#Books #Writing #Medium #Culture #Disaster #Journaling #Bestsellers
Every week I write a Letter from a Reader at Jansplaining on Substack about literary news and views I don't cross-post at @medium. But I've reposted one at #Medium just to give you an idea of what it's like.
This Letter from a Reader ranges over topics including why fictional characters wear capes, the bestselling author Rick Atkinson, and the new memoir by the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni:
A wonderful comment at @medium from @drrayhealey about my new story there on seven parenting strategies of Bill Gates' mother:
"I worked at Forbes magazine for 17 years and read a lot about Gates, but your story was a revelation."
Writers live for comments like that!
#Tech #Medium #Books #Technology #Parenting #Microsoft #BillGates
How Bill Gates' Mother Helped Her Geeky Son Thrive: This remarkable woman often steals the show in "Source Code," the first volume of the memoirs of the Microsoft co-founder.
At @medium, I describe 7 of the strategies Mary Maxwell Gates used while raising young Bill. Hint: He'd never have been allowed to use his own software at their dinner table.
#Books #Medium #Tech #Technology #Microsoft #BillGates #Parenting
Who's To Blame For Fake Memoirs? An editor says readers are at fault because they keep buying those books.
As a critic who's seen too many of them, I beg to differ. At @medium, I argue that publishers should do more to protect readers from scandals.
#Books #Medium #Writing #Memoir #Culture #Scandals #TheSaltPath
Why I Won't Go in the Water Even Though I Live on a Beautiful Beach:
I live in a "flesh-eating bacteria" hot spot, the experts are right: It's a horrendous disease, formally known as "necrotizing fasciitis." Summer is the peak season for it, and @medium, I write about horror stories I've heard and who's at risk.
A lesson learned at @medium: I almost didn't review Sarah Wynn-Williams' new hatchet job on Facebook, "Careless People," because Cory Doctorow had written about the book at #Medium.
I took a different approach (critic v. scifi & tech guy), and the review has become one of my most e-mailed ever with a high member-read ratio (84%) and more claps than Doctorow's story (3k v. 2.4k and counting). So you never know.
What Does "Good" Fact-Checking of a Story Involve? A former fact-checker for the New Yorker spells it out in his new novel, "The Fact Checker."
At @medium, I weigh what the author says against my experiences with having my own stories fact-checked:
What Nobody Tells You About Facebook: Meta unsuccessfully tried to kill a new book about the company but did get a legal gag order that bars its author from promoting it.
Luckily, critics are free to speak out, and I do at @medium in a review of "Careless People" (which also quotes from a Wired review I agree with).
#Books #Tech #Medium #Facebook #SocialMedia #Meta #Technology #News
What Happened When a Liberal-Media Analyst Came to My Conservative Town: I didn't expect the response that a talk by MSNBC's Barbara McQuade had here.
At @medium I write about free speech and how TV commentator showed that its importance transcends party lines:
Would You Cross A Picket Line To Promote Your Book? A new deal between Starbucks and Oprah Winfrey's podcast creates a terrible moral dilemma for writers: whether to honor strikers or give up priceless media exposure.
At @medium, I explain how the Starbucks/Oprah deal could hurt writers, especially if it spreads to other podcasts or TV book clubs.
How A $40 Million Deal For a Bestselling Author Hurts All Writers: Taylor Jenkins Reid's big payday shows that publishing has become a winner-take-all game.
At @medium, I use a recent blockbuster book advance to argue that sky-high sums discourage authors from trying to improve their writing:
#Books #Medium #Writing #Money #Fiction #Women
https://medium.com/lit-life/how-a-40-million-deal-for-a-1-bestselling-author-hurts-all-writers-ab5b6681ceba?sk=2cb9ffd5e7d0e4e918c53fcd4a28bd66
The Secret Language of Book Critics: 25 Words or Phrases You Keep Seeing in Reviews, Demystified
At @medium, I decode terms popular with reviewers (including current favorites like "propulsive" for thrillers), based on my years of editing the book section of a large newspaper.
#books #Medium #culture #journalism #thishappenedtome
A Historic Victory for India and Its Writers: Although little known beyond India, Banu Mushtaq deserved the International Booker Prize she has just won.
As a former judge for a major U.S. literary award, I'm wary of over-the-top praise for books. But I found Mustaq's truly worthy of its acclaim, for reasons I explain @medium.
#books #Medium #India #literature #culture #feminism #news #writing #news