I don't know brand clarity is, but I'm adding it to my CV, nonetheless.
On the days when I've questioned whether or not I've 'got it in me' to keep up the whole Substack endeavour, the thought of Adam has kept me in it. Wherever he may be in the trenches, I shall be there, too.
This is beautiful and I've been traveling so I haven't been keeping up on my comments. I apologize for leaving this acknowledgment hanging for so long. You know, of course or maybe not of course, that I feel exactly the same way. This is like one of those team trust exercises where if everybody hangs in there something bigger than the sum of the parts takes place. I'm so moved by your work, sometimes envious and always grateful.
Loved the awareness in your finding your groove answer. I think all of us writers can relate to that stutter-start "try this, nudge that, leap off the cliff" feeling of putting yourself out there to be seen.
Can I tell you something very strange? I was struck by how many comments are about my willingness to put myself out there or things to that effect. A curious by-product of doing that has raised my threshold for seeing that I'm doing it. I suppose it gets easier. I didn't think this piece revealed much deeply personal, and yet when I read it I can see that it does.
I agree, the best interview yet. Adam defines himself through his word craft, without even trying. Aided by your questions Eleanor. Nicely done.
He is a rarity on Substack . One of the best writers on this venue. His writing is smart and witty. In the case of The Scheherazade stories and the Snowfield, cry worthy.
Do you remember the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus? In the movie, Mr. Holland is finally recognized for his greatest achievement. In an extremely touching,standing ovation kind of way. Opus, though the word is most often associated with music, I will use it here as a written work. Wait for it Adam. It will most definitely happen . Step outside of Substack for a moment , into the world of books and novels. We all have our favorite authors. A new book is published and we can not wait to read it. I believe we put our trust in that author. To consistently excite us enough to crack open the spine and dig in. I am still working my way through the many multifaceted presentations by Adam N.
This, of course, is extremely gratifying. There’s not much to add to that. I will definitely say, however that It is not effortless. There is a LOT of trying. If there’s anything even close to an opus it has to be this hundred stories series I’m putting together given that it’s gonna take me eight years. I don’t know if anyone’s gonna stand up and clap, but I do hope they look forward to reading the next one. We’ll see. Thanks again for these very gracious words. I shared them with my wife so obviously, they meant a lot to me. 🙏
Just to clarify, I do realize that there is not one story that you ‘click send’ that has not been carefully written , proofread , changed, and maybe erased and started again.
That is one of the most important aspects of being a great writer.
(I would label the opposite, lazy writing).
I was pertaining to the way you answered Eleanor’s questions. Your response alone, defines your abilities as a writer . Words flow naturally , evident in this conversation. Humor, emotion and a tiny bit of sarcasm thrown in. You speak with candor.
Thanks Nathan. I appreciate it. I actually worried when I sent it over to Eleanor that maybe it was a little too tart at the beginning. I’m glad that people didn’t take it that way.
I’m feeling less terrible that my site is such a work in progress. I’m feeling less terrible that I just missed publishing for a week (to spread my mother’s ashes) and I’m more frightened by the quest to find an agent than before… This interview is raw and funny and scary and strangely heartening.
What I didn’t say Eliza and I should’ve is that I didn’t put half the energy into marketing that I put into writing and if I could do all of that again, I would more than double my efforts on the marketing side. So some of the problems is definitely down to me.
Part of it is that as soon as I start a new piece, I stop thinking about the old ones completely so it’s very hard to go back and talk about something. I finished from a sales point of view. It’s a psychological weakness.
So in short, get in the ring a lot. The glory may go to the long distance runners there.
Thank you for sharing that hindsight with me. I think most writers move on, one to the next, because that’s the true Practice as a writer, not the marketing. But we have to work neglected muscles to get the work into the world. And it’s sobering. Like PT
I love a writer’s raw honesty. Adam, I need to read your work more. I love the vulnerability from you. It’s healthy to see this as a younger man. Thank you.
I’m convinced that vulnerability gets easier with age. I am less and less concerned what people think of me. And I have more concern that I’m genuine in the world. I didn’t create the me that I am and often I don’t even like the me that I am, but it’s the only me I have to share. If I don’t share him honestly then I’m not sure what I have to share in the first place.
Settle down with Finisterre if you’re in the mood for some Adam pilgrim story. It’s really masterful. And Scheherazade likewise. And Maple Drive. Oh hang it. All of it.
Adam, you are a super -soaker of deeply personal stories, memories,comic moments, sad moments.i am drenched every time you share. I am glad for this 8 question itinerary of your life of writing.
Brilliant! Between you two, how could it not be? Nathan, I cracked up in recognition when you said you use a tagline that would irritate you on someone else’s site. May the stuff on mine I think that of work half as well as the tagline works on yours.
At any rate, I’m thrilled you’re here on this third act of yours so I’ve crossed its path and can read it as it unfolds.
Hah! I have nowhere to go but down. I will get started in the morning. (btw: very cool collaboration project unfolding around one of the 100 Stories. i'm posting a video tomorrow.)
there's another thing: you could sell 10K books but never have a forum to engage with readers that appreciate your work or only the weird power balance and awkwardness of a book signing. That seems like a lonely place to (exclusively) end up. Substack has created something unique here.
I loved this interview. I haven't quite given up on submitting to agents and lit mags yet, though the rejections keep on coming, while Substack is the place I feel I truly belong (plus, how amazing is it to have a direct connection to my readers??), but reading your journey encourages me nonetheless. Thanks Adam, and thank you, Eleanor, for doing this interview!
Eleanor - grateful as always for these amazing interviews.
Adam - the paths that led us here are quite different but like you I believe I have found my place. I don't know you personally and I haven't had the chance to read everything you have written but those things I have read have touched me deeply. I am grateful for individuals like yourself and others in this community who have bravely said - "I will bare my soul to the world and it will liberate me!"
I look forward to walking this path with you and seeing where it takes us. The journey is just beginning.
💯 The thing about this journey is that I care more and more about my relationships here than I do with much of my analog world. I know so many writers here better in many ways than people that have been in my life a long time. I know that a lot of what I share here has surprised people that know me (even very, very well). I think the beauty of writing is that you control what and how you reveal yourself.
This is far trickier in organic interactions with people and so a lot more threatening and with higher stakes. On Substack (and with writing in general) it's possible to share and shape who I am and what I reveal. I'm certainly not saying "make it up." I don't. But the chance to be careful with what I share makes greater sharing possible. I probably should have mentioned this in the 15000 word question response.
"I was informed “nobody” can sell male memoir, I had no platform, my work was too much like another work they represented, too spiritual, not religious enough." Ouch.
I sometimes feel like I've backed a string of lame horses. First it was getting a literature PhD, then watching higher ed turn into a jobs factory. Then it was starting an independent writing life and realizing that "platform" mattered a great deal, and that publishing was just another version of the jobs factory (what sells is not what I care about). Then it was launching a coaching practice where I have been telling male writers some version of what Adam describes. You will not be discovered. You will not be the next Nicholas Sparks. If you are not Prince Harry, your chances of selling a memoir are very small. Tobias Wolff would assuredly not find an agent for "This Boy's Life" (arguably one of the best literary memoirs of all time) if he were starting out now. It's very difficult as a coach to not be able to say "Here are the secrets to getting through the golden gate." But I think many of us are going to have to decide that we trust our sensibilities enough to invest in our own art, and not rely on others to buy the ring for us.
So self-publishing and Substack increasingly look like the alternate paths. I hope to release a conversation with Samuél Lopez-Barrantes about his small-batch run of "The Requisitions" in a few weeks. There is a kind of clear-eyed hope in this path, which is that you can still find a readership, even if it is small, and that you don't have to let others hold your worth as a writer in their hands. I have an unpublished novel that another Substacker (who I'd contacted about self-publishing) said would draw a very small readership just because it's about mortality and is set in two places that NY doesn't care about (Iowa and Idaho). She suggested that I consider writing crime.
It's a tiny bit distressing, but... I struggled to get five friends to read Scheherazade and then waited months for thoughts and notes back from them. Mostly what i felt was guilt asking them to take the time to read my work. Now, while I don't have the subscription base that I've dreamed of a lot of readers have elected to spend time with my work, and that is a big deal for me artistically, a really big deal. I have written by myself for myself for years now -- this is a major door opening in my life, for which I'm deeply, deeply grateful. The irony, of course, is if this platform expands enough then I'll get published traditionally. It's somewhat upside down.
I don't know brand clarity is, but I'm adding it to my CV, nonetheless.
On the days when I've questioned whether or not I've 'got it in me' to keep up the whole Substack endeavour, the thought of Adam has kept me in it. Wherever he may be in the trenches, I shall be there, too.
This is beautiful and I've been traveling so I haven't been keeping up on my comments. I apologize for leaving this acknowledgment hanging for so long. You know, of course or maybe not of course, that I feel exactly the same way. This is like one of those team trust exercises where if everybody hangs in there something bigger than the sum of the parts takes place. I'm so moved by your work, sometimes envious and always grateful.
That’s such a beautiful way of putting it, and will fuel me in the times when it becomes difficult 🙏
Ditto.
Ditto.
Loved the awareness in your finding your groove answer. I think all of us writers can relate to that stutter-start "try this, nudge that, leap off the cliff" feeling of putting yourself out there to be seen.
Can I tell you something very strange? I was struck by how many comments are about my willingness to put myself out there or things to that effect. A curious by-product of doing that has raised my threshold for seeing that I'm doing it. I suppose it gets easier. I didn't think this piece revealed much deeply personal, and yet when I read it I can see that it does.
Maybe the water just gets warmer after awhile.
Your answers to a questionnaire read like lyrics to a favorite song.
The tropics look good on you.
“Now I'm doing words and heart. My one, true game. My best for last.”
I believe this with all of my heart.
I agree, the best interview yet. Adam defines himself through his word craft, without even trying. Aided by your questions Eleanor. Nicely done.
He is a rarity on Substack . One of the best writers on this venue. His writing is smart and witty. In the case of The Scheherazade stories and the Snowfield, cry worthy.
Do you remember the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus? In the movie, Mr. Holland is finally recognized for his greatest achievement. In an extremely touching,standing ovation kind of way. Opus, though the word is most often associated with music, I will use it here as a written work. Wait for it Adam. It will most definitely happen . Step outside of Substack for a moment , into the world of books and novels. We all have our favorite authors. A new book is published and we can not wait to read it. I believe we put our trust in that author. To consistently excite us enough to crack open the spine and dig in. I am still working my way through the many multifaceted presentations by Adam N.
Looking forward to what he will bring to his new
fiction series.
This, of course, is extremely gratifying. There’s not much to add to that. I will definitely say, however that It is not effortless. There is a LOT of trying. If there’s anything even close to an opus it has to be this hundred stories series I’m putting together given that it’s gonna take me eight years. I don’t know if anyone’s gonna stand up and clap, but I do hope they look forward to reading the next one. We’ll see. Thanks again for these very gracious words. I shared them with my wife so obviously, they meant a lot to me. 🙏
Just to clarify, I do realize that there is not one story that you ‘click send’ that has not been carefully written , proofread , changed, and maybe erased and started again.
That is one of the most important aspects of being a great writer.
(I would label the opposite, lazy writing).
I was pertaining to the way you answered Eleanor’s questions. Your response alone, defines your abilities as a writer . Words flow naturally , evident in this conversation. Humor, emotion and a tiny bit of sarcasm thrown in. You speak with candor.
( No response required😊)
Lovely witty read, thanks Adam and Eleanor.
Your personality shines on the page, Adam.
Thanks Nathan. I appreciate it. I actually worried when I sent it over to Eleanor that maybe it was a little too tart at the beginning. I’m glad that people didn’t take it that way.
I’m finally getting round to reading this in full. What interesting answers, Adam! Thank you for your vulnerability, it’s so refreshing.
Thank you, Ingrid.
I’m feeling less terrible that my site is such a work in progress. I’m feeling less terrible that I just missed publishing for a week (to spread my mother’s ashes) and I’m more frightened by the quest to find an agent than before… This interview is raw and funny and scary and strangely heartening.
What I didn’t say Eliza and I should’ve is that I didn’t put half the energy into marketing that I put into writing and if I could do all of that again, I would more than double my efforts on the marketing side. So some of the problems is definitely down to me.
Part of it is that as soon as I start a new piece, I stop thinking about the old ones completely so it’s very hard to go back and talk about something. I finished from a sales point of view. It’s a psychological weakness.
So in short, get in the ring a lot. The glory may go to the long distance runners there.
Thank you for sharing that hindsight with me. I think most writers move on, one to the next, because that’s the true Practice as a writer, not the marketing. But we have to work neglected muscles to get the work into the world. And it’s sobering. Like PT
I love a writer’s raw honesty. Adam, I need to read your work more. I love the vulnerability from you. It’s healthy to see this as a younger man. Thank you.
I’m convinced that vulnerability gets easier with age. I am less and less concerned what people think of me. And I have more concern that I’m genuine in the world. I didn’t create the me that I am and often I don’t even like the me that I am, but it’s the only me I have to share. If I don’t share him honestly then I’m not sure what I have to share in the first place.
Settle down with Finisterre if you’re in the mood for some Adam pilgrim story. It’s really masterful. And Scheherazade likewise. And Maple Drive. Oh hang it. All of it.
What a glorious interview this is. I love how sincere Adam is, it's really rewarding to read.
Adam, you are a super -soaker of deeply personal stories, memories,comic moments, sad moments.i am drenched every time you share. I am glad for this 8 question itinerary of your life of writing.
Thank you, Helen! 🌧☔️
Brilliant! Between you two, how could it not be? Nathan, I cracked up in recognition when you said you use a tagline that would irritate you on someone else’s site. May the stuff on mine I think that of work half as well as the tagline works on yours.
At any rate, I’m thrilled you’re here on this third act of yours so I’ve crossed its path and can read it as it unfolds.
Thank you to you both!
(Eleanor, cover your ears. This isn't for you.)
It's an honor to be on Eleanor's site – who I deeply respect and often stand in awe of.
🙉
Absurd how much I love this man.
Ditto.
Hah! I have nowhere to go but down. I will get started in the morning. (btw: very cool collaboration project unfolding around one of the 100 Stories. i'm posting a video tomorrow.)
Agents? Do they even exist : )
I'm not even saying this facetiously: it matters less and less to me. I feel like the party has moved over here.
Thanks Nathan. As I said in my April 1 post, the industry doesn't need writers. They have writers. So yes. Why bother people who don't need you?
there's another thing: you could sell 10K books but never have a forum to engage with readers that appreciate your work or only the weird power balance and awkwardness of a book signing. That seems like a lonely place to (exclusively) end up. Substack has created something unique here.
Did you write the chicken runs at midnight ?
I should say not. What a title!
I loved this interview. I haven't quite given up on submitting to agents and lit mags yet, though the rejections keep on coming, while Substack is the place I feel I truly belong (plus, how amazing is it to have a direct connection to my readers??), but reading your journey encourages me nonetheless. Thanks Adam, and thank you, Eleanor, for doing this interview!
It was a total delight to be included.
A pleasure 😊
Eleanor - grateful as always for these amazing interviews.
Adam - the paths that led us here are quite different but like you I believe I have found my place. I don't know you personally and I haven't had the chance to read everything you have written but those things I have read have touched me deeply. I am grateful for individuals like yourself and others in this community who have bravely said - "I will bare my soul to the world and it will liberate me!"
I look forward to walking this path with you and seeing where it takes us. The journey is just beginning.
💯 The thing about this journey is that I care more and more about my relationships here than I do with much of my analog world. I know so many writers here better in many ways than people that have been in my life a long time. I know that a lot of what I share here has surprised people that know me (even very, very well). I think the beauty of writing is that you control what and how you reveal yourself.
This is far trickier in organic interactions with people and so a lot more threatening and with higher stakes. On Substack (and with writing in general) it's possible to share and shape who I am and what I reveal. I'm certainly not saying "make it up." I don't. But the chance to be careful with what I share makes greater sharing possible. I probably should have mentioned this in the 15000 word question response.
"I was informed “nobody” can sell male memoir, I had no platform, my work was too much like another work they represented, too spiritual, not religious enough." Ouch.
I sometimes feel like I've backed a string of lame horses. First it was getting a literature PhD, then watching higher ed turn into a jobs factory. Then it was starting an independent writing life and realizing that "platform" mattered a great deal, and that publishing was just another version of the jobs factory (what sells is not what I care about). Then it was launching a coaching practice where I have been telling male writers some version of what Adam describes. You will not be discovered. You will not be the next Nicholas Sparks. If you are not Prince Harry, your chances of selling a memoir are very small. Tobias Wolff would assuredly not find an agent for "This Boy's Life" (arguably one of the best literary memoirs of all time) if he were starting out now. It's very difficult as a coach to not be able to say "Here are the secrets to getting through the golden gate." But I think many of us are going to have to decide that we trust our sensibilities enough to invest in our own art, and not rely on others to buy the ring for us.
So self-publishing and Substack increasingly look like the alternate paths. I hope to release a conversation with Samuél Lopez-Barrantes about his small-batch run of "The Requisitions" in a few weeks. There is a kind of clear-eyed hope in this path, which is that you can still find a readership, even if it is small, and that you don't have to let others hold your worth as a writer in their hands. I have an unpublished novel that another Substacker (who I'd contacted about self-publishing) said would draw a very small readership just because it's about mortality and is set in two places that NY doesn't care about (Iowa and Idaho). She suggested that I consider writing crime.
I want to tell that reader that Marilynne Robinson also set her novels in Iowa. So there.
Exactly. In your face that reader.
It's a tiny bit distressing, but... I struggled to get five friends to read Scheherazade and then waited months for thoughts and notes back from them. Mostly what i felt was guilt asking them to take the time to read my work. Now, while I don't have the subscription base that I've dreamed of a lot of readers have elected to spend time with my work, and that is a big deal for me artistically, a really big deal. I have written by myself for myself for years now -- this is a major door opening in my life, for which I'm deeply, deeply grateful. The irony, of course, is if this platform expands enough then I'll get published traditionally. It's somewhat upside down.