John August

Books

Arlo Finch in the Bookstores of America (and Canada)

Arlo Finch, Books, Projects

My first novel, *Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire*, comes out today in stores throughout North America.

I’d love you to, well, buy it. People buying books makes future books possible.

It’s available at [massive online stores](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1626728143/?tag=johnaugustcom-20), [national chains](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/arlo-finch-in-the-valley-of-fire-john-august/1126160967?ean=9781626728141) and your [local indie bookstore](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626728141).

Arlo Finch is middle-grade fantasy fiction. That’s the broad category that includes Harry Potter, Stranger Things and Star Wars. If that’s not your speed, you may have a son or daughter or nephew who would dig it.

How old does a kid need to be for Arlo? All kids are different, but eight seems a good general guideline. The audiobook might be a good option for younger sorts.

But if you’d like to help me out, there are a few other things you can do.

1. Review it on [Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31180257-arlo-finch-in-the-valley-of-fire) and [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1626728143/?tag=johnaugustcom-20).
2. Recommend it to parents, teachers and librarians. They’re the ones who put books into kids’ hands.
3. Post about on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

And if you’re in a bookstore in the next few weeks, find it on the shelf and take a peek inside. During my visit to the printing plant, I put special stickers in five books. I’m eager to learn where they turn up, so if you find one, let me know!

If you’re not listening to the [Launch podcast](http://wondery.fm/launchhome), the first four episodes are now up. Today’s is my favorite so far.

I hope you dig the book. I’m really proud of it, and hope to be able to make more of them. Your help can make that dream possible. Thanks!

Introducing Launch

Episode - 335

Go to Archive

Arlo Finch, Books, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Writing Process

John and Craig introduce Launch, John’s new podcast about making a book. Over the course of six episodes, the series tracks the process of writing and shipping a novel, from idea to printing.

The first two episodes are available today, with new episodes coming each Tuesday.

Not to worry — Scriptnotes isn’t going anywhere. We’ll have new episodes on Tuesdays as well.

Subscribe to Launch today: [http://wondery.fm/launch](http://wondery.fm/launch)

Links:

* Subscribe to Launch at [http://wondery.fm/launch](http://wondery.fm/launch) or wherever you listen to podcasts.
* You can preorder Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire and read an excerpt [here](http://read.macmillan.com/mcpg/arlo-finch/).
* [The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!](johnaugust.com/guide)
* [The USB drives!](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-300-episode-usb-flash-drive)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Find past episodes](http://scriptnotes.net/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Andy Roninson ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_335.mp3).

**UPDATE 1-29-18:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2018/scriptnotes-ep-335-introducing-launch-transcript).

Don’t search with your eyes

Arlo Finch, Books, Highland, How-To, Projects

This week, I’m editing the manuscript for the second [Arlo Finch](http://arlofinchbooks.com). I do most of my edits on paper because I find I catch a lot of mistakes I’d otherwise miss just scrolling on the screen.

One of the frustrations with this process can be trying to match up the errors you’ve found on paper with what’s in the file. You’re constantly scrolling, looking for the trouble spot. [Highland 2](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2-beta/) has a sidebar navigator and inline page numbers, both of which can help. But I’ve found the fastest solution is to stop scrolling altogether and use the built-in search function.

Let’s say you’re fixing a typo, like a missing ‘d’ on *the door had been **force** open.* It’s halfway down on page 183, but that doesn’t matter.

Hit Command-F and type *had been force* then return.

Boom. You’re right there. Fix the mistake and keep going.

Note that you want to search for a string of words, not just the one with the typo. You may have used *force* a dozen times, but you’re almost certain to have typed *had been force* just once.

In Highland 2 — and most Mac writing apps — the Find command starts searching from wherever your cursor is, so if you’re working through edits in order, you rarely have to be particularly narrow in your search query. Even if you use *its claws scraped* more than once in your book, it will always give you the next one first. That’s likely to be the one you want.

This technique probably saved me half an hour today, and a lot of eye fatigue. So try it out next time.

Getting Stuff Written

Books, Challenge, Education, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Words, Writing Process

John welcomes Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo and author of Pep Talks for Writers, to discuss the writing process and how to get out of your own way creatively.

We explore the ubiquity of the Other Syndrome and the perils of envy. We also look at pen names, “throw-away writing,” and the advantages of being a beginner.

Links:

* Grant Faulkner’s [website](http://www.grantfaulkner.com) and [Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Faulkner).
* Pep Talks for Writers by Grant Faulkner is available [here](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1452161089/?tag=johnaugustcom-20).
* You can participate in [NaNoWriMo](https://nanowrimo.org/), too!
* [I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061994987/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Sylvie Simmons
* [The Last Invention of Man: How AI might take over the world](http://nautil.us/issue/53/monsters/the-last-invention-of-man#comm) by Max Tegmark
* [The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!](johnaugust.com/guide)
* [The USB drives!](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-300-episode-usb-flash-drive)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Grant Faulkner](https://twitter.com/grantfaulkner) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Find past episodes](http://scriptnotes.net/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Rajesh Naroth ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_321.mp3).

**UPDATE 10-23-17:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2017/scriptnotes-ep-321-getting-stuff-written-transcript).