• Forest for the Trees
  • THE FOREST FOR THE TREES is about writing, publishing and what makes writers tick. This blog is dedicated to the self loathing that afflicts most writers. A community of like-minded malcontents gather here. I post less frequently now, but hopefully with as much vitriol. Please join in! Gluttons for punishment can scroll through the archives.

    If I’ve learned one thing about writers, it’s this: we really are all alone. Thanks for reading. Love, Betsy

Sincerely

The best thing about getting published, aside from the heaps of cash, are the fan letters. One of my clients recently forwarded a fan letter he received with the note: makes it all seem worthwhile. I knew exactly what he meant. When all the dust settles, the reviews (good, bad or non-existent), the sales (good, bad, or non-existent), the expectations dashed, the dreamed of prizes and literary acceptance proven elusive, you might be lucky enough to receive some letters from readers who felt you understood them, maybe even changed them, entertained them, and finally compelled them to write to you and say as much.

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I have this fantasy when I’m in the nursing home, wearing purple and smoking Marlboro’s, that I’ll read through all the great letters I’ve received. The best one was typed on a plain white postcard with one single sentence across it: What a fine book is The Forest for the Trees. I taped it on the wall next to my desk. I don’t look at it for encouragement or succor. It’s the look of letters banged out on an old typewriter and the odd syntax that give me hope.

Guest Post Written By Betsy’s Best Friendz! : A Middle School Maniffesto

When Betsy asked us to write this post we were very estatic to have this wonderful and amazing opportunity. All though we had to cancel a bundle of important events that we had our personal secretaries arrange, we cancelled due to the noteworthiness of this cause. While we were pondering what to write about, we took a stroll down memory lane. We remembered all of the dull novels that were mandatory for us to scrutinize. As middle schoolers, we sensed the library selection was less then acceptable and barely up to par, not to mention the appalling obligatory books. We undoubtably value reading classics, it’s great to read books that have the finger prints our family’s past engraved into the surface of the pages. Reading modern books is appreciable too, but why would we want to read random books that only some ignorant librarian would want to waste their time on. NO YOU DIDN’T. Oh yes we did. With all of the school work we encounter, we need utilize the precious time we have to dive into a well written book that is enthralling as well. Luckily we will be deparating from the from the uninspiring, colorless orbit of nothing… as you can see it might be relatively hard to fathom the dislike that we behold for this selection of literature. But hard to decipher or not, it’s the truth. We believe that people should not underestimate the juvenile community and value their opinions on written works. We have high expectations and they must be met by all of you middle school librarians and teachers out there. So please, value our opinion because we our the future of all literary greatness.

 

Luv,
Your Best Friendz
M&R (age 12)

 

 M&R