Journal 2008: The Writing Process

By Joseph Sutton

This book chronicles the life of a writer, mainly his thoughts on the writing process and self-publishing. It also gives a picture of the United States in the year 2008, when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq dragged on, when the Great Recession wreaked havoc on the economy, and when Barack Obama was elected president.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Sutton
• Release date: Apr 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005048679

Joseph Sutton

Joseph Sutton was born in Brooklyn and raised in Hollywood. He played football at the University of Oregon and graduated with a degree in philosophy. He earned a teaching credential and a degree in history at Cal State University Los Angeles and taught high school history and English for many years. Sutton, who has been writing for more than 50 years, has published over two dozen books. His essays and short stories have appeared in numerous national magazines and journals. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Joan.

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JOURNAL 2008

The Writing Process

by

Joseph Sutton

Copyright 2021 by Joseph Sutton

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Description

This book chronicles the life of a writer, mainly his thoughts on the writing process and self-publishing. It also gives a picture of the United States in the year 2008, when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq dragged on, when the Great Recession wreaked havoc on the economy, and when Barack Obama was elected president.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Selling a Book

Life for a man who is a writer, who works at home, who has just self-published his first book, who works out almost every day, life is very busy. I don't have time to write much nowadays since I'm doing everything possible to sell 500 copies of Write Now!, my little book to inspire writers to write. My wife Joan and I are going to throw a very big Book Party Sunday. We're expecting maybe 60-70 people. We're going to have finger food and drinks and I'm going to read a few pages from my book.

I've got Write Now! on consignment in ten bookstores in San Francisco.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Book Party

I was sick all last week. Joan and I went to Calistoga last Monday and Tuesday. I thought the hot water pool and a mud bath would help cure my cold, but it didn't.

Two Sundays ago, on January 13, Joan and I threw a Book Party, the biggest party of our lives. Sixty people came. The Party played a big part in my getting sick. I was already weak the day before when we went shopping and I got weaker as the day wore on, in that I used up so much energy cleaning, carrying things, and moving furniture. The Party was a great success. I sold 55 books.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

A Different Point of View

I was taking a streetcar downtown last night, and it dawned on me, more than ever before, that what I was observing was different from what everyone else on that streetcar was observing. From my seat, from my perspective, I only saw what was going on in front of me. But a person sitting in the opposite direction, or standing up, or sitting on the other side of the aisle, was observing something different than what I or anyone else was observing. In other words, we all see a part of what's going on (reality, the truth) but never ALL of what's going on. So, because of our varied experiences, because of where we sit or stand, because of what we do or where we live, we all see things from a different point of view. I guess you can say that this is what makes the world go 'round.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Write for Five Minutes

I'm going to cast my vote for Obama in the upcoming primary. I think he can get the country moving in the right direction better than Hillary can. It's going to be a battle to the end of the primary season with those two. Whoever wins will satisfy me. Both have forward-looking ideas, although I wonder what corporations or interest groups they're beholden to? Politics—such an unsavory business. It seems that money instead of reason usually prevails. So I'll end my writing about politics and say to either Obama or Clinton, Good luck against John McCain, the likely Republican candidate.

Last week I sent out a whole bunch of emails about Write Now! to those people who didn't attend my Book Party and to those living outside the Bay Area. I told them what the book was about