Self-publishing a book is an inherently lonely endeavor. There were occasional check-ins with my editor, design editor, translator, and printer, and the one afternoon with the stout Québécois print technician, Marc. Most of that was done over email though (but not the afternoon with Marc); another person is technically there but the felt relationship is between me and a laptop. Most days over the 10 or so months it took to make THE OBSERVER'S GUIDE TO JAPANESE VENDING MACHINES looked just like that: me staring at a computer.
I don't write this in search of sympathy — despite the (numerous) warnings against it, I'm the one who chooses to be a writer dammit! — but instead to draw a point of contrast with the upwelling of community and support that I felt at the book launch a few weeks back. Burlington is a small town in a small state but we still managed to fill a big room up with people and noise. There were kids younger than one and oldsters up in their 70s, longtime friends and recent friends and plenty of people I'd never met. The conversations I had and saw happening won't be reflected on the balance sheet but darn if they didn't make all that solitary work worth it on their own.
Digital interactions aren't without value either. More than one stranger has emailed me sharing stories about some connection they have to Japan or a love of books that THE OBSERVER'S GUIDE TO JAPANESE VENDING MACHINES spoke to. People have been posting photos of their copies sitting on their coffee tables to social media. Since it's been available for purchase, orders have come in from all over the country. I've sent books to Alaska and Hawaii and overseas US military bases. People have purchased it from Canada and Europe and Australia, customs fees be damned. The other week, I sent the first copy to Japan.
It's that time of the year when we're all buying gifts for one another and if you don't take a beat to check in on gratitude it's easy to forget why we do it. (What was the name of that other holiday we celebrated on Thursday?) Anyway, these are just a few of the things I've been appreciating now that this project is out in the wild.
And still, there's work to do. Making a book is one thing, making sure people know about it is another. I've written a few essays about it for editors at Huckberry (read it here) and Matador Network (here) and their readers, did a Q&A about making it with Field Mag (here), and soon copies will be on display at Topo Designs stores in Colorado and The Post Supply in Portland, Maine. If you know any websites, stores, or newsletters that the book would be at home in, please let me know.
Photos by Chase Pellerin.
Great newsletter! 👍
One little side note - this newsletter would be 008. Just thought I would mention that.