{"id":1176,"date":"2018-12-13T19:17:29","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T19:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writingroutines.com\/?p=1176"},"modified":"2018-12-13T21:34:32","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T21:34:32","slug":"tyler-cowen-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writingroutines.com\/tyler-cowen-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Economist, Superstar Blogger, And Bestselling Author Tyler Cowen On How To Be Prolific"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who:<\/strong>\u00a0Tyler Cowen<\/p>\n

Claim To Fame:\u00a0<\/strong>Tyler Cowen is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is the author of Marginal Revolution<\/a>\u2014<\/em>one of the most popular economics blogs<\/a> in the world. He has written\u00a0over a dozen books, including bestsellers\u00a0Average is Over<\/a><\/em>, and\u00a0The Complacent Class<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0He also writes a column for\u00a0Bloomberg View<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0has contributed extensively to national publications such as the\u00a0New York Times, Wall Street Journal,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Money.<\/i><\/p>\n

Where To Find Tyler:<\/strong>\u00a0His\u00a0Website<\/a>,\u00a0Amazon<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Praise For Tyler:\u00a0<\/strong>“Tyler Cowen is a national treasure.”<\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Cass R. Sunstein<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Bestselling Author<\/a>\u00a0and Professor<\/a> at Harvard University<\/p>\n

\n

On your podcast<\/a>, you ask your guests about their so-called “production function<\/a>.” What do you think yours is? And perhaps more curiously, have you taken any of the methods from your guests and begun using them yourself?<\/h3>\n

When it comes to writing, my production function is to write every day.<\/a> Sundays, absolutely. Christmas, too. Whatever. A few days a year I am tied up in meetings all day and that is a kind of torture. Write even when you have nothing to say, because that is every day.<\/p>\n

You’ve said before that you tend to skip around when you’re reading or quit if you don’t like it. Does knowing that readers do that affect your own writing style at all? Do you try to anticipate or take that into account?<\/h3>\n

I try to get to the point right away<\/a>. And it\u2019s OK if most readers don\u2019t get to the later parts of the book. Based on my reputation, they have an implicit model of what is waiting there for them. What\u2019s in the model may even be better than the reality! So I might prefer that they don\u2019t finish my book, because who can live up to the imagination of a really good reader?<\/p>\n

For someone who is such a productive and prolific writer<\/a>, how do you avoid getting burned out or tired? Or does the daily-ness of it actually prevent that from happening\u2014no time to think about it?<\/h3>\n

Think of it as exercise<\/a> or practice. And I write only for a few hours each day, unless you count emails as extra, but most of those are not so challenging. I never want to be pushing on how much writing I can get done in a day. I am an extreme anti-procrastinator\u2014do a wee bit and let it add up! And have this all happen very very early, no last-minute rushing for me. I end up finding deadlines irrelevant, which lowers stress and keeps me writing.<\/p>\n

How do you know if something you’re working on is not worth publishing or not any good? Have you developed any criteria that lets you evaluate your own work?<\/h3>\n

Well, I spent the first 25 years of my career writing under norms of refereeing and peer review and of course lots of rejections. You had no choice but to accept the dictates of others and they are always telling you it isn\u2019t good enough. I am happy to be writing online these days, but also very glad I had that particular background, which is not easy to pick up cheaply.<\/p>\n

All of your work is very research intensive<\/a>. What is your method for researching and organizing material<\/a> you might want to use for your future writing?<\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t take notes. I leave things in piles. The piles are growing and have to be fought back with hammer and tongs. I wish I had improved methods, but there you go. Don\u2019t end up like me!<\/p>\n

____________<\/p>\n

Ready to create a writing routine of your\u00a0own?<\/h3>\n

Sign up now and receive our free guide\u00a0\u201c12 Essential Writing Routines To Help You To Craft Your Own<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Learn from the routines of superstar authors\u00a0Stephen King, Gertrude Stein, John Grisham, Ernest Hemingway, Neil Gaiman, and many more.<\/em><\/p>\n

Get the free guide\u00a0here!<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who:\u00a0Tyler Cowen Claim To Fame:\u00a0Tyler Cowen is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is the author of Marginal Revolution\u2014one of the most popular economics blogs in the world. 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