“Tone… greatest virtues… frank, at times angry but typically one register below anger… typically fedupness… You have plenty of snark… funny and salable… Ubiquitous use of the word ‘you’… baggage… I’ve really sort of come around on the tone… Reflects very honestly on who would buy this book and how it would be promoted….
“You’re constricted on what you can do with a project like this, which you approach with humour and good grace… Slipping a little more gradually into such a frankness… I worry it will be more offputting than winning… Accusatory – j’accuse, right?… You understand the importance of the lede… Candour – as though one were sitting together and confronting us about what you’re feeling without fear… I worry that it might be a little overdone… key moments should be chosen…
“Interesting stuff is where you’ve done all your writing – like, ‘What is journalism?’
“Confrontation – deprogramming – lifestyle adjustment: I think that really works.”