Memoir Update - July 9

Hi, guys! It’s been a little while, so I just wanted to give y’all a bit of an update on this memoir.

First of all, the actual text itself is coming along really well. I’m gonna pick out a couple of excerpts that I’ll pull up here in the next week or so, but I’m sure, if you’re already signed up for this book, that you already like my writing style, have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and probably don’t want TOO many spoilers. Still, there is some text that falls into that “teaser“ category, so I’ll see if I can extract a couple of chunks that won’t give too much away. Otherwise, the story is fully outlined, and I have about half of the first draft done. My goal is been to hit anywhere from 1500 to 2000 words a day, and I’ve been doing a (decently, lol) good job at hitting those benchmarks. Currently, the goal is to have draft one completely finished before the end of July. Then, I’m going to put it on the shelf for a week, just to separate my brain from it (after a lifetime of being an editor, I can’t tell you how valuable of a trick that is). Then, I get to go back through and read it again with fresh eyes, and hone it as necessary. The last week of August will be unboxing some old InDesign skills (probably buffing off the rust with a couple of YouTube videos?) and putting it together. Fingers crossed, it’s still looking like I can hit the print button in the very beginning of September!

You also might be wondering about images. I do have quite a few fun ones locked away. 🙂 Let’s just say, if you enjoy my aesthetic, you will enjoy these. That being said, I was telling a friend of mine in Madrid about this project. She is a dynamite photographer, so she and I have been talking about her paying me a visit, or the other way around, and maybe doing something a bit more staged and professional. Things are a lot better here in Spain than they were a few months ago, but the country is still very much on the mend, and things like schedules and travel are still very uncertain. I hope we can make it happen!

As far as how you’re going to be receiving the book… I dove back in recently to see if there’s anyway I could get a hold of the copies myself, and then send them to you, directly from me. It just kind of seems fun that way, you know? So today, for the first time in a LONG time, I visited the post office. I brought along one of my own books, and asked them to tell me how much it would cost to mail this to, for example, the United States. The answer was surprising. It would be, like, 50 bucks — money that, honestly, will be much better spent elsewhere as it relates to this project. Not to mention the fact that, and I’m saying this from personal experience, the Spanish post is notoriously slow, and it’s totally not uncommon for packages to never arrive at all. I know the worlds been crazy lately, with coronavirus? But I kid you not. I sent a small parcel to a friend of mine back in the United States, and it literally took two months to get to her. Things like letters and postcards? They go through just fine. The parcels are a whole different ball of wax, are exposed to all sorts of customs bullshit when they leave the country, and I frankly don’t want you guys to have been so generous, only to have to wait until… November before the damn thing shows up.

So, it looks like we’ll be sticking with the original plan, where the book will be mailed to you, directly from the printer. In that case, you’ll have it in more like a week. (Plus, no waiting for the books to come to me, and then get re-shipped).

Which, is actually not a horrible setup. That brings me back to the package that I’m going to be sending to each of you. I need to change this information on the tier listing, but essentially, that thing has… Kind of grown like crazy. (hence that “money being better spent elsewhere“ comment from earlier.) 🤣

Recently, I revisited one of my favorite books. It’s a sort of mystery story called “S.” One of those stories-within-a-story type of things, but presented in a really cool way — as the reader, the whole book is designed to make you feel as if you found some obscure book on a library shelf, and are just the latest in a series of people trying to piece everything together. One of the funky highlights of the book is that it comes packed with all sorts of supplementary bits. Things like maps on cocktail napkins, newspaper clippings, old postcards… All of these clues that lend to the story. I love it when books do that. In our digital age, it’s kind of a treasure to have a book that literally could not be presented in a digital format. If you’re into things like that? Definitely check it out. You can find it on Amazon, but make sure to buy it brand new so all of those loose pieces are still there.

Which leads me back to that mailer. I thought… How can I try to kind of replicate that sort of feeling in this book? My book isn’t a mystery, so there’s no need for cryptic maps and decoder wheels. But, it is a story, and a personal one, so maybe these extras can have a bit of fun with reflecting different facets of my own personality.

Like a person who gets a tattoo, three months before they actually realize what that tattoo represents, I’ve been having a little fun. Over the past long while, I’ve developed some friendly relationships with an incredible variety of very talented upstart artists. Folks who might only have 1000 or so followers on Instagram (not that something as bullshit as how many followers you have being any indication of character, quality, or talent, because in so many ways, Instagram is pretty stupid), but naturally talented people who have a passion for what they do, and oodles of raw, natural insight.

The age of coronavirus has been really hard on everybody, and on independent creatives in particular. So, over the last couple of months, I’ve been steadily commissioning some of these artists for original Heather-centric works, and using some of your generous contributions, have been paying them fair market value (a win-win for everyone!). I don’t like to micromanage the creative processes of others, so I generally give them a basic idea, and let them run with it. So far, the results have been pretty fucking awesome.

I haven’t shared this artwork anywhere yet. Just in the form of a couple of tiny little teasers (One of them is the image for this post.). I can’t say they won’t end up online, for the world to see, at some point. But I want you guys to be the very first to see these things, in person, in your hands, so that’s kind of a fun, exclusive little perk for ya. 🙂

Here’s what you’re going to receive, in that mailer, all printed out (professionally, and on high-quality materials - no inkjet shit here) and ready to go, so far:

• A bookmark with a completely original design (what’s a book without a bookmark?);
• An approximately 5“ x 5“ diecut sticker;
• A completely originally illustrated and designed cover, both front AND back;
• Another sticker. When I design the book, I’m going to leave a space where the inscription would usually go. So with this sticker, I’m going to actually personalize it with a pen, sign it, and you can stick that inside the book. Is it as ideal as getting the book signed by the author at a Barnes & Noble? I guess not. But it is the next best thing, and a bit of a clever workaround? I think so.
• A postcard with a completely original illustration. No reason, really. I just like postcards.

And… A couple more things. No spoilers. But I currently have three ASTONISHING artists working on some ideas as we speak. I’m sure, that once I see these pieces in the flesh, I’ll find an “aha!” moment.

By the way, if there’s any sort of printed medium that you’d like to see something in, that I might not be thinking of, feel free to shoot me a direct message.

So, yeah! So far, it’s turning into a fun, hefty little package. There’s also gonna be a handwritten letter, and God willing, an original piece of art painted by yours truly (we will see if the image I have in my head of “self portrait“ can be adequately transferred to paper, given my somewhat limited visual art talents).

That’s all I can think of for now… In short, this whole process has been evolving very smoothly, and what’s even more fun, in a very organic way. It’s been pretty liberating, actually, a nice creative outlet during a time when it’s way too easy to become distracted by the shape of things.

I’ll continue to keep you in the loop, and thanks again. 🙂