On Writing Habits and Rethos

I’ve posted a short piece about Animals and Culture (Part Deux) at Rethos that includes a photo of a horse my unconscious neighbor hired to lug a bunch of kids around for a birthday party in the 90+ degree heat during the summer.

Also, I happen to be the sister of an Emmy-award winning television journalist who can now be heard on NPR. Her name is Judy Martin and she recently featured yours truly on her podcast in the post "Raising Your Business Profile." I mention this because I know that some Animal Person readers are also writers, and some are entrepreneurs, and the post is chock full of tips for both.

I started a writing blog at www.marymartinphd.com two weeks ago, and I still haven’t publicized it as it has to be linked to my business site and a bunch of other details you don’t need to know about. The reason for that blog is that I am going through a transition in my life and I don’t feel the need to hoard what I know and get paid top dollar for my knowledge and expertise all the time.

Publishing is an elitist business that lacks democratization of information. If you have enough cash to pay for all of the services and knowledge you need to negotiate the system, you can get your book published, and maybe even in record time. And for the first-time author who doesn’t know his way through the maze, the mere thought of said maze is daunting. So I’m just downloading the information from my brain each day.

A week does not go by without someone telling me about her book idea and asking for advice. The same is true of grantwriting and grant reviewing. I have a bunch of knowledge, a bunch of people need it, and I’m happy to give it away.

I’m not having comments on the writing blog, although if you have a question you can write me and I’ll try to get to all questions in a reasonable amount of time. Maybe it’ll be helpful for you or someone you know.