AS A WRITER, I FIND THAT FOCUSing on publishing, rather than on the writing process, is a big mistake. I know, that’s easy for me to say now that I’ve published a couple of books and my work has appeared in some cool places, but I swear to you, I have felt this way for a long time. The irony is that, if you focus more on the writing, you’re more likely to get published anyway.
I well remember years ago when I got the news that the Science section of the was going to publish an essay of mine. I had my annual physical that day, and for the