One Hit Wonders

When I was a busy, visible news reporter, everyone I met knew a great story. They all wanted gratitude for the tips, and they wanted to see the stories in the next edition of the paper or magazine. Eventually I learned to say, "Wow! I really wish I could follow up on that. Unfortunately the editor tells me what to write about. Why don't you talk to him?"

Conventional wisdom declares that everyone has a book inside. Perhaps that explains all the "one hit wonders" in publishing. One book, and you never hear from them again. One issue, and the magazine folds. One pilot, and the series crashes. Remember "Tom Swifties?" she asks quickly. Those were one line jokes with a clever and cogent adverb tacked on the end.

We're probably all pretty good at crafting one liners, whether they're jokes or concepts for movies or book themes. We toss 'em off like popcorn at parties. One hits the floor, no one notices or cares. It's on to the next. What distinguishes the writer from the rest is taking that one idea and applying his or her seat to the chair seat (who said that -- Mark Twain?).

Listen to this article