Coming back around

Returning to writing and trying out SubStack in the new year.

Bear with me: I’m still finding my footing with this.

Lots of new stuff here. First, this is the inaugural post following my move from a private newsletter to a big-kid SubStack. The tone is different, I’m finding: I’m a little more self-conscious about writing for a (mostly theoretical, at this point) public audience, in addition to friends and family who have already been involved with what I’m doing. Apologies if this sounds stilted.

Second, this is the first thing I’ve published since my dad died. It’s been just over three months now; in that time, we’ve successfully made it through the holidays—the first Thanksgiving, the first Christmas, and the first New Year’s without him—and the grief has become a familiar burden. I’m not sure if the mourning process has any surprises in store, if something might take me away from writing again; for now, at least, I feel ready to get back to work. While I might need to write about that loss here and there, the main focus of this work will continue to be writing (about) fiction. Thanks as always to everyone who’s provided support for me and my family during this time. I appreciate it immensely.

So then, to business. The big project I’m working on right now is figuring out how the blessed fuck storytelling is supposed to work in 2023.

(Side note for new readers: I’ll do my best to keep profanity to a PG-13 level, which famously permits one instance of the F-bomb. In order to uphold this rule, I will not, so help me God, be writing anything about politics on here.)

I’ve got more to write about the meta-business of finding a way to bring stories to people—self-publishing vs. traditional publishing vs. serial fiction vs. audiobooks vs. some mutant hybrid—in addition to writing the stories themselves. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, the big lift for this year is finding people who are also interested in the future of storytelling. This raises the awful specter of having to become one of Those People who is constantly peddling their wares everywhere they go, making chirpy posts and videos about “smashing that Like button” and press-ganging their friends into shilling for their weird project.

It’s a necessary evil, unfortunately. Publishing anything in These Dark Times is a sordid business. I need to get comfortable with some amount of self-promotion if I intend to make a serious try at this.

I will level with you: even if I pursue traditional publication for the book that I’m writing (in addition to the short stories that I’ll be sharing on here) I have a strong suspicion that I’ll need some kind of established audience. That’s just how the game is played these days. We all have the technological potential to bring 7.8 billion followers along with us. Even if it’s not a requirement—if I’m able to get a few dozen people with functioning synapses who are willing to state publicly that my stuff isn’t garbage, that will give me a slight edge over somebody who’s turning up with just their manuscript.

Theoretically.

Who knows? I sure don’t. I’m not sure if anybody does, anymore.

Which is part of why I’m excited about giving SubStack a try. The comments and the chat functions will give you all an opportunity to tell me what you think about stuff. I’m interested in finding an audience for my work—but I’m equally interested in hearing what other people think about these bigger trends in storytelling. What stories are worth telling these days, in a completely saturated media environment? How do people want to connect with those stories? Are we ready to think beyond the constraints of the novel format? Or do people still love that new-book smell enough to pay real money for actual books made from actual paper? Should writers be compensated for their work, or is it a spiritual vocation now, where we subsist on dew and sunlight and whatever mushrooms grow beneath our desks?

I have no idea.

But maybe you do! And even if you don’t feel comfortable trying to get your friends to read my fiction—believe me, I’m having a hard time with it too—maybe you know some people who are also interested in these questions. I’m guessing a lot of people are, whether they know it or not.

Stories are one of our most enduring birthrights as humans. If we don’t find a way to bring them into whatever future is barreling toward us, we’ll die. Spiritually, at least, if not physically. That’s a big part of why I’m doing this.

I’d be over the moon if I could get at least forty subscribers on here by year’s end. The more the merrier. It’ll take a whole bunch of us to figure out what works. And if there’s any way you can help with that, I’d be deeply, deeply grateful.

Thanks for reading.