It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here so I thought I’d take some time to talk about what I’ve been up to lately.
A new issue of Yearly 2021 is out, the second of three for this year. It continues the Virginia Woolf and Georgia O’Keeffe stories from last issue. I’ve heard some nice things from readers about these comics, and I’ve noticed a few things myself that I’d like to change for potential collected editions. So in that sense the decision to serialize has worked as I’d hoped it might.
I will admit that I’m a little hesitant to publish these stories properly because I’m not sure of the copyright implications around work that quotes so heavily from letters, diaries, etc–and indeed from published versions of those documents, not from any original research on my part.
In any case, I’m finishing up the last pages of those comics and as always have moved on to a new project. I’ve been in a good drawing rhythm lately though in contrast haven’t kept up with my reading as much as I’d like. I’m not sure I’ve read any comics published this year! In prose I’ve been enjoying the work of Elizabeth Strout. I’ve been thinking about a line from an interview with her: “I was very slow at getting up to that ability to have the sentences do what I needed them to do. I probably was too careful for a long time.” I’m not sure an excess of care is my problem (maybe!) but I do relate to this feeling of only beginning to have real control over my craft.
Also, I haven’t mentioned here–or anywhere at length, I don’t think–that the two books I published this summer, Ways to Survive in the Wilderness and Letters I’ll Send Tomorrow, were printed using Ingram Spark. If you’re not familiar, and I wasn’t, this is a print-on-demand publisher associated with Ingram, a fairly large book distributor. So you get the general benefits of print-on-demand, most notably the lack of upfront printing costs, plus access to Ingram’s distribution network. So, any store with an Ingram account (I’ve been told most stores have them) can order these books, and they’re also available on large online outlets — though there’s no way to opt out of a book appearing on an outlet you’d rather not support.
A few friends pointed me towards Ingram Spark (Thanks, Frank and Todd!) and I’ve been pleased with it overall as a publishing option for books with spines. There are downsides, including limited paper/cover stock choice and most importantly the fact that there’s no way to see a physical proof before finalizing your order. But it’s manageable. The printing looks nice. Plus I simply don’t have the space to store even a small print run of these books. So it’s worked well for me so far and I expect I’ll use this option again.
Alright, I think that’s it for now! Thanks for reading.