But know what the hell a good book looks like.

Spoken like an editor!

Dinner: a half piece of toast moistened with soy milk, followed by tylenol and ipubuferin. Fuckin Tino gave me one of my sick headaches. As a bonus, got some weird kind of foot cramp where my toes would spasm and spontaneously contort themselves into painful positions. Feeling better and going to sleep.

Writing to your audience is pandering straight up.

Isn't that kind of close to "You'll read what I write and like it, peon"? If you have an audience in the first place, they like what you write. Do you then stop writing what they like, because otherwise you're pandering to them? God forbid you give the people who buy your stuff something they want to read.

I suppose you're meaning to address writers responding to direct fan requests which is probably in the most part a bad idea. But accusing someone of trying to please the people who like your stuff of pandering is pretty damned elitist. Along with the (paraphrased) "How dare they not just buy whatever I want to write. Just because they're paying me, they think they have a say in what the final product is. Philistines" thing.

Isn't that kind of close to "You'll read what I write and like it, peon"?

No. It presumes you're writing to satisfy your own standards without regard to who will read it if anyone.

I suppose you're meaning to address writers responding to direct fan requests which is probably in the most part a bad idea.

No.

But accusing someone of trying to please the people who like your stuff of pandering is pretty damned elitist.

What do you think pandering means anyway?

What do you think pandering means anyway?

Obsequiously currying ideas from a patron and then creating something for the sole pleasure of receiving a reward for that act, without regard for the quality of the product.

It presumes you're writing to satisfy your own standards without regard to who will read it if anyone.

Or who, if anyone, will pay you for it? A noble goal, go forth and write the work of art that lives in your soul.

Obsequiously currying ideas from a patron and then creating something for the sole pleasure of receiving a reward for that act, without regard for the quality of the product.

Well, as the (possibly belated for you) link points out it just means: "to provide gratification for others' desires."

And the reason the word has a negative and whoreish connotation is because it's not a good idea.

Okay, officially don't care if we want to deploy this weekend. Am tired of testing and updating code issues. Will now drink some Drambuie and then sleep for a millionty billion hours, and hope the peripheral edema is better when I wake up.

Spare Cat has removed her staple by catching it in the soft fabric edging on her fabric e-collar. That damn cat is just talented, you know?

At least the wound is actually closing up and looking like it's healing well.

I don't want to conference call in 20 minutes, damnit.

I'm lying in bed. There is a cat on my back.