Here at the end of 2018, I hope everyone has gotten through the year ok and perhaps even had some triumphs along the way. It has been a tough one - of reviewing what's important in life and letting go of some things that just weren't working out. 2019 promises to be a bit nicer.
I have been hanging back from publicity for many months because I needed to rethink my direction and take care of things that needed taking care of.
In 2019, I will be working on a series of video segments that I started late this year. I'm also putting together a workshop for LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies on the nature of blame and shame and how to get through them. I'm set to lead the first one at First Event in Marlboro, Mass. on Feb 2nd, 2019. As things firm up, I'll provide more details here on this web site (on the Appearances & Events page) and in other media.
Publicity is a huge amount of work and I burned myself out in late 2017 by trying so hard. By early 2018, I was sad and depressed about how little results I had achieved when compared to my expectations. (300 copies sold, instead of 3000 or 30,000? I haven't even recovered my financial investment, much less earned anything for the three years of labor to write and publish it.) So now I'm trying to take things a bit slower, one step at a time, and keep my energy more in balance.
The hard lesson I had to learn is this: There is no "get rich quick" path in life. If that's the "American Dream" then it's just a dream. Everything takes hard work. One person out of millions wins the lottery or happens to benefit from something they created "going viral" unexpectedly. They make big headlines, and everybody cheers. But the truth is, the rest of us have to work diligently at what we do, and still there are no guarantees.
I worked very hard to make a high quality book, and from what those who have read it tell me, it really is a good book. But just making something of good quality is not good enough to do well, financially, in today's world. There are millions of other people out there, all trying to do the same thing, writing books, making videos, writing songs, performing, etc. Only a few people will ever become widely enough known to "get rich" (or even earn a modest living!) for their efforts. For the vast majority of us, it will take years of hard work before any results come in.
So, my focus has shifted. Survive on what I can earn, ok, but do what seems to have inspired me recently. Use my book as "a giant business card" (as someone phrased it earlier this year) and get up, go out, and give talks, participate in panel discussions, and run workshops. Do these things to help the people who don't have the vision that I have. Do them for the people just starting the gender identity journey I've been through, to lend them the benefit of my experience (so far). Go out there and be an example of a Universalist - a person who strives to love everyone, regardless of their flaws or mistakes or bad behavior along the way. Please wish me well, and I wish you well in turn.
I have been hanging back from publicity for many months because I needed to rethink my direction and take care of things that needed taking care of.
In 2019, I will be working on a series of video segments that I started late this year. I'm also putting together a workshop for LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies on the nature of blame and shame and how to get through them. I'm set to lead the first one at First Event in Marlboro, Mass. on Feb 2nd, 2019. As things firm up, I'll provide more details here on this web site (on the Appearances & Events page) and in other media.
Publicity is a huge amount of work and I burned myself out in late 2017 by trying so hard. By early 2018, I was sad and depressed about how little results I had achieved when compared to my expectations. (300 copies sold, instead of 3000 or 30,000? I haven't even recovered my financial investment, much less earned anything for the three years of labor to write and publish it.) So now I'm trying to take things a bit slower, one step at a time, and keep my energy more in balance.
The hard lesson I had to learn is this: There is no "get rich quick" path in life. If that's the "American Dream" then it's just a dream. Everything takes hard work. One person out of millions wins the lottery or happens to benefit from something they created "going viral" unexpectedly. They make big headlines, and everybody cheers. But the truth is, the rest of us have to work diligently at what we do, and still there are no guarantees.
I worked very hard to make a high quality book, and from what those who have read it tell me, it really is a good book. But just making something of good quality is not good enough to do well, financially, in today's world. There are millions of other people out there, all trying to do the same thing, writing books, making videos, writing songs, performing, etc. Only a few people will ever become widely enough known to "get rich" (or even earn a modest living!) for their efforts. For the vast majority of us, it will take years of hard work before any results come in.
So, my focus has shifted. Survive on what I can earn, ok, but do what seems to have inspired me recently. Use my book as "a giant business card" (as someone phrased it earlier this year) and get up, go out, and give talks, participate in panel discussions, and run workshops. Do these things to help the people who don't have the vision that I have. Do them for the people just starting the gender identity journey I've been through, to lend them the benefit of my experience (so far). Go out there and be an example of a Universalist - a person who strives to love everyone, regardless of their flaws or mistakes or bad behavior along the way. Please wish me well, and I wish you well in turn.
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