<![CDATA[Gawker: writers write]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: writers write]]> http://gawker.com/tag/writers write http://gawker.com/tag/writers write <![CDATA[ Jennifer 8. Lee's Editor Lavishes Her With Praise ]]> jennifer%208.%20lee.jpgAt first, we thought Jenny 8. Lee's oversharing was just on this side of adorable, if mildly grating. We're reconsidering our assessment in light of her latest blog post, which reproduces, in full, the gushing letter she received from her editor, Jon Karp, upon the submission of her first draft. We can't help but think that Jenny has just bought herself a one-way ticket on the Schadenfreude Express.

Dear Jenny,

I am so impressed by the liveliness and wit of your writing, the depth of your reporting, and the sweep of your storytelling. Your work is outstanding. Readers are going to marvel at your ability to investigate this subject in so many interesting ways. It will be a wonderful book.

Nate and I have both (separately) been line editing the manuscript assiduously. You'll receive two versions of the first 200 pages via messenger today; the rest by the end of the week.

Because you were so great about nailing down the structural issues at the outset, I'm pretty sure the story is developing and unfolding well. I'll know for sure when I'm done editing. At the moment, the only major question Nate and I have is whether readers will understand the specific nature of your fortune cookie quest. It's not clear whether it's the powerball mystery or the origins. I'm not sure it matters. It's all so entertaining and interesting.

What you most need to do is cut and chisel. We've told you exactly where to do it. There are a lot of extraneous descriptions here: of what people are wearing, how they look, where you're traveling, how you get there. A lot of the conversational digressions can go. All of this is common to first drafts, especially by first-time authors, so none of it surprises me. What pleases me is how clever your observations are and how amusing you are throughout the manuscript. Once you've tightened up and polished the prose, this should read like a winner. So that's my great exhortation to you: Tighten and polish!

When I'm done editing and you've had a chance to review the entire manuscript, we can talk in greater detail. Until then, I hope you will enjoy the sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph attention that Nate and I have lavished upon you.

All my best,

J.

Breathing Easier. The Manuscript Does Not Suck. [Fortune Cookie Chronicles]

]]> Gawker-273178 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:50:39 EDT Doree Shafrir http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=273178&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Jennifer 8. Lee Gets Blog, Immediately Adorably Overshares ]]> fortuneSomewhere at the nexus of self-promotion/congratulation, reflexive ass-kissing, and totally charming genuine enthusiasm is New York Times metro reporter Jenny 8. Lee's new website. As we learned a while back, her new book used to be called The Long March of General Tso, but apparently that title was too confusing—there was some concern that people would think it was a book about the Chinese military. Because people are stupid. Now it's called the Fortune Cookie Chronicles, which should play better on the "synagogues and college campuses" Jenny plans on hitting on her book tour. Also, it seems that Jenny is an overachiever—her editor, Jon Karp, had contracted her for 90,000 words, and it looked like she was going to be 20,000 over. But Karp told her not to worry, as they could just change the typesetting: "Perhaps you did something similar in high school when you had to turn in a term paper." Uh, right. We were always turning in papers that were just too long. Anyway: Watch that space! She'll be posting cat pictures within weeks.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

]]> Gawker-270198 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:45:24 EDT Doree Shafrir http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=270198&view=rss&microfeed=true