I'VE GOT A HUNGER TWISTING MY STOMACH INTO KNOTS

They say hard work pays off, but now I need it to actually PAY

Lookit, you guys!

I DID THAT. I sold my 1000th copy of my rock and roll love story, The Sound of Settling.

Me.

Clearly, plenty of you helped, and thank you! But when I say I did it, I mean I did it without an agent.

It took a little longer than I expected, because I sold the 900th copy at the end of November. Social media suppression is real, what can you do? But ANYWAY, I woke up to that glorious number today, Monday, January 27, 2025.

I did it without an agent or a proper publishing deal. I did it through relentless social media promotion despite being suppressed AF on Twitter. I have slogged through the process of getting a manuscript to make it look exactly right for the jerkwads at Amazon KDP (thank you, Thad!). I got it into Powell’s. I got it into the Multnomah County Library—three branches of it. I got it to a list of celebrities that I’d also like to have in the eventual streaming series.

What started as a way to stay occupied during a pandemic has turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever written—save for the follow-up, which I’ve been told by two early (and male) readers is even better than The Sound of Settling.

I wrote a book during the 2020 lockdowns based on something that happened to me in real life, answering all of the “What if?” questions I’d gotten over the years from anyone who heard the story.

Once I was happy with the draft I had, I queried agents for three solid years. Crickets. Maybe it just sucks, I’d say to myself after every rejection.

And then I’d re-read it and make myself cry and I’d say, But it doesn’t suck at all.

So I finally bit the bullet and released it on Amazon in September 2023. And now I’m here.

I’m ready for the proper publishing deal. I’m ready to adapt it into a streaming series. I’m ready to make it my life’s main focus so I can have something good to look forward to every day when I wake up.

I’m an untapped writing goldmine. There is someone out there who’ll recognize this and finally sign me.

Substack is for the smart kids. There have to be agents and producers around here that I just don’t know about, so please share this good news! You never know who’s going to see it.

I’ll leave you with the earworm I’ve had all morning, courtesy Jimmy Eat World.

I'll accept with poise, with grace
When they draw my name from the lottery
And they'll say "All the salt in the world couldn't melt that ice"
I'm the one who gets away
I'm a New Jersey success story
And they'll say "Lord give me the chance to shake that hand"

We’re manifesting next-level greatness for my beloved book. LET’S GO!