Hi friends, this is the start of a virtual book club. Instead of doing it live, I will upload videos as I work my way through Austin Kleon’s ‘Show Your Work,’ and I encourage you to read along and comment as you wish.
I’ve wanted to do an online book club for a while, but really didn’t want to do everything involved with launching it, you know? Setting a date, getting people signed up, showing up live on Zoom and hoping I had the energy to pull it off… this way you get to watch the video when you get a chance, and there’s nothing to fuss with on your schedule.
This first one is free, but the rest will be for paid subscribers moving forward.
If you’d really like to participate but don’t have the funds, please email or DM me, and I will make sure you can join us.
So what resonates with you about the “scenius,” or the “ecology of talent?”
How are you contributing to your scene? How can you give as a way of “showing your work?”
honestly, I feel like I can give and serve many readers by publishing material that... kind of sucks. Not that I want to suck, but often I see some offering someone has made and think "man, that was kind of crappy, but I still like it. I got something out of that. And I think I could do at least that or better. So why not try to create something myself?" I think the Grateful Dead did a great job of inspiring hordes of musicians, because as amazingly awesome as the Dead were, often their concerts weren't so great. But everyone loved them, and kept showing up to shows. Thank Seth, love the book club video idea
Using social media to gain a following feels more and more like hollering into a void, but not an empty one. It’s full of a million voices yelling, “Look at me! Please! Over here!” Most people are calling out and dancing and putting up flashing neon lights and hardly anyone is actually listening.
Look - I think I have ideas and thoughts that are useful, mildly entertaining, important even - but who cares? We’re swimming in it. This chapter has inspired me to figure out how to connect with people in the scene to make something more interesting and useful and to make writing/drawing things for the internet a less isolating and soul-sucking experience. 🤷🏻♀️
honestly, I feel like I can give and serve many readers by publishing material that... kind of sucks. Not that I want to suck, but often I see some offering someone has made and think "man, that was kind of crappy, but I still like it. I got something out of that. And I think I could do at least that or better. So why not try to create something myself?" I think the Grateful Dead did a great job of inspiring hordes of musicians, because as amazingly awesome as the Dead were, often their concerts weren't so great. But everyone loved them, and kept showing up to shows. Thank Seth, love the book club video idea
Using social media to gain a following feels more and more like hollering into a void, but not an empty one. It’s full of a million voices yelling, “Look at me! Please! Over here!” Most people are calling out and dancing and putting up flashing neon lights and hardly anyone is actually listening.
Look - I think I have ideas and thoughts that are useful, mildly entertaining, important even - but who cares? We’re swimming in it. This chapter has inspired me to figure out how to connect with people in the scene to make something more interesting and useful and to make writing/drawing things for the internet a less isolating and soul-sucking experience. 🤷🏻♀️