Michael Marlatt

This week, we have looked at the following themes: 👉🏽 intention vs. impact 👉🏽 gaslighting 👉🏽 whataboutism/ whataboutery In all of the above is our tendency to centre ourselves and our experiences. So as we wrap up this week, I invite you to try instead to centre the discomfort of others. If DEI content and people’s experiences of discrimination makes you uncomfortable, try to consider how someone from a marginalised group feels in situations where they are discriminated against. Imagine that discomfort every time you feel discomfort. Taking a moment to think about others may help us put the discomfort into perspective, and enable us to engage in a way that avoids centering ourselves. Are you ready to decentre yourself? #FridayFocus

32

1 Comment

"Think twice before you throw it away": The Betamax King and a small group of citizen archivists are working to preserve our TV heritage. And old TV broadcasts really are a form of heritage when you stop and think about it. Consider the importance of TV as a cultural medium. Not only are these old clips transporting to watch, their content touches on an astonishingly wide array of themes and social phenomena: from big ideas like economics, politics, class, gender and sexuality, and race, to forms of cultural expression and practice in which these big ideas are often embodied in daily life: commerce, music, fashion, popular entertainment, to name only a few. Come to think of it, the truly astonishing thing is that the institutions of official heritage seem so disinterested in these heritage assets. Yes, our archives, museums, and art galleries should focus on curating texts, objects, maps, and works of art. Let's have more of that. But considering how much of 20th century culture was expressed through the medium of television, shouldn't we give a little more attention to those old tapes as well?

8

1 Comment

“Wanton destruction” = violent, often chaotic or unfocused destruction “Wonton destruction” = devouring Chinese dumplings with speed and gusto. That, or the dumplings are rebelling. This PSA brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood copyeditor as she reads (for pleasure) a novel self-published by an indie author. The book is otherwise enjoyable, but it could have used a little more polish! It’s easy to think, “Only editors nitpick like that, Kara,” I know. And I am not here to be the typo police. But when I spot those easy errors in a published manuscript, it’s like a rust spot on the body of a car: a cosmetic blemish by itself, but is it the sign of something worse lurking beneath? For example, there could be continuity or consistency errors that end up pulling a reader out of the story. A copyeditor’s job comprises more than merely spotting typos. We find the rust on the underbelly too, and we help remove it and spray whatever you spray mechanics use to protect the— —OK, I’m not a car girlie, so I’m going to abandon the metaphor there, but you get it, right? Let me sweat the small stuff so you don’t have to, and you can go back to inhaling wontons wantonly. #copyediting #indieauthors #writing #publishing #selfpublishing #editing

25

1 Comment

#Editors, #writers, #PlainLanguage specialists, and other #communications pros, if you haven't yet, check out the 2024 updated professional #editing #standards from #EditorsCanada. The standards include these: A1.4       Support your own choices when asked (for example, refer to style guides, project goals, best practices, user feedback, current references). B3     Structural editing in plain language B3.1        When applying plain language principles in structural editing, do the following: - Ensure that the document has the content that the readers need. - Check that the content of the document is structured so that related information is together and ordered in a way that makes sense for the readers. - Guide the readers to find information easily through such navigational aids as headings and heading levels, a table of contents, and bulleted or numbered lists. - Make sure readers can locate, understand and act on information. - Consider when to use illustrations or media other than text. For these and more standards based on industry best practices, see #ProfessionalEditorialStandards from #EditorsCanada — a great resource for editors, writers, plain-language specialists, and for clients and employers, for #contracts and for #ContinuedProfessionalDevelopment.

12

1 Comment

📚 Book lovers and authors in North America are facing a growing void. Major newspapers, including The Toronto Star, have cut back or completely dropped their book review sections. And now, the Vancouver Sun has significantly reduced its coverage of arts and literature. The space for thoughtful discussions on books is shrinking fast. This isn’t just about fewer reviews; it’s a hit to North American literary culture. Authors lose a platform to showcase their work, and readers miss out on discovering fresh voices and ideas. But here’s the good news: CANREADS is committed to keeping the spotlight on North American books and authors through quality reviews. 👏 #CANREADS #bookreviews #publishing

58

2025: The Year You Go Out On A Limb Hello, Remember last April when I wrote in RESONATE about attending a Writing Workshop in Toronto and how the experience was beneficial? I learned some writing rules and the role of Literary Agents in the publishing industry. This information is essential for authors seeking access to "mainstream publishers." Here are some frequently asked questions: I have a completed manuscript; when should I seek out a literary agent? How do I locate and choose such an Agent? How much will it cost me? What is a Query Pitch How to write a Query Letter Some authors are satisfied with self-publishing two or three books. Still, for authors ready to take their writing further, my Writing Conference on March 22, 2025, is an excellent opportunity for authors with ambitions to learn how a Literary Agency is the way to further their authorship in the 'mainstream.' It's a chance to grow and connect with others who share their passion. Please email me at oliverose29@yahoo.com to find out more. Follow me on Instagram at @oliverosesteele Sincerely, Olive Rose Steele CEO Blackwood Self-publishing Made Easy Author of CRY TOUGH (A Novel)

2

I've working on a new series of paintings with a working title of 'Cherished', focussing on Endangered, At-Risk or Threatened species in Canada.  This first one is the Canada Warbler.  This small iconic migratory songbird has a slate-coloured back, yellow underparts, and (in males) distinctive yellow spectacles, and that telltale necklace of black stripes.  It's found in wooded areas in different regions throughout North America, and spends its winters in northernmost Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, northern Colombia, and the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru.   The primary threats to Canada Warbler are the same as the usual threats to all migratory songbirds (and basically all other species, including US) - deforestation and development, energy and mining exploration and extraction, reduced availability of insect prey - AND collisions with windows (some research suggests that up to 1 billion birds per year are killed by window strikes - arrrghh!!).  I've started researching ways to bird-proof our windows as our new house has large windows and we've already had one bird fatality this spring due to a bird strike. (We're going to try lining the windows with chartreuse highlighter, which reduces the reflective quality of the glass if used outside, but it is apparently barely visible to humans.  There are various other ways to bird-proof your windows that you can Google.This piece is 'Canada Warbler', 16" x 20", Mixed Media on Canvas, is available for purchase.  20% of the sale of this piece will go to Nature Nova Scotia, a network organization whose goal is to profile and protect our local nature by supporting new research, education and advocating for science-based conservation and responsible environmental management locally, regionally and nationally.  DM me to inquire about availability.   #naturenovascotia#speciesatrisk #speciesatriskcanada #canadawarbler #threatenedspecies #migratorysongbirds #birdproofyourwindows #endangeredspecies #biodiversity #climateandbiodiversity

11

At Daisy Chain Inc we're exploring - what is the value of #Nothing? We want to build spaces where Nothing happens. Curate conversations about Nothing. Create interventions embracing Nothing. We are serious and playful about doing Nothing. Nothing as pause - Giving ourselves and others simply time to be, without the need to “do”.  Nothing as protest - Perhaps provoked by our political leadership? Perhaps inspired by those who strike? Exploring the power of Nothing. Nothing as possibility - When we create space, something might happen, from unusual thinking/ideas given space to emerge or unexpected conversations without agenda. Nothing really matters. Nothing is happening. https://lnkd.in/eD7rDG7c Here you'll find musings on Nothing, opportunities to do Nothing together, and invitations to tell us about Nothing and show us what Nothing looks like. Join the conversation #Belfast2024

7

1 Comment

Thinking about this quote by revolutionary thinker & legendary SciFi author Ursula K. Le Guin: 🚀 🚀 🚀 "If you deny any affinity with another person or kind of person, if you declare it to be wholly different from yourself—as men have done to women, and class has done to class, and nation has done to nation—you may hate it, or deify it, but in either case you have denied its spiritual equality, and its human reality. You have made it into a thing, to which the only possible relationship is a power relationship. And thus you have fatally impoverished your own reality." -- "American SF and The Other" in Science-Fiction Studies 7, 1975 🌍 🌎 🌏 How applicable this is to DEAI work! At the core of Racism, of Homophobia, Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia, Classicism, Sexism....at the heart of any worldview which employs a sociological hierarchy - is Othering. In order to convince ourselves that a person (or group of people) are collectively less-than, inherently different from, or for any reason not entitled to the same rights, respect, and humanity as ourselves -- this *always* rests upon a willingness to Other. To strip someone of their humanity, to objectify and/or exoticize, to tell yourself that, deep down, Those People and Your People are really just not Equal. If we ever hope to create a society without such prejudices and baseless, cruel stratifications as these, we must start with recognizing - admitting, EMBRACING - the inherent humanity and WORTH of all people. #DEAI #ScienceFiction #FeministSciFi #AntiRacist #Accomplice #UrsulaKLeguin

8

Three Ways Music Is Acquired for Film: 1. Preexisting musical recordings are licensed for use in the picture 2. A preexisting musical composition is recorded and used in the picture 3. Music is composed especially for the picture These three methods are often used. Information from Crowell, TPLFF, FP, 263. Https://lnkd.in/er83vuQ Https://www.brientertainmetllc.com

3

1 Comment

What a clear and direct conversation about a challenging topic.

1

"Polaroid fell due to a faulty assumption. Within the company, there was widespread agreement that customers would always want hard copies of pictures, and key decision makers failed to question this assumption. It was a classic case of groupthink--the tendency to seek consensus instead of fostering dissent. Groupthink is the enemy of originality; people feel pressured to conform to the dominant, default views instead of championing diversity of thought" (p. 176) #leadershipmatters, #management, #innovation https://lnkd.in/gPpiJizi

2

3 Comments

This is post number 3 in my 8-part series focusing on the pet peeves many editors have when it comes to nonfiction book proposals. We’re talking pet peeves here—not red flags or instant rejects—but things that can tamper an editor’s excitement of your book and also things that are fixable. In my first two posts, I focused on common misconceptions about comp titles. Today I’m shifting my focus to the way many authors start proposals. Something I’ve seen time and again is that many authors open their proposal by spending a lot of time—and I do mean A LOT—focused on the problem(s) their book will solve. This often starts with a very broad look at the problem focusing on the biggest problems possible like the disruption of the entire workplace post lockdown or the massive mental health crisis our society is facing. Those are massive issues, and an editor is likely to think once book can’t address all that. Often proposals start with the gigantic problem and then transition into the smaller subset of problems the book actually addresses. Okay, that’s good. More specific is better. Continuing the examples above, this could be the rise of manager burnout that comes from addressing employee mental health issues. That’s good—an editor can get that. But unfortunately, many proposals then go too deeply into the problem and subsets of problems before explaining the author’s unique solution. I’ve seen proposals that spend pages on the problem and only a few paragraphs on the solution. Or worse, don’t even talk about the solution at all. Talk about burying the lead! I was talking with an editor recently about this and they said in fiction writing this is often called throat clearing, where the author starts their novel with several pages of description to set the scene. But readers need something interesting to draw them into a book. Details about the scene just don’t cut it. It’s the same with a nonfiction book proposal. Avoid throat clearing. Avoid talking about the biggest problems in the world and when you do talk about the issue, say it quickly. Then, make sure your big idea—the thing that makes your proposal different from the rest—is on the very first page. Then, once that’s clear for the editor, you can go back and define the problem more clearly with your research and anecdotes, all while explaining how your solution addresses the issue at hand. Or better yet, show how your solution addresses the problem with an engaging story at the start of your proposal. If you read my last series, the 4th post goes into how to use storytelling and narratives to capture the attention of editors. Remember that editors don’t have a lot of time so get to your point—what makes your book special—as quickly as you can. No more throat clearing, please.

48

12 Comments

I’ve always found it curious that a book chapter can sometimes carry the same weight as a research paper in academic evaluation. Why should it matter if editors are coauthors on every chapter? More often than not, the chapters in such edited books present nothing novel but are largely a synthesis of what authors and perhaps others have already published, or even just a survey text. On the other hand, I wonder why they didn’t simply write a book with multiple coauthors instead. That said, interestingly, I know of cases where individuals were recruited for tenure positions with just a single book chapter to their name! #AcademicIntegrity #ResearchEvaluation #BookChapters #TenureTrack #AcademicPublishing #HigherEducation

11

2 Comments

Why are five Canadian news media organizations suing OpenAI - and might The Globe and Mail use AI to offer audiences more ways to consume news in the near and near-ish future? My December column looks at all of the above: https://lnkd.in/g9bzrZMn

27

Just spent some time today working on the accessibility of my website for Unrestricted Funds. Some great takeaways included: - Making sure all links are a distinct color - Using the guidelines embedded in the template to make all content visible for folx who use 200% zoom on the page - Identifying font formatting for webpage readers What are some of your favorite website improvements for accessibility? Check out my site! #accessiblity #grantopportunities #inclusivedesign

5

Today’s musing blog is an invitation to let go of hurt feelings and embrace forgiveness. #author #canadian #indie #fiction #blogger #journaller #characterdriven #emotional #optimistic #positivespin #inspirational #insightful #musings #grievances #forgiveness #letgo

2

2 Comments