Randy Eberle's Blog: News from the Asylum
July 25, 2015
News from the Asylum: The Grumpy Grammarian
I know it's been awhile since my last blog post (I'm not very good at keeping up with this sort of thing) but I thought I'd share this piece by Anthony Ambrogio, published in the July issue of The Horror Writer's Association Member Newsletter.
The Grumpy Grammarian: Another Bunch of Omitted Hyphens I’ll Never Get Back
Anthony Ambrogio
We use certain words and phrases so often that we sometimes don’t stop to think about what we’re really saying when we do.
How many times have you heard—or have you said, after watching a lousy movie, spending time with a boring person, reading this column—“Well, that’s another x hours/xx minutes of my life that I’ll never get back”?
It’s an amusingly contemptuous way of expressing your displeasure at the time you wasted, I’ll grant you that—but it’s actually a pretty nonsensical phrase if you stop to think about it because, no matter what you do—undergo major surgery, wait for a person who never shows up, see your favorite group live in concert, have the greatest sex ever—it’s all time of your life that you’ll never get back. That’s the nature of time. And life.
A more logical, and perhaps more damning, expression that can indicate your dissatisfaction with how you have spent/are spending your time would be something like, “I could be [fill in the blank] right now.” In other words, instead of doing what you’re doing, you could be engaged in another activity that you would prefer (no matter how awful that activity might be) to whatever you’re stuck with at the moment. For example, “I could be having root canal right now.”
Just something to think about sometimes.
And then there are hyphens. Something I want you always to think about.
I may have already mentioned to you that the Boston Globe, one of the daily papers I’m getting now, never uses hyphens. It’s as if the editorial board got together and declared, “The bean counters say we use 0.0001 milliliter of ink every time we print a hyphen. That’s, like, 0.01 milliliters per copy. That’s, like, 4 liters per 400,000-copy run. In a year, that adds up to something like 1460 liters of ink (or a little more than 385 gallons for those of you who don’t do metrics). Think of the money we’ll save if we dispense with the pesky little punctuation mark. —And, besides, everyone knows what we mean when we leave those hyphens out, anyway.”
Right. Why hyphenate “health care law” or “high school student”? Everyone knows what we mean, right?
On June 15, 2015, the Globe had a front-page headline, “Firms struggle with sick time rules.” I read that and wondered what was so sick about rules about time that would cause a firm to struggle with them. No—I really did. It took me a minute to realize that what the Globe article was actually about was sick-time rules, rules governing sick time. A hyphen would have saved me the confusion. (But, hey, this was a hyphen they didn’t use that was in a headline—it probably saved them 0.0005 milliliters of ink!)
The other day, the Globe wrote about a “gay rights group,” and I had to say to myself, “Hmm, I’ve heard of gay-rights groups—groups of people who lobby/fight for gay rights, but I never knew that there were some rights groups that were composed of gay people only.” Apparently, there must be because the Boston Globe put it right there in unhyphenated black and white.
Speaking of black and white, at my latest writers-group meeting, I had a suggestion for one member who had referred, in a book chapter, to movies that were not in color. I told her that “black-and-white movies” needed to be hyphenated. And another member argued that I was over-correcting, that everyone knew what was meant when a person wrote “black and white movies.”
Oh, yeah? Well, I know that, back in the 1930s and 1940s, when “colored pictures” (and I don’t mean Technicolored pictures) were being made for segregated audiences, particularly in the South, some African-American performers (like Nina Mae McKinney) appeared in both those black pictures and in predominantly “white” pictures made in Hollywood. So, you see, “black and white movies” can have a different meaning from “black-and-white movies”—the former refers to the viewers for which those movies were made (and the performers who appeared in them); the latter refers to the monochromatic nature of certain movies.
But this didn’t convince my writer-group friend.
I wondered why she was being so recalcitrant, especially since I knew that—as a Professor of English at University of Detroit Mercy—she would never stand for the misuse/omission of other forms of punctuation. (Around here, on the streets of Cape Cod, I’ve come across signs announcing “Captain So-and-sos Lane,” no apostrophe, and “Jacks Shack,” also no apostrophe. She would certainly object to such errors.)
I got frustrated and said, “Why not just do away with any and all punctuation?” This is what makes me a grumpy grammarian.
I’m surprised the Globe hasn’t said, “What do we need the apostrophe for? Everyone knows what we mean.” Think how much more ink the paper could save if it left out the possessive punctuation! Hell, if they want to save ink—and paper—why not just run all the words together and let the reader figure out what’s what; after all, everyone would know what the writer meant. Wouldn’t they?
I know I’ve told you before (and I’m sure I’ll tell you again), but—yeah, sure—often readers do know what you mean—but not always. And what happens when they misunderstand something crucial that you’re trying to relate?
When you speak, your emphasis tells a listener what a hyphen tells a reader (i.e., whether it’s a gay rights group or a gay-rights group), but, when you write, you can’t rely on tone of voice, facial expressions, or hand gestures to get your point across. You have to let the words and punctuation do the work for you. So let ’em!
Thank you, and good day.
Anthony Ambrogio
Copyright (C) 2015. Used by permission.
The Grumpy Grammarian: Another Bunch of Omitted Hyphens I’ll Never Get Back
Anthony Ambrogio
We use certain words and phrases so often that we sometimes don’t stop to think about what we’re really saying when we do.
How many times have you heard—or have you said, after watching a lousy movie, spending time with a boring person, reading this column—“Well, that’s another x hours/xx minutes of my life that I’ll never get back”?
It’s an amusingly contemptuous way of expressing your displeasure at the time you wasted, I’ll grant you that—but it’s actually a pretty nonsensical phrase if you stop to think about it because, no matter what you do—undergo major surgery, wait for a person who never shows up, see your favorite group live in concert, have the greatest sex ever—it’s all time of your life that you’ll never get back. That’s the nature of time. And life.
A more logical, and perhaps more damning, expression that can indicate your dissatisfaction with how you have spent/are spending your time would be something like, “I could be [fill in the blank] right now.” In other words, instead of doing what you’re doing, you could be engaged in another activity that you would prefer (no matter how awful that activity might be) to whatever you’re stuck with at the moment. For example, “I could be having root canal right now.”
Just something to think about sometimes.
And then there are hyphens. Something I want you always to think about.
I may have already mentioned to you that the Boston Globe, one of the daily papers I’m getting now, never uses hyphens. It’s as if the editorial board got together and declared, “The bean counters say we use 0.0001 milliliter of ink every time we print a hyphen. That’s, like, 0.01 milliliters per copy. That’s, like, 4 liters per 400,000-copy run. In a year, that adds up to something like 1460 liters of ink (or a little more than 385 gallons for those of you who don’t do metrics). Think of the money we’ll save if we dispense with the pesky little punctuation mark. —And, besides, everyone knows what we mean when we leave those hyphens out, anyway.”
Right. Why hyphenate “health care law” or “high school student”? Everyone knows what we mean, right?
On June 15, 2015, the Globe had a front-page headline, “Firms struggle with sick time rules.” I read that and wondered what was so sick about rules about time that would cause a firm to struggle with them. No—I really did. It took me a minute to realize that what the Globe article was actually about was sick-time rules, rules governing sick time. A hyphen would have saved me the confusion. (But, hey, this was a hyphen they didn’t use that was in a headline—it probably saved them 0.0005 milliliters of ink!)
The other day, the Globe wrote about a “gay rights group,” and I had to say to myself, “Hmm, I’ve heard of gay-rights groups—groups of people who lobby/fight for gay rights, but I never knew that there were some rights groups that were composed of gay people only.” Apparently, there must be because the Boston Globe put it right there in unhyphenated black and white.
Speaking of black and white, at my latest writers-group meeting, I had a suggestion for one member who had referred, in a book chapter, to movies that were not in color. I told her that “black-and-white movies” needed to be hyphenated. And another member argued that I was over-correcting, that everyone knew what was meant when a person wrote “black and white movies.”
Oh, yeah? Well, I know that, back in the 1930s and 1940s, when “colored pictures” (and I don’t mean Technicolored pictures) were being made for segregated audiences, particularly in the South, some African-American performers (like Nina Mae McKinney) appeared in both those black pictures and in predominantly “white” pictures made in Hollywood. So, you see, “black and white movies” can have a different meaning from “black-and-white movies”—the former refers to the viewers for which those movies were made (and the performers who appeared in them); the latter refers to the monochromatic nature of certain movies.
But this didn’t convince my writer-group friend.
I wondered why she was being so recalcitrant, especially since I knew that—as a Professor of English at University of Detroit Mercy—she would never stand for the misuse/omission of other forms of punctuation. (Around here, on the streets of Cape Cod, I’ve come across signs announcing “Captain So-and-sos Lane,” no apostrophe, and “Jacks Shack,” also no apostrophe. She would certainly object to such errors.)
I got frustrated and said, “Why not just do away with any and all punctuation?” This is what makes me a grumpy grammarian.
I’m surprised the Globe hasn’t said, “What do we need the apostrophe for? Everyone knows what we mean.” Think how much more ink the paper could save if it left out the possessive punctuation! Hell, if they want to save ink—and paper—why not just run all the words together and let the reader figure out what’s what; after all, everyone would know what the writer meant. Wouldn’t they?
I know I’ve told you before (and I’m sure I’ll tell you again), but—yeah, sure—often readers do know what you mean—but not always. And what happens when they misunderstand something crucial that you’re trying to relate?
When you speak, your emphasis tells a listener what a hyphen tells a reader (i.e., whether it’s a gay rights group or a gay-rights group), but, when you write, you can’t rely on tone of voice, facial expressions, or hand gestures to get your point across. You have to let the words and punctuation do the work for you. So let ’em!
Thank you, and good day.
Anthony Ambrogio
Copyright (C) 2015. Used by permission.
August 16, 2014
News from the Asylum: Author Interview
The following link will take you to an interview I did with Brutal Books' own Neko Lilly.
Brutal Books Author Interview
Brutal Books Author Interview
August 9, 2014
News from the Asylum: The Battle Rages On...
Early this morning, I received an email from Amazon Books Team, as I'm sure most of you did (especially if you're an author), urging me to write to the CEO of Hatchette.
I'm sure this was in response to the appalling and overly biased article published earlier this week in the NYT. In fact, the article was so one-sided that one of the Times' own reporters commented on the piece, citing how ashamed he was of its publication.
As far as the email I received this morning, I for one am happy to oblige and have already submitted my email to Hatchette. However, I've noticed some dissent among other Amazon authors upon having received the same email. One of them (whom I won't name) went so far as to post on Twitter today: "Dear Amazon, fight your own fucking battles".
This worries me a bit. While I feel the intention of Amazon Book Team's email was to give our voices an opportunity to be heard, I fear that some authors who were either on the fence or perhaps even taking Amazon's side might elect to switch teams. I hope this doesn't happen. Hatchette's underhanded dealings and questionable ethics in this dispute are unforgivable.
I personally think that Amazon should just forfeit any deals with Hatchette altogether and refuse to sell Hatchette titles. It wouldn't hurt Amazon's bottom line all that much (there are 4 other Publishing Houses in the Top 5), but you can bet your ass that it'll hurt Hatchette. The last I heard, Amazon sales make up for nearly 40% of Hatchette's revenue, in spite of the negotiations stand-still. Let's see how long Hatchette remains in the Top 5 when Amazon refuses to sell their books entirely. The only downside I see to this is the hit Hatchette authors would take, but at the same time, if I really wanted a book by such an author, I would be more than happy to head to my nearest independent bookstore and pick up a copy. In the meantime, Edan Lepucki's California is the last Hatchette title I have purchased, and I don't plan to pick up any more titles until the dispute is solved one way or the other.
Now that my rant is over, I do have some GOOD news! Earlier this week, I published my debut horror novel, Gemini and at the time of this posting, it's currently holding steady at #9 in Occult Horror on Amazon! You can purchase your copy by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.
Until next week, try to stay sane out there...
Randy Eberle
Hollybrook Inmate #313118
Gemini, by Randy Eberle
I'm sure this was in response to the appalling and overly biased article published earlier this week in the NYT. In fact, the article was so one-sided that one of the Times' own reporters commented on the piece, citing how ashamed he was of its publication.
As far as the email I received this morning, I for one am happy to oblige and have already submitted my email to Hatchette. However, I've noticed some dissent among other Amazon authors upon having received the same email. One of them (whom I won't name) went so far as to post on Twitter today: "Dear Amazon, fight your own fucking battles".
This worries me a bit. While I feel the intention of Amazon Book Team's email was to give our voices an opportunity to be heard, I fear that some authors who were either on the fence or perhaps even taking Amazon's side might elect to switch teams. I hope this doesn't happen. Hatchette's underhanded dealings and questionable ethics in this dispute are unforgivable.
I personally think that Amazon should just forfeit any deals with Hatchette altogether and refuse to sell Hatchette titles. It wouldn't hurt Amazon's bottom line all that much (there are 4 other Publishing Houses in the Top 5), but you can bet your ass that it'll hurt Hatchette. The last I heard, Amazon sales make up for nearly 40% of Hatchette's revenue, in spite of the negotiations stand-still. Let's see how long Hatchette remains in the Top 5 when Amazon refuses to sell their books entirely. The only downside I see to this is the hit Hatchette authors would take, but at the same time, if I really wanted a book by such an author, I would be more than happy to head to my nearest independent bookstore and pick up a copy. In the meantime, Edan Lepucki's California is the last Hatchette title I have purchased, and I don't plan to pick up any more titles until the dispute is solved one way or the other.
Now that my rant is over, I do have some GOOD news! Earlier this week, I published my debut horror novel, Gemini and at the time of this posting, it's currently holding steady at #9 in Occult Horror on Amazon! You can purchase your copy by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.
Until next week, try to stay sane out there...
Randy Eberle
Hollybrook Inmate #313118
Gemini, by Randy Eberle
August 1, 2014
News from the Asylum: The Passage of Time...
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am able to mark key aspects of my life by what book I was reading at the time. From the first time I fell in love (Twilight Eyes, Dean R. Koontz), moving in to my first apartment (The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands, Stephen King), the first time someone broke my heart (Insomnia, Stephen King), to falling in love for the second time (The Witching Hour, Anne Rice)...the list goes on. Last year, I got married and packed along my hardcover copy of The Dead Zone (not that I did much reading, and I'm sure by now you've figured out who my favorite author is, but that's beside the point)to New Orleans for our Honeymoon. I'm approaching another major milestone in the coming weeks with the publication of my first novel,
Gemini
and I'm sure that, for the rest of my life, I'll be able to tell you what I was reading at the time.
Does anyone else do this? Please, let me know! I'm always interested in hearing what you have to say and answer whatever questions you may have.
Until next time:
Randy Eberle
Hollybrook Inmate #313118
Author Website
Randy Eberle on Twitter
Randy Eberle on Facebook
Does anyone else do this? Please, let me know! I'm always interested in hearing what you have to say and answer whatever questions you may have.
Until next time:
Randy Eberle
Hollybrook Inmate #313118
Author Website
Randy Eberle on Twitter
Randy Eberle on Facebook
July 26, 2014
News from the Asylum
Hugh Howey sheds some light on the Author Earnings Report:
http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-ne...
Randy Eberle
http://www.randyeberle.com
http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-ne...
Randy Eberle
http://www.randyeberle.com
News from the Asylum
It seems, these days, that no matter where I turn, one of the cornerstones of success in the world of independent publishing for any author...regardless of genre...is a personal blog.
Many times, I've wracked my brain asking myself: "What do I have to talk about, and why would anyone give a shit?" The answer I've come up with is this: Whatever comes to my mind. And it's true, most of you probably won't give a shit, but I guess that's what the back button is for, am I right?
The majority of what this blog will encompass in the future will revolve primarily around news and topics in the publishing industry (especially among the independent community) and reviews or posts centered around Dark Fiction...be it literary, television, or movies. Given the chance, I may even have guest-blog appearances and interviews with other authors.
If this interests you, stick around! And as always, please feel free to leave comments and/or continue a discussion as often as you like.
Best Regards,
Randy Eberle
Hollybrook Asylum Inmate #313118
Many times, I've wracked my brain asking myself: "What do I have to talk about, and why would anyone give a shit?" The answer I've come up with is this: Whatever comes to my mind. And it's true, most of you probably won't give a shit, but I guess that's what the back button is for, am I right?
The majority of what this blog will encompass in the future will revolve primarily around news and topics in the publishing industry (especially among the independent community) and reviews or posts centered around Dark Fiction...be it literary, television, or movies. Given the chance, I may even have guest-blog appearances and interviews with other authors.
If this interests you, stick around! And as always, please feel free to leave comments and/or continue a discussion as often as you like.
Best Regards,
Randy Eberle
Hollybrook Asylum Inmate #313118
News from the Asylum
Discussion and posts on anything from reviews of Dark Fiction (literary, movies, or television)to the publishing industry. Maybe even the occasional rant or two...
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