The publishing industry is an archaic and inefficient industry.

I enjoy writing. Publishing … not so much. I’ve been lucky to work with some very talented people in the publishing world, and the print industry has allowed me to write full time.

Despite what you hear about the publishing industry being a fixed game that you can only get in if you know somebody, I’m here in person to tell you it ain’t so. If your stuff is really any good, sooner or later some editor will take a chance on you.

Why on earth is the ‘New Yorker’ publishing puff pieces about pretty girls who go to parties? Does the ‘New Yorker’ ever run photos of cute boys just because they’re cute and they come from money and they go to lots of parties?

I’m very privy to the way bookstores work, and I think a lot about the ecosystem that my books have been published in. I think it’s great to be aware of how publishing works.

I can promise you that when I go to Sacramento I will pump up Sacramento.

It took many months in court, but the tabloid eventually published a total retraction and paid substantial damages in an out-of-court settlement. The money went to the Special Olympics in Great Britain.

If I have done great things it’s because I was standing in the closet of smart men taking notes and then publishing their ideas as my own.