Zacht Ei - Happy New Year

Sunday, January 1, 2006

Happy New Year

So after the obligatory best wishes (best wishes!) I'd really like to ask you about what's in store for you this year. And I'm not talking your plans to quit smoking/be nicer to your dog/finally divorce that **** ******* **** (m/f).

Just to get you started: a friend of mine is off to Guatemala in a probably highly successful attempt to bankrupt himself. And I've got some interesting choices to face as well:

• Will I finally write a novel... I've always wanted to write fiction, but thusfar I've been too scared to make the attempt. In 2004, I told my publisher I would write a novel after my second nonfiction book had been finished. So it seems I've run out of excuses, now that I've finished three nonfiction books and contributed to a fourth.
• ...and if so, will I write it in English? My books are doing quite well - for Dutch standards. The average book in the Netherlands, I'm told, sells 800 (!) copies. I've had no trouble exceeding that (many times over) thusfar. That's nonfiction. Writing a novel in Dutch is a recipe for poverty. Then again, I am not a native speaker of English, so I'd need a subeditor. Preferably someone with a working knowledge of Dutch, a sense of humor, and an intimate knowledge of the neurotic behavior any journalist is bound to display from time to time. Any takers?

20:06

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Christmas wishes

Setup or stupidity?

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Hey Arjan, I think you should write in English, you're very good at it.
Gelukkig nieuw jaar! muaaahs!(:

Myrtus (ip:69.211.50.205) 1 January 2006 - 2:57 uur

Hey, if English was good enough for Conrad, Borges, and Nabokov...

Mitch (ip:71.243.74.22) 1 January 2006 - 4:52 uur

*****
Writing a novel in Dutch is a recipe for poverty. Then again, I am not a native speaker of English, so I'd need a subeditor. Preferably someone with a working knowledge of Dutch, a sense of humor, and an intimate knowledge of the neurotic behavior any journalist is bound to display from time to time. Any takers?
*****
Intriguing blog, Arjan. Your written English is excellent -- very uncommon in my experience for a Dutch person. You could certainly do a book in English.

Interesting how you, as a Dutch citizen, and me, as an American living in the Netherlands, could arrive at such different political conclusions. Nevertheless, since English is my mother tongue, even some of my Dutch friends can appreciate my sense of humor and I do have a proven affinity with journalism and journalists, I offer my services in case you decide to write a novel. (En ja, na 39 jaar in Nederland -- de laatste 15 jaar als vertaler Nederlands-Engels, mijn Nederlands is redelijk.)

As a second career, I started my own translation agency some years ago and, over the years, have translated several books by Dutch authors. The most recent one was The Price of Paradise by Herman Vuijsje (Immerc bv, Wormer â€“ ISBN 90 6611 030).

You might want to check out my blog to get an idea of my writing skills.

http://edgewise.blogspot.com/

On another blog I posted one of my earlier short stories.

http://blacktulipblog.blogspot.com/2004/11/spice-and-speculation.html

Writing has always been my hobby, not my profession.

All of the above on the proviso that Iâ€™m not dead by the time you decide to write your novel.

Cheers

Matrixx8 (ip:80.61.62.195) 1 January 2006 - 0:32 uur

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Happy New Year

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