Lara Zielin

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Katie, this one is for you! It’s a game like Boggle, only it has cute penguins and the words pop! It’s called, fittingly, Must Pop Words. Everyone must try it! Also, iPhone app, pleeeeeze!

I guess, like every other person in the world with some space on the interwebz, I am going to blog about JULIE AND JULIA. I still have not seen the movie. But I just got done with the book the other day.

I agree with most reviewers that Julie Powell is self-centered and kind of annoying. But I love her anyway because a.) aren’t we all, kind of ? and b.) she brought it so real in the book. And if people don’t like her, then I say there’s probably something about Julie that reminds them of themselves, and that’s what’s needling them. Of course, that’s just my two-bit psychology for you.

The other reason I love Julie is because her book has inspired me to think about possibilities. Like, the woman engaged in an almost insurmountable task, which nearly drove her mad, then got paid a boat-load of money to turn the whole experience into a book. Then, she got more money for a second book, in which she becomes a butcher. Temp jobs no more for our friend Julie. She now has the financial freedom to write everyday in her pajamas. (For those of you who don’t know, this is also my dream.)

I’m also thinking a lot about EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert — one of my fave books of all time. Girlfriend got a huuuge advance to go travel around the world while nursing her heartache. Um, could a publisher have paid me to do that post-divorce? Heck yeah.

So, this has me thinking: If all bets were off and I could convince a publisher to pay me to do X for a year (or, heck, I’d take six months) how would I solve for X?

I have a close friend who already knows the answer to this question. When she was emailing me about it recently, I never once thought I too would be contemplating such an adventure. Just goes to show you there can be lots of stuff rattling around in your subconscious without you knowing it. It might take a book like JULIE AND JULIA to bring it out.

So, friends: tell me in your own words. If you could convince a publisher to pay you to do X for a year, how would you solve for X?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 2:09 pm and is filed under looks like life, other writers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.