Writing: For the Sell of It was the theme of our community college's annual writers' conference. When I called a widely published author and asked him to be our keynote speaker, my request was met with a long silence. He finally said, “I don't know what I would say to that audience.” “You're just being modest,” I replied. “I'm sure you're extremely qualified to speak on that subject.” He suddenly broke into laughter. “I thought you said, ‘Writing for the Celibate.’”
我們社區(qū)大學(xué)的年度作家研討會的主題是:“Writing: For the Sell of It(為賣而寫作)”。當(dāng)我打電話給一位著作甚豐的作家,請他作主題演講的時候,得到的回應(yīng)卻是長時間的沉默。他最后說:“我不知道對這樣的聽眾該怎么講?!蔽一卮鹫f:“你太謙虛了。我確信你是極有資格講這個主題的?!彼蝗槐l(fā)出一陣大笑:“我以為你說的是‘為禁欲者寫作’?!?