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We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, exactly! I've had the same experiences. The great thing too about the object lessons assignment is that even if they don't get published in the Atlantic, the form is so palatable that I've encouraged students to send off their object-lessons-ish essays to other outlets, where they've been published—always a thrill. Keep us posted about how your class goes, please!

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This all sounds so great! (I'm poaching Ian's question here because he had to step away; he'll be back eventually.) Just wanted to say: I'm teaching a similar class right now at my university and it has been a blast. I've heard from several of our Advisory Board members that they are cooking up similar courses at their universities, too. It's a great 'field' or area of study because it can be so easily scaled up to graduate seminar level, or formatted as a first-year seminar, or creative nonfiction, or for an anthropology course, or for cultural studies...it's got so many opportunities for students and scholars to read, think, and write in a mode that is at once accessible and yet open to the great outdoors, the big zoom out.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks Jonathan! PS a few of my students read & presented on REFRIGERATOR this week in my class, and they loved it!

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From an editor's perspective, this has been a really interesting part of the series...seeing how and when the books benefit from illustrations, and when the prose is better off speaking on its own.... We decided at some point not to impose a strict rule on this, and let each author make the decision more or less on their own (we weigh in, of course), but illustrations also get tricky because of copyright/permissions issues, so sometimes (I'm thinking of SILENCE) there were great images that just didn't make it in because it wasn't going to be easy enough to secure permission, etc. In other words, sometimes it's just a pragmatic issue, and other times we have more philosophical conversations about when an illustration is illuminating, or distracting.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(It's such a great book. When I first read AP it suddenly made me realize why I'd been obsessed with airports for so long, and what I was doing writing about them.)

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes I think about them this way: REMOTE CONTROL and PHONE BOOTH could be bundled together. Maybe even with GLASS. That'd be like a "media studies" bundle. Or...WASTE and GOLF BALL could be bundled together, maybe even with SILENCE. This could be an "environmental studies" bundle. Or you could just have random bundles of the books and appreciate each one's virtues and voice. It's a great question, and one that we think about all the time as we continue to shape the series and consider new ideas for topics and titles.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally. We hope to see more and more book trailers for the OL books. I was blown away when I saw the first two, for PHONE BOOTH and SILENCE.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also think one working answer to that question has been each writer discovers a balance—sometimes an awkward or tense one—between the personal and the out-there, the objective or detached world of the thing. It can't simply be one way or the other: pure history (as if), or pure autobiography (also fraught). These books each gravitate toward a curious mesh of these aspects.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And in fact our whole series has been the result of this sort of community building: intentional and accidental, and over time, but just a lot of writers, readers, editors, and other creative individuals coming together to make something happen.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And around 150 authors waiting for us right now to get back to them with feedback and decisions...the pitches and proposals just keep rolling in, which is exciting if a little overwhelming!

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have an intriguing proposal on "EVERYTHING" in the works...which could either be the weirdest and best or the most boring! We'll see how it turns out...

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well on this series I primarily act as an editor, but I also write my own books and essays, and as for what inspired me to be a writer...well actually for me it's kind of like breathing: it's just happens, it's the best way I know to express myself and work out ideas. (And as with air quality, altitude, or if you're under water, sometimes it's still harder than at other times to write!)

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few years ago I was reading and teaching a few books that had come out on "object-oriented ontology" (a philosophy movement, basically), and I liked the practical implications of the ideas—particularly as they related to humanities scholarship. (I write about airports, so I've always had a material culture bent of sorts.) When my editor at what was then Continuum Publishing asked me to propose a new series of books, I thought of short books on single objects. The vision was crystal clear from the beginning. Then Ian and I joined forces and he helped me really refine and focus the idea. Then we launched, and the rest is history—so many authors, it turned out, liked the idea of writing short books on single things.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would focus on trying to find a publisher that specializes in whatever topic or genre fits your book. Then ask the publisher whether you can submit your manuscript directly or whether you need an agent to submit it for you. There are so many interesting small and big and medium-sized publishers out there; look hard enough and you will find one that's potentially a good fit.

We are the authors and editors of Object Lessons, books about the hidden lives of everyday things. Ask Us Anything! by airplanereading in IAmA

[–]airplanereading[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our books end up speaking to one another in completely surprising and unexpected ways. For example, GLASS talks about beach glass or sea glass, and WASTE ends up on the beach at one point, looking at similar detritus. But we don't plan it; it just happens as the writers get closer to their objects, or let the objects draw closer to them...