Ernest Hemingway famously said his secret was to “write drunk, edit sober.”

Or did he? Lexington humor writer Andrew Shaffer (he published the popular "Fifty Shames of Earl Grey" parody last year) respectfully debunks this attribution in his new book, "Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors," which takes a closer look the myths behind Papa Hemingway and his fellow artists who lived lives as large as their texts.  

"He actually didn’t say that quote. In fact, he never drank when he was writing," says Shaffer. "He put in his words every morning and drank the rest of the day, as soon as he was finished with his word quota. He’s supposed to be the image of the macho drunk writer, and then you find out that, well, he really didn’t. But he kept up this aura about himself and perpetuated the myth."

Aspiring authors, take note. 

The misattributed quote appears all over the 'Net, however, so it's doubtful the record is going to get set straight anytime soon (if ever). For more on the origins of "write drunk, edit sober," see http://mattwie.be

"Almost like clockwork at KindleBoards, it seems like every other month or so, there's a thread of authors decrying their drop in sales at Amazon, and then the speculation ensues about why their sales dried up. Did Amazon change their algorithms? Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't really matter. Algorithm changes or not, there's a lot of randomness in this game at every retailer. Sales go up, sales go down, often without reason. When someone's getting 90 or 100% of their sales from a single retailer, and that retailer rolls over in their sleep and accidentally crushes them, there's not a lot of recourse."

— Smashwords' Mark Coker on the problems with ebook exclusivity

(via A Newbie's Guide to Publishing)

(And, in case you're wondering, the toy is listed as being 11 inches.)

(via Amazon)

"Just because you can wear Crocs, doesn't mean you should."

- literary agent Carrie Howland, interviewed at Akashic Books

When I was a quarter of the way through re-reading American Psycho, however, I realized I was actually reading it for the first time. The reason the movie had seemed so different, so alien, to me was that I’d never read the book it was based on. Apparently, the book had been on my shelf for so long that at some point I just assumed I’d read it.

Maybe I’d read a few pages; maybe I’d even read a few chapters. But one thing was distressingly clear: I had never read the entire book.

Continue reading about my self-deception at BookRiot!

I always get a kick out of Wikipedia disputes. In this screenshot, someone has challenged the assertion on the Jack Reacher entry that Reacher is "allegedly quite a handful in the bedroom."

Please, if you personally know about the fictional character's bedroom stamina, head over to Wikipedia and add a citation ASAP.

UPDATE 2:16PM: Some Wikipedia nerd deleted that line now. Booooo.

But while I love serious books such as The Shining, some of my favorite novels starring writers are satirical. Publishing satires deliberately break the fourth wall, jumping up and down, waving their hands to get the reader’s attention. You’re reading a novel! It’s all made up! These books proudly wear their artifice.

Continue reading to find out three of my favorite publishing satires at BookRiot!

Upcoming Readings and Signings:

March 16: Carmichael's Bookstore (reading) - Louisville, KY

May 5: RT Booklovers Convention (signing) - Kansas City, MO