Thanks for talking up Lawn Boy - I think it's a terrific disquisition on class, and really well-written. It pains me terribly that Evison has been swept up in the whole book-banning frenzy of our times (and the book banniscts don't seem to have even read the whole book, just one scene, which they've largely misunderstood, or maybe that should read "willfully" misunderstood). I read it as a shared reading with a high school student the year after it came out and it led to a very strong one-on-one discussion - and we were both stunned when it suddenly became a cause celebre for all the wrong reasons a year or so later.
Thanks so much for asking! Of course, I have no idea what I'll be doing a year from now or five or ten years from now. But the best answer I have right now is the one I gave here:
Love the story and accompanying photo about your rejection letter dresser! I don’t freelance for a living but recently wrote a travel article that I was paid $200 for. Afterward, I couldn’t help but laugh at how much time the travel, the research, and the writing took relative to the compensation, but such is the writer life. (Looking forward to some mind corruption reading with Lawn Boy.)
Yes, I'm afraid freelance writing has been reduced to little more than a hobby. I have 100 year-old books of advice for writers that list exactly the same pay rates. A dollar a word was considered a solid pay rate back then, and today a writer would be lucky to get the same dollar per word. Only that dollar buys so much less.
Thanks! It's so great that people are so interested in more from the Kopps! Like I said in the comment above, I don't really know what I'll be doing a year from now or five or ten years from now. But the best answer I have right now is the one I gave here:
Thanks for talking up Lawn Boy - I think it's a terrific disquisition on class, and really well-written. It pains me terribly that Evison has been swept up in the whole book-banning frenzy of our times (and the book banniscts don't seem to have even read the whole book, just one scene, which they've largely misunderstood, or maybe that should read "willfully" misunderstood). I read it as a shared reading with a high school student the year after it came out and it led to a very strong one-on-one discussion - and we were both stunned when it suddenly became a cause celebre for all the wrong reasons a year or so later.
Well said!
This is great, really love the part about the rejection letters, made me feel somehow inspired. Great post, thanks you.
Will you be writing more novels?
Thanks so much for asking! Of course, I have no idea what I'll be doing a year from now or five or ten years from now. But the best answer I have right now is the one I gave here:
https://amystewart.substack.com/p/5076417_september-2021
Love the story and accompanying photo about your rejection letter dresser! I don’t freelance for a living but recently wrote a travel article that I was paid $200 for. Afterward, I couldn’t help but laugh at how much time the travel, the research, and the writing took relative to the compensation, but such is the writer life. (Looking forward to some mind corruption reading with Lawn Boy.)
Yes, I'm afraid freelance writing has been reduced to little more than a hobby. I have 100 year-old books of advice for writers that list exactly the same pay rates. A dollar a word was considered a solid pay rate back then, and today a writer would be lucky to get the same dollar per word. Only that dollar buys so much less.
Just wanted to say thanks for the newsletter.
Thank you! Means a lot.
Please more about the Kopp sisters. When?
Thanks! It's so great that people are so interested in more from the Kopps! Like I said in the comment above, I don't really know what I'll be doing a year from now or five or ten years from now. But the best answer I have right now is the one I gave here:
https://amystewart.substack.com/p/5076417_september-2021
That dresser...fabbbb. Awesome way to repurpose something painful into something glorious ❤️
Thank you! That makes sense. Ten Year’s IS a long time.
I taught social studies in a Florid High School for 24 years back when Florida allowed real American history. I needed a change, too. I get it.
Have read all your Kopp books. Such good history and characters.