my (semi-animated, semi-authorized) book launch event, now on YouTube!
Did you know that I foolishly went around from bookstore to bookstore with all my crazy A/V equipment in order to show animated videos and presentations alongside my book readings? Yep, it cost me a lot in therapy visits and chiropractic visits, but it was also really fun to mix up the book reading event with some of my bad drawings and animation gimmicks. If you didn't get a chance to see this stuff at a bookstore, then you're (arguably) in luck, because, here it is!
a few more ways to spot a yuvi in the wild before he goes into hiding in his attic…
If you know me at all, it’s probably obvious at this point that I’m an introvert. Mostly, I prefer to hide in my attic, and only communicate with the world through YouTube, Zoom, or some other well-bounded digital method. But I do have this exhibitionist streak alongside the introvertedness. It’s a complicated cocktail of angst and delight, but I do love to chat with actual humans in actual bookstores about actual books.
How do you promote a thing when the world is collapsing around you?
Oh. I hope you weren't expecting me to answer that question. This isn't one of those "smart advice" or “good insight” blog posts. 💡 This is more of a I-don't-know-the-answer-and-I-have-no-idea-what-the-hell-I’m-doing-and-I'm-trying-to-write-my-way-through-it situations. 😱🤯
Most People Don’t Give a Shit About Your Thing (video)
This latest video talks through the mindset shift that I’ve taken on this year (for all my creative pursuits). I knew that I didn’t want to be too disappointed by any activities related to my new book. There are just too many factors to consider with a book release, and many of them are out of my control. As much as possible, I wanted to savor the good stuff without having unrealistic expectations. I also didn’t want to ever feel gross with how I share or promote anything. So I boiled down the mindset to “most people don’t give a shit.” Think of it like a second-rate, neurotic version of Buddhist ideas related to unmet expectations and the problems with a “wanting mind”… or something like that.
Gatekeepers & Creativity (video)
My novel is coming out in just a few weeks! And I’m thrilled to be publishing the book with a great press like Red Hen Press. At the same time, it’s been on my mind that—right now—we have this ability to share our creative work with an audience in so many different ways, some ways involve gatekeepers, and some don’t. And so of course I made a video about that.
Publishing Purgatory & Pants
I've lost my focus. I have a book coming out in two months and I have no idea where to put my attention. It feels like I'm doing nothing and everything at once. I’m working on too many things but don’t know which things are the most important.
So let me list out the pieces of my messy month and see if I can come out the other side with some insight that could be useful for anyone, regardless of what kind of month you've had…
On publishing stuff at medium.com...
So I've been re-publishing a few of my published stories on medium.com this month. Medium can be described as many things, but one thing it is... is a site that looks beautiful where people can self-publish their writing. It has been on my mind to do this, because many websites - even sites that post amazing content - are not so pretty. Either they are poorly designed or they have intrusive advertising or something else. I have no grand plans here, I just thought it would be fun to post a few of my favorite stories on this uncluttered site so a few people could read and enjoy them. Or at least if they don't enjoy them - it is entirely my fault. So here they are, in case you want to check a few of them out. Most are quite short...