Unintended Consequences

The thing about writing storiesand publishing is that they’reboth very much like that old Lay’s potato chip slogan: You can’t eat just one. (No, please don’t eat books–no matter how much you love them.)

So many people I’ve met who say they want to write, or want to be a writer, claim that their life will be perfect if they publish JUST ONE STORY. I find it rather charming when I hear that, because most of the writers I know said exactly the same thing when they started. They imagine that publi...