Ask the Author: Betsy Robinson
Answered Questions (16)
Betsy Robinson
Sorry, I don't have it. I got a lot of his books through New York Public Library's interlibray loan program where they search for books and borrow them from libraries within a region. Maybe your library will be able to get it for you.
Betsy Robinson
Thank you! I downloaded the pdf. Yes, I'd like any other materials you're putting out. You never know--I'm a journalist as well as a novelist and reader, and maybe I'll end up writing about it. My email is Betsy@BetsyRobinson-writer.com.
Betsy Robinson
It's "And There Was Light" by Jacques Lusseyran. Enjoy it. An amazing book.
Betsy Robinson
It's The Swallower Swallowed. A very difficult book. Only available through the library unless you want to pay $600 for a used copy. Author is Rejean Ducharme, translated into English by Barbara Bray. By the way, NY Review of Books may republish it; they're considering it for their classics series. If you read it and feel as if you're drowning, I apologize. As I said, it's a very difficult book.
Betsy Robinson
I don't do summer reading lists. Like most active readers on Goodreads, I choose books spontaneously, usually by hearing about them from other readers who write reviews. I don't set reading goals: numbers of books, seasons to read it. For me, that feels like an artificial quantification that is the opposite of the joy of reading.
Betsy Robinson
Go for it! I am going to read by more David Mitchell. He stretches you, so if you like that--can tolerate not understanding what's going on for a while--you may like it. I love that stretch.
Betsy Robinson
Hmm. Might have been "Dear Mr. M" by Herman Koch. I read it twice, which I recommend, because it's impossible to see all that's there on the first read. I hope this helps.
Betsy Robinson
Hi, Charlie, thanks for asking. Unfortunately The Last Will & Testament of Zelda McFigg is not available as an ebook right now. Black Lawrence Press owns the e-rights and has an ISBN for the book, but they have not yet put any of their catalog into ebook format. I hope you'll read the book anyway.
Betsy Robinson
Hi, Rose. I'll be emailing you from robinsonbetsy@hotmail.com. Thanks! --Betsy
Betsy Robinson
The Goodreads site is very confusing. When you rated the book, a pop-up would have come up asking if you wanted to review it, but it is very easy to miss. Now that you've already rated it, try going to https://www.goodreads.com/review/list.... That is the list of books you've rated. I suspect on the far right side of the listing, there will be options to view and edit the listing. Choose edit, and insert a review to go with your rating. I hope this works.
Betsy Robinson
That is very weird. Something has gone amiss and I've alerted Black Lawrence Press. It's listed on Amazon for more than $100 from another seller. But while this is getting sorted out, you can buy it directly from the publisher at http://www.blacklawrence.com/the-last...
Thanks for alerting me to this problem!
Thanks for alerting me to this problem!
Betsy Robinson
By getting canned from my magazine job when the economy imploded. (The book, which comes out any month now, is The Last Will & Testament of Zelda McFigg, winner of Black Lawrence Press's 2013 Big Moose prize: http://www.blacklawrence.com/the-last....)
Betsy Robinson
I don't know how I would not be inspired to write. Writers are inspired to write, period. It's how we express ourselves at our best. If you're not inspired to write, don't and consider yourself lucky. Writing is not a great way to make a living, so if you're not compelled to do it, don't look for inspiration. Do what you're naturally inspired to do.
Betsy Robinson
I never talk about what I'm working on. Dissipates the energy and kills the muse. Hence, I'll add to my previous advice to aspiring writers: shut up! Don't talk about what you're writing. That's like pulling a fetus out of your womb before it's had a chance to grow lungs.
Betsy Robinson
Write if you love to write. Don't if you don't. Learn, read, learn. And if you can get a job in publishing and learn from the ground up, do it. If you have the innate qualities to be a good editor (equal left and right brain, love of structure, details, and Chicago Manual of Style), become one. There is nothing like editing other people's work to develop your own writing chops. Get a copy of Chicago Manual of Style and READ it! It's important. And if you can't stand this level of detail, hire a good editor (check out Editorial Freelancers Association) to make your work professional level. Friends who read or proof are not the same thing as a professional editor.
Betsy Robinson
Writing. I love to write. I have never understood writers who don't like to write. Why do it if you don't love it? The world certainly doesn't need more books.
Betsy Robinson
Not an issue. I write when it's time to write; I don't when it's not. There are lots of things to do during "not writing time" such as reading and learning.
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