It’s time once again for … ASK BRIAN ANYTHING.
What do you want to know? I’ll answer any question, even personal stuff. (The answer might be “I’m not going to tell you,” but hey.) Possible topics include:
- Writing, editing, books, ampersands & pilcrows
- Fatherhood
- Software development (I’m no longer in IT, but I still write literally dozens of lines of code per year)
- Depression
- President Trump’s ongoing quest to make history remember Joseph McCarthy fondly by comparison
- Religion(s)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Etymology
- Anything whatsoever
- Wait, not THAT! … oh, okay, even that
And … go!
Brian D. Buckley 
Hey Brian!
I’m a new editor trying to break into the publishing business. I’ve been freelancing pro gratis for several years now, and am currently applying to a few publishing houses. I’ve already taken a few post-graduate classes in editing and completed an internship. Unfortunately it’s a tough job market, and I’m beginning to lose heart. Any advice?
Hey! Thanks for the question. I’ll respond in my next blog post, on Monday.
Have a great weekend!
You being a writer and editor, and now a father, have yoy given any thought about writing a children’s book?
Interesting question! 🙂 Short answer is “Not really,” but I’ll give it some thought and respond in more depth.
Another question. Have there been occasions that have caused you to feel old yet?
Could you compare and contrast your experience with writing code and writing literature? Personally, I think they share many things in common, such as rhythm and flow, common structures/patterns, and opinionated naming/spacing/etc. You did a blog a while back about simplifying language in sentences and that also reminded me a BUNCH of simplifying code.
Another great question! Somebody could probably write a whole book on this topic, but I’ll try to limit myself to a blog post. 😀
In the ‘etymology’ category: what are your top 5 (or some generic enumerated list of your defined length) favorite words & why? There’s some cool etymology out there, and after taking Latin I realized why some weird words exist in English.
Also, what’s something that you enjoy talking about that people don’t ask you about enough? (Or, worded differently: a topic for which it’s hard to find a conversation partner?)
I heart this question so much, I want to marry it.