{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"jcannonbooks","home_page_url":"https://jcannonbooks.com","description":"jcannonbooks","author":{"name":"jcannonbooks"},"items":[{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/life-and-art","html_content":"

You might think the best part about working for a newspaper is the great pay or maybe the 9-5 schedule with no weekend or holiday shifts. But it’s actually the people you meet. No, not the people you interview for storie...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/life-and-art","title":"Life and art","summary":"You might think the best part about working for a newspaper is the great pay or maybe the 9-5 schedule with no weekend or holiday shifts. But it’s actually the people you meet. No, not the people you interview for storie...","date_modified":"2026-08-22T19:42:51Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/unfinished-business","html_content":"

Major health scares, the ones you survive, pressure you to consider the unknown remainder.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/unfinished-business","title":"Unfinished business","summary":"Major health scares, the ones you survive, pressure you to consider the unknown remainder.","date_modified":"2026-08-22T19:32:32Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/a-human-disinterest-story","html_content":"

People have questions, and sometimes I have answers.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/a-human-disinterest-story","title":"A human disinterest story","summary":"People have questions, and sometimes I have answers.","date_modified":"2026-08-22T19:11:24Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/a-tale-of-two-authors","html_content":"

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/a-tale-of-two-authors","title":"A Tale of Two Authors","summary":"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.","date_modified":"2026-02-21T20:00:00Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/what-if","html_content":"

Some Americans remember childhood visits to cemeteries on long-ago Memorial Days when their fathers felt drawn to solemn ceremonies for men who were gone.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/what-if","title":"What if?","summary":"Some Americans remember childhood visits to cemeteries on long-ago Memorial Days when their fathers felt drawn to solemn ceremonies for men who were gone.","date_modified":"2024-12-12T17:37:06Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/lets-chatgpt-about-this","html_content":"

Do you remember blue books?

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/lets-chatgpt-about-this","title":"Let's ChatGPT about this","summary":"Do you remember blue books?","date_modified":"2024-10-16T16:01:13Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/lists-and-a-listers","html_content":"

Lists are everywhere.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/lists-and-a-listers","title":"Lists and A-Listers","summary":"Lists are everywhere.","date_modified":"2024-08-27T17:42:22Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/cool-calm-and-collected","html_content":"

Only the lonely know the way I feel tonight.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/cool-calm-and-collected","title":"Cool, calm, and collected","summary":"Only the lonely know the way I feel tonight.","date_modified":"2024-06-26T19:42:07Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/its-starting-to-click","html_content":"

WARNING: The following contains depictions of social media and networks. Tech-averse authors who hope to publish novels or nonfiction but are unfamiliar with the marketplace may experience nausea, sleeplessness, and unco...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/its-starting-to-click","title":"It's starting to click","summary":"WARNING: The following contains depictions of social media and networks. Tech-averse authors who hope to publish novels or nonfiction but are unfamiliar with the marketplace may experience nausea, sleeplessness, and unco...","date_modified":"2024-04-20T17:36:21Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/comma-chameleon","html_content":"

World got you down?

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/comma-chameleon","title":"Comma chameleon","summary":"World got you down?","date_modified":"2024-02-09T22:19:07Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/a-visit-from-st-write-a-book","html_content":"

‘Twas some weeks before Christmas, when all through your mind

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/a-visit-from-st-write-a-book","title":"A Visit from St. Write-a-Book","summary":"‘Twas some weeks before Christmas, when all through your mind","date_modified":"2023-12-14T18:07:03Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/lost-and-found-in-translation","html_content":"

In Seventy-Two and Sunny San Diego, we are dismayed when forced to endure weather phenomena.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/lost-and-found-in-translation","title":"Lost and found in translation","summary":"In Seventy-Two and Sunny San Diego, we are dismayed when forced to endure weather phenomena.","date_modified":"2023-08-22T14:56:55Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/burn-these-cliches-at-both-ends","html_content":"

Clichés are insidious and toxic. Working near them greatly increases your chance of infection, and no vaccine exists. One day you’re in a crowded room without a Cliché-95 mask and the next you’re describing some undeniab...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/burn-these-cliches-at-both-ends","title":"Burn these cliches at both ends","summary":"Clichés are insidious and toxic. Working near them greatly increases your chance of infection, and no vaccine exists. One day you’re in a crowded room without a Cliché-95 mask and the next you’re describing some undeniab...","date_modified":"2023-06-24T17:47:24Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/learn-to-work-the-saxophone","html_content":"

Streets, crossroads, and pathways have served as imagery for so long that they predate the wheel, but so help me Kerouac, I can’t get off the road.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/learn-to-work-the-saxophone","title":"Learn to work the saxophone","summary":"Streets, crossroads, and pathways have served as imagery for so long that they predate the wheel, but so help me Kerouac, I can’t get off the road.","date_modified":"2023-04-26T21:29:05Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/just-what-do-you-think-youre-doing-dave","html_content":"

Humans have invented many things that have threatened to destroy the planet and all its inhabitants, yet we usually shunt them aside, ignore them, find their useful aspects, or put them in a place that frightens even man...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/just-what-do-you-think-youre-doing-dave","title":"Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?","summary":"Humans have invented many things that have threatened to destroy the planet and all its inhabitants, yet we usually shunt them aside, ignore them, find their useful aspects, or put them in a place that frightens even man...","date_modified":"2023-02-23T17:51:48Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/northern-exposure","html_content":"

Say you have written numerous bestsellers. Say you have won the Edgar and many other awards. Say you are interviewed regularly by the New York Times and media outlets across the country.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/northern-exposure","title":"Northern exposure","summary":"Say you have written numerous bestsellers. Say you have won the Edgar and many other awards. Say you are interviewed regularly by the New York Times and media outlets across the country.","date_modified":"2023-01-21T18:52:58Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/one-for-the-ages","html_content":"

Thirty-six.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/one-for-the-ages","title":"One for the ages","summary":"Thirty-six.","date_modified":"2022-12-20T20:02:05Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/just-what-the-doctor-ordered","html_content":"

How many times have you read an interview with an author whose talent you admire, the kind of author you would like to be, and been disappointed?

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/just-what-the-doctor-ordered","title":"Just what the doctor ordered","summary":"How many times have you read an interview with an author whose talent you admire, the kind of author you would like to be, and been disappointed?","date_modified":"2022-10-25T16:29:24Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/words-by-the-curbs","html_content":"

Millions of deaths worldwide, devastating illnesses, long-lasting disruptions in health care, education, and economies. That’s a horrifying legacy, but Covid-19 did give us at least one good thing:

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/words-by-the-curbs","title":"Words by the curbs","summary":"Millions of deaths worldwide, devastating illnesses, long-lasting disruptions in health care, education, and economies. That’s a horrifying legacy, but Covid-19 did give us at least one good thing:","date_modified":"2022-09-20T16:11:38Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/antitrust-but-verify","html_content":"

Writers have dreams.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/antitrust-but-verify","title":"Antitrust, but verify","summary":"Writers have dreams.","date_modified":"2022-08-22T17:43:39Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/make-the-best-of-it","html_content":"

Carl Larsen, a travel writer, recovering newspaper editor, and reader of this newsletter, mused a few weeks back about Agatha Christie and whether she is the bestselling novelist of all time. Agathachristie.com, which ap...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/make-the-best-of-it","title":"Make the best of it","summary":"Carl Larsen, a travel writer, recovering newspaper editor, and reader of this newsletter, mused a few weeks back about Agatha Christie and whether she is the bestselling novelist of all time. Agathachristie.com, which ap...","date_modified":"2022-07-21T15:52:44Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/blend-into-the-wordwork","html_content":"

Any author searching for an editor is likely to want someone who has the technical knowledge to polish (or make sense of) a manuscript, familiarity with other books in the same genre, the ability to coach and cajole, and...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/blend-into-the-wordwork","title":"Blend into the wordwork","summary":"Any author searching for an editor is likely to want someone who has the technical knowledge to polish (or make sense of) a manuscript, familiarity with other books in the same genre, the ability to coach and cajole, and...","date_modified":"2022-06-24T17:52:44Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/the-long-and-the-short-of-it","html_content":"

Of all the nonsensical demands that publishers make upon a writer, like recognizable syntax, coherence, and a story that readers might find interesting, is any so capricious, so preposterous as length?

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/the-long-and-the-short-of-it","title":"The long and the short of it","summary":"Of all the nonsensical demands that publishers make upon a writer, like recognizable syntax, coherence, and a story that readers might find interesting, is any so capricious, so preposterous as length?","date_modified":"2022-04-22T16:35:40Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/timeless","html_content":"

Omit needless words.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/timeless","title":"Timeless","summary":"Omit needless words.","date_modified":"2022-03-21T19:43:03Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/is-that-a-fact","html_content":"

In my cub reporter days, after taking a company horse to an assignment, it was customary to assemble available facts into a news story, usually with the essential material in a short first paragraph.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/is-that-a-fact","title":"Is that a fact?","summary":"In my cub reporter days, after taking a company horse to an assignment, it was customary to assemble available facts into a news story, usually with the essential material in a short first paragraph. ","date_modified":"2022-02-19T16:17:55Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/get-a-grip-on-yourself","html_content":"

Sitting down to write a book is messy and complicated, ruins your posture, takes months or years, weakens your social skills, and clogs your brain. Even some people who make gobs of money writing manuscripts aren’t very ...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/get-a-grip-on-yourself","title":"Get a grip on yourself","summary":"Sitting down to write a book is messy and complicated, ruins your posture, takes months or years, weakens your social skills, and clogs your brain. Even some people who make gobs of money writing manuscripts aren’t very ...","date_modified":"2022-01-21T16:11:38Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/christmas-past-and-present","html_content":"

Not to add to the stress you feel this holiday season, but today’s subject is tense.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/christmas-past-and-present","title":"Christmas present. And past.","summary":"Not to add to the stress you feel this holiday season, but today’s subject is tense.","date_modified":"2021-12-21T18:23:54Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/nothing-to-see-here","html_content":"

We owe so much to trends in crime novels, noir, and thrillers.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/nothing-to-see-here","title":"Nothing to see here","summary":"We owe so much to trends in crime novels, noir, and thrillers.","date_modified":"2021-11-20T17:56:33Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/making-a-point-size","html_content":"

One of your benefits as a reader of this blog is an occasional insider tip to help you figure out the world of publishing. Such info is little known outside this blog, mostly because I make it up. This month I reveal a n...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/making-a-point-size","title":"Making a point (size)","summary":"One of your benefits as a reader of this blog is an occasional insider tip to help you figure out the world of publishing. Such info is little known outside this blog, mostly because I make it up. This month I reveal a n...","date_modified":"2021-09-16T15:08:26Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/aging-in-place","html_content":"

The trouble with humans is that they die.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/aging-in-place","title":"Aging in place","summary":"The trouble with humans is that they die.","date_modified":"2021-08-16T17:52:35Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/the-medium-is-the-message","html_content":"

The cryptic judgments some editors add to manuscript margins are unlikely to unmoor an author. The sage advice usually is greeted with gratitude, begrudging acceptance, or a decision to find a new editor.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/the-medium-is-the-message","title":"The medium is the message","summary":"The cryptic judgments some editors add to manuscript margins are unlikely to unmoor an author. The sage advice usually is greeted with gratitude, begrudging acceptance, or a decision to find a new editor.","date_modified":"2021-07-16T17:18:12Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/how-he-does-it","html_content":"

Stringing 80,000 words into a novel is a lonely pursuit.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/how-he-does-it","title":"How he does it","summary":"Stringing 80,000 words into a novel is a lonely pursuit.","date_modified":"2021-06-16T16:18:58Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/there-must-be-rules-usually","html_content":"

You may know writers and editors who are proud of their outdated clothes and bargain haircuts. You may think these are signs of pathological cheapness.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/there-must-be-rules-usually","title":"There must be rules. Usually.","summary":"You may know writers and editors who are proud of their outdated clothes and bargain haircuts. You may think these are signs of pathological cheapness.","date_modified":"2021-05-16T16:20:21Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/copy-that","html_content":"

Homage lives on the same literary street as plagiarism, but no one will accuse you of a moral failing if you treat plagiarism as a neighborhood pariah.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/copy-that","title":"Copy that","summary":"Homage lives on the same literary street as plagiarism, but no one will accuse you of a moral failing if you treat plagiarism as a neighborhood pariah.","date_modified":"2021-04-16T15:40:46Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/it-just-never-bloomed","html_content":"

St. Patrick’s Day is mere hours away, so thoughts naturally turn to shamrocks, Guinness, and Catholicism, which reminds me that I have a confession to make.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/it-just-never-bloomed","title":"It just never bloomed","summary":"St. Patrick’s Day is mere hours away, so thoughts naturally turn to shamrocks, Guinness, and Catholicism, which reminds me that I have a confession to make.","date_modified":"2021-03-16T16:17:23Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/how-she-did-it","html_content":"

The thing about some dreams, especially that one you have all the time about a raccoon chasing you with a purple carburetor, is you know they’re imaginary. But some dreams are more than bizarre wisps. On a wondrous day n...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/how-she-did-it","title":"How she did it","summary":"The thing about some dreams, especially that one you have all the time about a raccoon chasing you with a purple carburetor, is you know they’re imaginary. But some dreams are more than bizarre wisps. On a wondrous day n...","date_modified":"2021-02-16T16:55:48Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/resolution-solution","html_content":"

In normal years, most of your new year’s resolutions already would have evaporated. Great Caesar’s ghost (to borrow an expression from an old newsroom), it’s mid-January already. How long is anyone expected to adhere to ...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/resolution-solution","title":"Resolution solution","summary":"In normal years, most of your new year’s resolutions already would have evaporated. Great Caesar’s ghost (to borrow an expression from an old newsroom), it’s mid-January already. How long is anyone expected to adhere to ...","date_modified":"2021-01-16T18:02:24Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/on-with-the-show","html_content":"

Say you are listening to the most uninspiring teacher, preacher, or audio book Jack Reacher you have ever heard. You are pounded with facts, you are told the way it is, and the sharp edges of your imagination are ground ...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/on-with-the-show","title":"On with the show","summary":"Say you are listening to the most uninspiring teacher, preacher, or audio book Jack Reacher you have ever heard. You are pounded with facts, you are told the way it is, and the sharp edges of your imagination are ground ...","date_modified":"2020-12-16T17:33:32Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/let-the-holidays-begin","html_content":"

An epiphany can be easy to ignore in our jampacked lives, and I can’t argue with the reasons people usually give for doing so, including “I don’t like words derived from Greek” or “I always confuse it with polyphony.”

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/let-the-holidays-begin","title":"Let the holidays begin","summary":"An epiphany can be easy to ignore in our jampacked lives, and I can’t argue with the reasons people usually give for doing so, including “I don’t like words derived from Greek” or “I always confuse it with polyphony.”","date_modified":"2020-11-16T18:00:00Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/just-my-style","html_content":"

An old joke, one that I am not too ashamed to use, goes like this: If a person who speaks two languages is bilingual, and a person who speaks three languages is trilingual, what’s a person who speaks one language?

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/just-my-style","title":"Just my style","summary":"An old joke, one that I am not too ashamed to use, goes like this: If a person who speaks two languages is bilingual, and a person who speaks three languages is trilingual, what’s a person who speaks one language?","date_modified":"2020-10-16T16:12:23Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/to-thine-own-self-be-an-editor","html_content":"

The writer’s arsenal is jammed to the blastproof doors with self-confidence, self-absorption, and self-justification. Let me suggest that the ordnance be rearranged to make room for something more potent: self-editing.

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/to-thine-own-self-be-an-editor","title":"To thine own self be an editor","summary":"The writer’s arsenal is jammed to the blastproof doors with self-confidence, self-absorption, and self-justification. Let me suggest that the ordnance be rearranged to make room for something more potent: self-editing.","date_modified":"2020-09-16T18:00:00Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/that-gave-me-a-start","html_content":"

I want to make an entrance at the authors convention. I want them to turn their heads and turn my pages. You’re probably unfamiliar with the Big and Influential Book Lovers International Organization because I made it u...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/that-gave-me-a-start","title":"That gave me a start","summary":"I want to make an entrance at the authors convention. I want them to turn their heads and turn my pages. You’re probably unfamiliar with the Big and Influential Book Lovers International Organization because I made it u...","date_modified":"2020-08-16T18:18:51Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/this-is-childish","html_content":"

When Lee Child publishes a new Reacher book, I read it. I enjoy his stories for reasons I can’t articulate with any logic. If you haven’t read them (there are almost thirty), you may want to dive in before the gene splic...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/this-is-childish","title":"This is Childish","summary":"When Lee Child publishes a new Reacher book, I read it. I enjoy his stories for reasons I can’t articulate with any logic. If you haven’t read them (there are almost thirty), you may want to dive in before the gene splic...","date_modified":"2020-07-15T17:22:47Z"},{"id":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/writer-know-thy-editor","html_content":"

They watch. They peer from fusty style-guide ramparts to repel those who would sow anarchy and corruption. They find pearls to polish and drivel to obliterate. They are editors, and were they to abandon the profession fo...

","url":"https://jcannonbooks.com/newsletters/f/writer-know-thy-editor","title":"Writer, know thy editor","summary":"They watch. They peer from fusty style-guide ramparts to repel those who would sow anarchy and corruption. They find pearls to polish and drivel to obliterate. They are editors, and were they to abandon the profession fo...","date_modified":"2020-06-16T17:09:11Z"}]}