And it's exactly what's wrong with the radio. It's like...anything that tries to appeal to everybody always ends up sounding so cheap. Joe Meno More Quotes by Joe Meno More Quotes From Joe Meno When I was growing up in the '70s and '80s, by the time you were 16, you were kind of expected to be an adult. By the time we were 16 and able to drive, certainly by 17 or 18 and into college, you just had very little interaction with your parents. Joe Meno drive parents you time There's slowly been a kind of shift in how we think about childhood. It's like childhood almost extends to 20 or 22 even after the end of college. When I was growing up, there was this expectation that you were on your own now. Joe Meno end think you childhood I would say I have a complicated relationship with institutionalized religion. Joe Meno say complicated relationship religion I tell my students that with a 200-page novel, you are going to write 100 pages that don't make the final cut. See it as an opportunity, although it took me a while to enjoy that 'lost in the woods' feeling. Joe Meno me you enjoy opportunity Whether you work with a small or corporate press, the important thing is to have realistic expectations in terms of sales, promotion, and the work you have to do as an author promoting your novel. Joe Meno you promotion important work Most novels put out by small or corporate presses don't really sell that well - usually a thousand copies or so. Working with a small press, you have to be willing to book reading tours, plan events, make contacts with other small press authors, and find new ways of getting word about your new work out there. Joe Meno you reading work book As an author on a corporate press, you have a lot less control over the finished product. I figure if I spend a couple years writing something, I want to be able to decide what the cover looks like and how it's going to be presented. Joe Meno control you writing looks What makes my work my own is where I'm writing from. And I feel like I have a million stories to write about Chicago. Joe Meno feel my-own work writing