Comments on The Rejectionist: Author-friends, Meet Hannah Tinti

I've read Miss Tinti's "Animal Cracke...

2009-11-13T04:29:57.248-05:00

I've read Miss Tinti's "Animal Crackers" and liked it so much I ran straight back to the bookshop and bought another copy to give to a short-story reading friend (the only other book I've done that with this year was Tania Hershman's short story collection, The White Road", which is also excellent--just in case anyone would like to look out for it).

I was particularly interested in this quote from Miss Tinti's interview:

"I think the best editors listen closely to their writers and ask them questions that help them focus their work."

Yes--that's it, exactly. Forget all the worrying you see from people who won't let an editor near their work in case they somehow ruin their voice: a good editor helps a writer focus their work. And Miss Tinti's beautiful writing is perfectly focused.

There's something weird going on here! This i...

2009-11-12T23:56:07.457-05:00

There's something weird going on here! This is about the sixth time references to The Princess Bride have spontaneously popped up in my life in the last two days!

Thanks for another interesting interview! I enjoy writing short stories, but I'm no good at marketing them and with so many other things demanding my time I rarely feel justified in devoting a day or two to producing one.

For some reason, I find the idea of editors and wr...

2009-11-12T19:07:20.875-05:00

For some reason, I find the idea of editors and writers becoming good friends after working together vaguely disquieting. Like attending a BBQ with my proctologist.

V. interesting about short stories, would love to hear more about how technology, particularly cellphones, is changing the marketplace.

I'm also curious about writers who publish stuff in less-widely-read markets for no or negligible money. (Not that 7,000 is so 'less-widely-read'. That's a pretty healthy readership if you ask me.) I wonder if they feel that they've really gotten their work out there.

I follow a few well-edited but unpaid online lit journals, and occasionally find real gems, and just ... wonder.

Amber: Nice! I think/hope new ePub models will re...

2009-11-12T16:42:24.523-05:00

Amber: Nice!

I think/hope new ePub models will revive faith and interest in short stories. It takes a huge amount of talent to do well and readers get shortchanged when it is so hard to get them published anywhere but a magazine.

Plus, Flannery O'Connor rocked.

Classic...

2009-11-12T16:29:33.734-05:00

Classic...

No more rhymes, now, I mean it. Anybody want a pe...

2009-11-12T16:20:11.938-05:00

No more rhymes, now, I mean it.

Anybody want a peanut?

I'm like Fezzik in the Princess Bride, Can'...

2009-11-12T14:47:02.831-05:00

I'm like Fezzik in the Princess Bride,
Can't stop rhyming, no matter how snide...

Ummm, so far all the stories we have read were, yo...

2009-11-12T14:45:19.091-05:00

Ummm, so far all the stories we have read were, you know, not rhyming, but there's a first time for everything.

Oooh, she wrote a shiny! Well, sort of a shadowy s...

2009-11-12T14:40:08.414-05:00

Oooh, she wrote a shiny! Well, sort of a shadowy shiny, but mmmmm... novelly goodness. All those comparisons to Dickens must feel pretty good, too.

And One Story looks fab. Interesting concept. Does she accept, um, Grinchy submissions?

As someone who writes both short stories and novel...

2009-11-12T14:36:34.166-05:00

As someone who writes both short stories and novels, I really appreciated this interview.