April 26, 2010
Writing What You Know: Realia
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Margaret Roach Inc. is also a print publisher. Hot off the presses is the memoir manual Writing What You Know: Realia by Marion Roach Smith–Margaret’s sister, but no relation to me. Described as “the essential, eccentric guidebook for anyone telling their own story—in print or on a blog. Stop treading water in writing exercises or hiding behind ‘writer’s block,’ and learn to write memoir with intent, starting today. Marion Roach Smith’s disarmingly frank but wildly fun and unforgettable tactics, gleaned from the sold-out class she has been teaching for 13 years, will teach you how.”
I designed the cover and the interior, thoroughly enjoying being back in the realm of paper and ink. Of course, it is all done on the computer, but the process and results seem so different than web design.
More details are here at thesisterproject.com.
Buy Writing What You Know: Realia, just $12.95 plus shipping, from:
May 16, 2009
Magazine Writing and Design
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Last Thursday, May 15, I visited Jamie Malanowski‘s Marymount Manhattan class Writing for Magazines. Jamie was my editor in the Notebook section of Time magazine for two years and he asked me to share my ideas (and war stories) about the relationship between designer, editor and writer. I had never done this before, nor had I heard of any design peers talking to editorial journalism classes. It is a great topic and shows (once again) Jamie’s originality and insight.
I talked about the shared goals and the dynamics of the art director/editor relationship. There was good discussion about using design, photography and illustration to make the page inviting, engage the reader and maximize the impact of the article.
One reason I am posting now is to add some thoughts I had about this subject, post class discussion . One book I thought the class might want to look at is Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students, by Ellen Lupton (Princeton Architectural Press, 2004).
Another is The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst. This might be of less practical interest to writers but as it is a typographic bible, written by a poet-turned-designer, I am mentioning here. I learned a lot from his thoughtful approach to reading words and how they should be used on a “page.” His basis is the spoken word. Now there is also The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web.
I wish I had asked how many in the class have blogs? Besides the obvious educational benefits to them as magazine writers, I think this is a perfect opportunity for them to deal with their words and design.
I also believe they should all be photographers and even know how to shoot video. That would have been a lively discussion.
This is a good place for me to archive links to relevant topics about magazines and journalism. I will start with these:
Bill Moyers: Buying the War
Bill Moyers: Stopping the Presses; David Simon
NYTimes: Online Publisher scribd.com
September 11, 2008
Nice Job, Bub!
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Today I updated crime and mystery writer Donald Westlake’s website with three of his books that are being republished by Chicago Press. (see for yourself) So, why am I blogging about it? Because I admired these cover designs. I mentioned it in a reply to the publisher (“Tell your cover designer ‘Nice job, Bub.’”) and they wrote back that they were designed and illustrated by David Drummand. I Googled him, found his portfolio/blog and added him to my Blogroll. Reading about good design process is always rewarding.
This also gives me a chance to talk about Donald’s website and some of the business lessons I learned. He is a friend of a friend and about ten years ago I heard him mention at a party that his webmaster was changing fields and he needed to find someone to take it over. That is how… Read more
July 24, 2008
July Trek
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In June I commented on my work with Margaret. Since then I have designed a book for Ellie McGrath at McWitty Press. The book, titled TREK, is a memoir about an American woman, married to a German, fleeing the Russians and Germans with her two children at the end of World War II. The publication date is set for October. I built the 264 page book with InDesign. Always enjoy working with Ellie and adding to my InDesign skillz.
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Kenneth's bookshelf: read
Berger wrote this while Picasso was still alive. Quite interesting to read why this Marxist critic thinks the communist artist failed.
First in the trilogy and my favorite. He reminds me of Louise Ehrdrich. I wrote and told him so.
