Wisdom-- With Asterisks and Hyperlinks

As a lifelong professional writer whose average yearly earnings over 46 years were never enough to buy her groceries*, I don’t usually give writing advice. At least the kind of advice which says how to make money, because, as my bookkeeper soberly tells me each year, I’m terrible at that.

But I do listen to others’ wisdom, and one man whose professional wisdom I’ve appreciated is a man named Nick Stephenson. Looking over his life as a professional writer, one thing he’s learned is this:

“Anyone who asks you more than 3 questions about a book or product will NEVER buy it (they don't know what they want and are looking for reasons yours is wrong for them).”

I have thought that over, and I have also found that to be true. Not in a negative way, but rather that people who want to learn from others want interaction about concepts, and don’t start out by opposing new ideas.

Does that make sense to you?

I appreciate all my Substack subscribers because your acceptance of my weekly newsletters tells me you believe in me, and what I do.

Thank you, most sincerely.

I’d like to update you on the ongoing projects I have right now or have recently completed.

· Weekly one-hour interactive “Pulse” writing sessions on Thursdays and constant interaction on my private Biopedia FB page

· Several recent road trips to help ailing and mourning friends.

· Writing for Military Officer Magazine: just completed an article about “How to Retire Completely” and working on another about WW2 and Korean war brides

· Beginning the revision and updating with new-to-me scholarly information my book A Conspiracy of Breath with the aim of re-releasing it in an anniversary edition with a new cover, for new readers

· A return to my Civil War novel, The Mists of Antietam, on the basis of whose first chapters I was accepted into St. Basil’s Writing Workshop for an upcoming retreat and year-long instruction

· Ongoing “tidying up” of my mother’s estate items, most recently via an online auction, and on my Etsy store -- and of course, you can read some of the “legends” of those treasures on my Substack “Storied Treasures” page

· Scheduling theological posts for Dr. J. Michael Strawn and maintenance of the Representational Research website **

· A year-long project of writing the history of my parish church which involves supervising and editing interviews with its founders for inclusion on a private website for its members. I’m formulating an inexpensive course that will show others how to do this, with document templates and time-saving instructions.

· Weekly newsletters such as what you are reading

· Personal reading and studying, including a return to reading portions of the New Testament in koine

· Returning to the audio recordings of several of my books for my paid subscribers on Sustack—showing my appreciation for their patronage!

· Maintaining my small business and the financial issues of which bring me to actual tears of frustration on a regular basis because math is evil.

· Other stuff. Like being a widow and maintaining a home and dog. Regular stuff.

I’m also marking on the 28th the five-year anniversary of the repose of my husband Dan. Memory eternal, and we’ll see each other again.

Though I may never see the faces of some who read this newsletter, I appreciate you and want you to be proud of me, to justify your interest and attention.

And God willing, we’ll all see each other someday, right?

Yours and His,

Latayne

*Really.

**Thousands of pages of wisdom. Really.