Adam’s World Weekly 3/2

As most of you know, I’ve been pitching a book that’s a compilation of my One Hit Wondering columns. During my latest round of pitches I received a very quick reply. It was so quick I assumed it was an auto-reply telling me they received my query, and if they’re interested I’ll hear from them. Instead, it was a yes, and a note congratulating me on making it to the next phase of the process, along with a request for the full manuscript.

I was skeptical.

I looked at the time stamp of my original email, and the time stamp of the reply – they were just five minutes apart.

My pitch takes at least five minutes to read, and the three chapters I attached take at least another five minutes each to read.

To say the math wasn’t math-ing would be an understatement.

Clearly this was some sort of AI bot that’s been programmed to seek out specific words, and give out a yes, or a no, based on that.

I want no part of a publisher that uses AI in any form.

If they’re going to use it for the selection process it means they’ll also use it in other ways, and that leads to shoddy editing, awful marketing, and a cover design that’s probably built on the theft of real artists’ work.

Additionally, I can’t take a “yes” seriously from a publishing company that didn’t actually read my pitch, or my sample chapters.

I ignored the email, and moved on.

Continuing with the theme of books, I recently finished reading a fantastic biography on Sam Phillips, the legend who founded Sun Records, discovered Elvis, and invented a production technique that helped to create rock n roll.

It’s a LONG read – the hardcover is over 750 pages, with 660 of them being the actual biography – but it reads like a novel, and if you’re interested in the deep history of rock music you should definitely pick it up (also, if you’re into weightlifting you should pick it up, because, like I said, 750+ pages, hardcover).

I’ve read A LOT of musician biographies, autobiographies, and music history books – just look below at the photo of the bookshelf in my office for a selection of what I’ve read over the years – and this Sam Phillips book ranks in my top five. (I put it right next to Elvis in the bookshelf because they are forever linked, and beside two other books with orange spines, because colors are fun).

My parents instilled a love of reading in me, and I am forever grateful for that, as with every book I read I learn new things about something I’m passionate about, and reading plays a role in the constant evolution of my writing.

This is why this past weekend was especially tough for me, as Saturday would’ve been my mother’s 74th birthday. It was my first without her, and even though it’s been nine months since she passed, sometimes it feels like it’s only been nine minutes.

She always supported me 100% in whatever I was doing, and was always excited to hear about my trips to the city for concerts, encouraging me to go have as much fun as possible, saying I deserved it.

For her 60th birthday I brought her and my dad to a monthly indie hip-hop event in the city that my friends ran, and it was one of her favorite birthdays ever. She talked it about for years (as did many of the artists involved!). It’s not every day you get a packed venue singing you happy birthday!

I’m incredibly glad I was able to share that part of my life with her in that way, and with her love of my going out and enjoying myself in mind, I guess it’s apropos that this week’s blog update begins with a One Hit Wondering feature on the band that gave us the ultimate last call song. Of course, I’m talking about Semisonic, and their mega hit “Closing Time.”

The members of the band had a vast history before becoming Semisonic, and frontman Dan Wilson has gone on to become one of the most prolific songwriters of the past 25 years, so needless to day, you’re definitely gonna want to read the feature!

Of course, I also have fresh editions of Pop Shots, and my NYC Scene Report for you to check out.

Read the full feature here

Read the full column here

Read the full column here

As always, thanks for reading, and have a fantastic week.

– Adam Bernard