A couple of years ago, I talked with an editor who has sent me writing or editing work on several occasions. She mentioned needing revisions on a book she was ghostwriting. One chapter in particular needed a complete revamp—and in a hurry. “How much would you charge to write a new chapter overnight?” she asked.…
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My wife and I had another anniversary last week. After 47 years, they are still special, but with age comes wisdom: Where we have dinner to mark a special occasion isn’t nearly as important as being together. I say that based on a pair of memories stemming from our time in Colorado years ago. The…
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Years ago I talked with prolific author Philip Yancey for a story in Christianity Today. It concerned the unusual step of one of his books making its debut in South America rather than the U.S. Because Yancey was an editor-at-large for CT at the time, connecting with him to get a comment was easier than…
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In the past, when someone asked, “What kind of year did you have?” my reply tended to center on one thing: how much money I made. A revenue increase meant a good year. If business had decreased, it would have been a bad year. After my second consecutive annual decline in 2025, I have learned…
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With my favorite team and a few others I follow out of the running, Super Bowl Sunday will be a bit of a non-starter for me. Likely to watch the first half, but by 9 o’clock my wife and I will tune in to the stirring PBS Masterpiece series, All Creatures Great and Small. Besides,…
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Second of two parts. Read the first part.The COVID Pandemic Scandals, Part 1 After seeing a mention online of In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us, I picked up the book by Princeton University professors Stephen Macdeo and Frances Lee. I have told several friends: If you read one book this year, make it…
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First of two parts Like many who hunkered down amid 2020’s COVID lockdowns and face-mask dictates, I reasoned that health and government authorities were doing the best they could in a sea of uncertainty. But after editing a book last year by a nurse practitioner who lost her license for the “crime” of prescribing early…
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The ever-increasing cost of health insurance inspired us to go looking for a new plan recently. But a conversation last week with a medical professional proved to be a real eye-opener. He told me the major medical health plan he and his wife had was about to increase from roughly $1,300 a month to $3,500…
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During my career, I’ve dealt with authors who have invested months or even years into writing, revising, and then getting their manuscripts edited. Then, with a flair for the dramatic, they insist they have to get their book published right now. The most common reason is to coincide with a conference where the author will…
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Our area’s long-shuttered Sears store will reopen soon as the county’s new high school vocational-technical center. So the news I noticed recently about Amazon producing a holiday gift guide—when the once-ubiquitous Sears catalogue is history—had a distinctly counter-cultural feel. I wonder how you get one of those catalogues? I thought. The next day, the answer…
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