A Love Letter to Writers

Let them know they’re not alone

John P. Weiss

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My books, rangefinder camera, leather-bound field notes, and fountain pen. Photos by John P. Weiss

Walk into any bookstore and gaze at the ocean of books marooned on shelves. They’re like forgotten animals in shelters, hoping someone will take them home.

Newly released books are featured prominently in the front of the bookstore, much like the young and attractive who overshadow the old and forgotten.

If you don’t think that’s true, consider the content fetching all the likes and attention on social media. It’s usually fresh, young, attractive folks leveraging their youth and perfection to become rich and shameless influencers.

Books are similar.

The brand-new stuff gets center stage, while the rest are relegated to the dusty fiction shelves in the back. And the books that don’t sell land in pulp mills, not unlike the elderly languishing in assisted living units.

I love bookstores, even though they sometimes depress me.

Why? Because all those books remind me of what I’m up against as a writer.

And yet, despite all this insanity, we write

It’s hard enough to finish your manuscript.

Then, if you’re disciplined and serious about your craft, you must begin the drudgery of editing. Once that’s…

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John P. Weiss
John P. Weiss

Written by John P. Weiss

I write elegant stories and essays about life, often illustrated with my classic black and white photography.

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