In a world with too much input, yours is always worthwhile! I'm sorry I missed this week's bookclub but I'm already looking forward to the next (and I'll watch the replay this weekend or next). This all looks exciting! I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing in your joys and benefiting from your insights (I still catch myself thinking about how my brain works and did I "see" that new idea in my mind or "hear" it?--and really examining the spectrum of my ability to visualize). :) Here's to the next stage of your (and our) creative journeys!
Yessssss!! I love love LOVE that you said "our" journeys, because it's all about sharing the path together, isn't it? So much better to have good company along the way. And thank you for saying such kind things about this community. I can't wait to see you again at the next book club meeting!
I just went to put the next book club on my calendar, and realized I have a lunchtime event and won't be home in time--probably won't get home til 2:30 or so. So apologies in advance and I'm already looking forward to July!
Hahaha that was the best sneak preview of a podcast I've ever experienced! I fully agree with Pierce Brown about writing. I can't wait for the full episode!
BRAVE REBRAND, Evelyn! I adore the photo of you. Also, one of my inner Monkeys whispers, "Why can't you be more like Evelyn and just exude effing HAPPY? Why must you carry on about self-talk and Fear?" 🤣 If only I didn't experience the wildly exuberant joy on the other side of facing our fears, and want to write about it! PS. Sad to miss Book Club; moving = a good reason..
Thank you, Christine! It was a little scary to barrel forward with this rebranding and launching the podcast, but you all are so supportive and wonderful that I figured there was no reason not to try. If I fall on my face, we'll have a good laugh about it. :)
As for being happy, I think you're doing it perfectly. I think a key thing, at least for me, is being able to face the reality of life with its ups and downs--not ignoring the hard parts--but then also being able to accept what's real and move forward, when I'm ready, with a positive outlook. I don't know if that's quite expressing it clearly enough? But basically, not toxic positivity (ignoring anything bad), but rather taking life as it is and then finding small moments of joy, and also spreading smiles and happiness in the way that I best can (which is different for everyone, but I can be me, and you can be you, etc etc...)
haha I really don't know if that made any sense! But now I am late to my Spanish class, so I must cut this short. Have a lovely day!
A book I love? I reread Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman at least once a year. I love that it was inspired by his son and the drawings throughout the book were done by him.
A second pick would be The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser for the opposite reasons. I have not been able to reread this book because of how emotional it made me.
Oh yes, my goal is to absolutely spoil you rotten! :)
I LOVE Challenger Deep! Now you've inspired me to pick it up again for a re-read. Neal is such a lovely person, too. I got to grab dinner with him and his co-author (on a different book) Eric Elfman a few years back when they were on tour through the Bay Area. Thank you for The Next Thing You Know, too. I had not heard of it but am adding it to my TBR.
a book i LOVE is.... all of them? ;D most recently, i LOVED "people from my neighborhood" by hiromi kawakami. (english translation from the japanese; short stories that got more surreal as the book went on! and a StuNnING cover!!)
i have a question, too: YOUR AUTHOR GOALS.
were those all set before you got published, or as you achieved each new thing, you set a new one? :D
You are always the sweetest, Hallie! I hosted an in-person Substack meetup last night and mentioned your newsletter to a writer/illustrator who is just starting her Substack. :)
I love stories translated from Japanese, so I will definitely look for People From My Neighborhood. Thank you for the rec!
As for your questions, I had some goals already set from the get-go (I am terribly ambitious and aimed for being a NYT bestseller). But others, I'm just improvising. Like, is there an end-goal for doing this video podcast series? Nope, I just want to talk to interesting people and share that with you all, and that's pretty much it. I'm really loving the pure joy of this project!
What about you? Did you start out with career goals already set?
aw, thank you for passing my newsletter along! i'd love to be a help! :)
i think my ambitions are less The List and more bringing people joy? like, i've been so focused on getting A Book Written that an agent wants to rep it that i'm still at the "things i'm looking for in an agent" stage-- and my ambitions are set on certain publishing houses i'd like to go to auction over my work -- followed by a publisher-funded book tour which feels like a big enough ASK at this point...? ;D
would i also LOVE to sashay down the red carpet at "my" movie premiere and sit next to greta gerwig at the oscars in a zac posen (or erdem, dolce & gabanna, or dior) dress?--um, obviously... bahahaha. ;D
but maybe one (smaller) step at a time?? :)
(i'll also accept a stay in the cinderella castle at WDW, but i still have YET to figure out how that can be a publishing milestone for me. teeheee.) ;D
Honestly, I love a woman who is willing to state her ambitions and not shy away from them, so ALL OF THIS is wonderful! I can't wait to see you in the D&G gown on the red carpet, surely with Newbery and Caldecott's in your chic little purse.
Like you, Evelyn, I love to write. I don't really understand people who say writing makes them miserable, yet they continue to do it. If it makes them so unhappy, then why do it?
I think everyone enjoys different parts of it, like even among those who love writing, some people love the freedom of first drafting and others love revision. I kinda hate the zero draft phase... there's almost TOO much freedom haha. Once I have enough words down for an actual book, though, I just feel so much comfortable and I can relax and enjoy the writing. What about you?
Writing can be miserable if you expect your first draft to be brilliant. But I realized years ago, that first drafts are nearly always bad. The editing or revisions is where the fun part or at least feeling of accomplishments come. Another trick to get past the "miserable" part is to remember: no one needs to see that first draft. Crank it out, set it aside, then come back to it later.
Interesting development! As a participant, I highly recommend the book club part. Best book club I've ever been in.!
oh my gosh, Thank you, Bill! I really enjoy your insights in the book club and am so happy you're a part of it!
In a world with too much input, yours is always worthwhile! I'm sorry I missed this week's bookclub but I'm already looking forward to the next (and I'll watch the replay this weekend or next). This all looks exciting! I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing in your joys and benefiting from your insights (I still catch myself thinking about how my brain works and did I "see" that new idea in my mind or "hear" it?--and really examining the spectrum of my ability to visualize). :) Here's to the next stage of your (and our) creative journeys!
Yessssss!! I love love LOVE that you said "our" journeys, because it's all about sharing the path together, isn't it? So much better to have good company along the way. And thank you for saying such kind things about this community. I can't wait to see you again at the next book club meeting!
I just went to put the next book club on my calendar, and realized I have a lunchtime event and won't be home in time--probably won't get home til 2:30 or so. So apologies in advance and I'm already looking forward to July!
oh no, so sad to miss you again! Well, I hope you still get to read the book because it's a fun and very interesting one!
Hahaha that was the best sneak preview of a podcast I've ever experienced! I fully agree with Pierce Brown about writing. I can't wait for the full episode!
He made me laugh, too! I'm glad it got you just right, Beth!
This sounds spectacular Evelynn. Thank you!
I just picked up a copy of "When the Moon Hatched" by Sarah. A. Parker. I'm 100 pages I'm and quite enjoying it!
I'm really looking forward to all of your content, thank you again!
Hi Marina! It's really lovely to meet you. I am going to look up When the Moon Hatched! Thank you for the rec, and welcome again!
This sounds wonderful, Evelyn! I'm looking forward to this. Congrats 🎊🍾🎈🎉 on a new Substack adventure!
Thanks for coming along on the journey, E!
BRAVE REBRAND, Evelyn! I adore the photo of you. Also, one of my inner Monkeys whispers, "Why can't you be more like Evelyn and just exude effing HAPPY? Why must you carry on about self-talk and Fear?" 🤣 If only I didn't experience the wildly exuberant joy on the other side of facing our fears, and want to write about it! PS. Sad to miss Book Club; moving = a good reason..
Thank you, Christine! It was a little scary to barrel forward with this rebranding and launching the podcast, but you all are so supportive and wonderful that I figured there was no reason not to try. If I fall on my face, we'll have a good laugh about it. :)
As for being happy, I think you're doing it perfectly. I think a key thing, at least for me, is being able to face the reality of life with its ups and downs--not ignoring the hard parts--but then also being able to accept what's real and move forward, when I'm ready, with a positive outlook. I don't know if that's quite expressing it clearly enough? But basically, not toxic positivity (ignoring anything bad), but rather taking life as it is and then finding small moments of joy, and also spreading smiles and happiness in the way that I best can (which is different for everyone, but I can be me, and you can be you, etc etc...)
haha I really don't know if that made any sense! But now I am late to my Spanish class, so I must cut this short. Have a lovely day!
You are spoiling us with all this content!
A book I love? I reread Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman at least once a year. I love that it was inspired by his son and the drawings throughout the book were done by him.
A second pick would be The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser for the opposite reasons. I have not been able to reread this book because of how emotional it made me.
Oh yes, my goal is to absolutely spoil you rotten! :)
I LOVE Challenger Deep! Now you've inspired me to pick it up again for a re-read. Neal is such a lovely person, too. I got to grab dinner with him and his co-author (on a different book) Eric Elfman a few years back when they were on tour through the Bay Area. Thank you for The Next Thing You Know, too. I had not heard of it but am adding it to my TBR.
Challenger Deep just edges out Roxy as my favourite Neal Shusterman novel.
This sounds exciting! I'm looking forward to listening to your podcast and learning from your guests (and your) writing/publishing experiences.
It was so wonderful to meet you in person at our Silicon Vally Substack Meetup, Kevin! I'm really happy you're here!
We should do another an IRL meetup in a few months. So much better than zoom or threads. They have their place, of course for scalability. 😊
Me too, Evelyn!
ohhh, dear evelyn-- how you bless us all!
a book i LOVE is.... all of them? ;D most recently, i LOVED "people from my neighborhood" by hiromi kawakami. (english translation from the japanese; short stories that got more surreal as the book went on! and a StuNnING cover!!)
i have a question, too: YOUR AUTHOR GOALS.
were those all set before you got published, or as you achieved each new thing, you set a new one? :D
You are always the sweetest, Hallie! I hosted an in-person Substack meetup last night and mentioned your newsletter to a writer/illustrator who is just starting her Substack. :)
I love stories translated from Japanese, so I will definitely look for People From My Neighborhood. Thank you for the rec!
As for your questions, I had some goals already set from the get-go (I am terribly ambitious and aimed for being a NYT bestseller). But others, I'm just improvising. Like, is there an end-goal for doing this video podcast series? Nope, I just want to talk to interesting people and share that with you all, and that's pretty much it. I'm really loving the pure joy of this project!
What about you? Did you start out with career goals already set?
aw, thank you for passing my newsletter along! i'd love to be a help! :)
i think my ambitions are less The List and more bringing people joy? like, i've been so focused on getting A Book Written that an agent wants to rep it that i'm still at the "things i'm looking for in an agent" stage-- and my ambitions are set on certain publishing houses i'd like to go to auction over my work -- followed by a publisher-funded book tour which feels like a big enough ASK at this point...? ;D
would i also LOVE to sashay down the red carpet at "my" movie premiere and sit next to greta gerwig at the oscars in a zac posen (or erdem, dolce & gabanna, or dior) dress?--um, obviously... bahahaha. ;D
but maybe one (smaller) step at a time?? :)
(i'll also accept a stay in the cinderella castle at WDW, but i still have YET to figure out how that can be a publishing milestone for me. teeheee.) ;D
oh. and i'd love to win the newbery AND the caldecott for the Same Book in the Same Year, but i don't ask for much. bahahaha.
Honestly, I love a woman who is willing to state her ambitions and not shy away from them, so ALL OF THIS is wonderful! I can't wait to see you in the D&G gown on the red carpet, surely with Newbery and Caldecott's in your chic little purse.
on it! 😄💖🥰💃🏽🥳✏️📚🏅🏅👛😎😘
Like you, Evelyn, I love to write. I don't really understand people who say writing makes them miserable, yet they continue to do it. If it makes them so unhappy, then why do it?
I think everyone enjoys different parts of it, like even among those who love writing, some people love the freedom of first drafting and others love revision. I kinda hate the zero draft phase... there's almost TOO much freedom haha. Once I have enough words down for an actual book, though, I just feel so much comfortable and I can relax and enjoy the writing. What about you?
Writing can be miserable if you expect your first draft to be brilliant. But I realized years ago, that first drafts are nearly always bad. The editing or revisions is where the fun part or at least feeling of accomplishments come. Another trick to get past the "miserable" part is to remember: no one needs to see that first draft. Crank it out, set it aside, then come back to it later.
"no one needs to see that first draft." <-- YES, I love this! Great reminder, Kevin.
I love all aspects and phases of the writing process - everything except querying 😂
Fabulous and looking forward!
Thank you, Erin! This is going to be fun!
I'm so excited for this!! What a wonderful relaunch! 😊
thank you, Mesa! I've been working so hard on it and SO EXCITED to finally get to share it!
Thank you so much for this great idea. I'm about to reread one of my favourite books, The Remains of The Day.
you know what? I have never read it!! Adding to my TBR immediately. Thank you for the rec, Tali!
My pleasure.
FUN
oh yeah, this is gonna be GREAT!! So happy you're excited with me, Stephanie!