Cape Cod Writers Conference Day 3

On Wednesday I learned a lot from two teachers: Fern Reiss and Hillary Rettig.
In the morning Fern Reiss talked about ISBNs's and cover design. She explained how one company--Bowker--controls all ISBN's in the U.S. She said it costs a few hundred dollars to purchase ten ISBN's from Bowker.

She also urged us to hire a professional book cover designer, rather than try to do it ourselves. She told a story about a rich executive who insisted on doing the cover his way, only to discover that the product code wouldn't scan correctly so that the books could not be sold in bookstores.

During the class, on of my classmate talked about working for a company that designed restraint devices used on terrorists. Another student found the subject so upsetting that she left the room. I said calmly that I, too, felt upset by the subject, but I am willing to talk about it. Later the first classmate left the class. I hope what I said did not contribute to that.

I had lunch with my good friend Ann, and we had a great talk about writing and Buddhism.

Hillary Rettig

In the afternoon Hillary Rettig began a three-day class about avoiding procrastination and becoming more productive. It was excellent. One idea she has is to write on a computer that is not connected to the Internet.


She also emphasized that feeling lazy is a symptom, not a cause. She said to get rid of all the "shoulds."

She mentioned an essay, "Still Writing" by Ann Tyler. I hope to find that.

"Use your time congruent with your values" says Hillary Rettig.