Six Years / Six Weeks
An anniversary, a special offer, an invitation
Hello, and welcome to the 179th issue of Subtle Maneuvers, which I started writing six years ago this week (!). In that time, I have delved into the creative processes of several dozen novelists, poets, filmmakers, painters, and musicians; thought a lot about the true meaning of discipline, what artists actually do all day, and why the best work often happens when we have no idea what we’re doing; used the newsletter to help myself get to the finish line on my next book (in particular, by writing a thirteen-part, worm-themed summer school and hosting a long-running virtual coworking group—more on this below); and begun gently promoting said book without being too annoying about it, I hope!
Which brings me to a special offer. Making Art and Making a Living comes out six weeks from today, and I’ve decided to run a pre-order campaign to help launch it into the world—and also as a way to invite more of you into the genuinely cool and useful community that I’ve been building behind the Subtle Maneuvers paywall.
Here’s how it works: Pre-order the book from any retailer and I will give you a free three-month paid subscription to this newsletter, including access to my weekday “Worm Zoom” coworking sessions, the book club, the group chat, and the full archive of 170+ back issues.
To claim this offer, simply:
Pre-order the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Powell’s, your local bookstore, or any other retailer
Reply to this email (or email me directly) with the name of the retailer you pre-ordered from, the date of your pre-order, and your order number
That’s it! I will reply to your email confirming that you’re all set, and you’ll have immediate access to everything behind the paywall. And don’t worry: You will not be signing up for any additional emails or marketing materials. This every-other-Tuesday newsletter will continue as usual, and I promise that it will not turn into a nonstop book-promotion machine going forward.
PRE-ORDER FAQ
What if I pre-ordered the book weeks or months ago?
Amazing! You’re still very welcome to take advantage of this offer; just follow the steps above.
What if I’m already a paid subscriber?
Thank you for your patronage! I’ll happily extend your current subscription by three months.
What if I’m a free subscriber—will I be charged at the end of my three months?
Nope! You won’t be billed for anything at any point.
Does this offer apply to the e-book and audiobook editions?
Yes! Feel free to pre-order the hardcover, e-book, or audiobook, whatever you prefer—the same offer applies.
Do you have a preferred retailer?
Your local independent bookstore! Otherwise, Bookshop seems to be the best partner for authors and booksellers.
What about those of us outside the United States?
The book comes out in the U.S. and Canada on March 31st and in the UK on April 9th. If you can pre-order one of these editions where you live, you’re welcome to take part.
What if I can’t find my order number or have another question not addressed here?
Reply to this email (or email me directly) and I’ll help you out!
JOIN US!
By participating in this pre-order campaign, you will be doing me a great favor—but you may also be doing yourself one. To my delight, this newsletter has grown into a true community of creative workers connecting in ways large and small, and I’d love to welcome more of you into the Subtle Maneuvers extended universe.
Worm Zoom, in particular, has become a humble engine of real creative growth. I started hosting these virtual coworking sessions in the summer of 2024, thinking I would keep it up for three weeks; instead, I have now hosted them for almost 400 days and have no plans of stopping. In that time, we have had two nonfiction books completed (including mine), three or four novel drafts completed (I lost count!), and countless other creative milestones achieved.
In addition to the Zoom sessions—which take place every weekday from 6–8am Pacific / 9–11am Eastern / 2–4pm UK time—there’s a tracking spreadsheet where participants chart their daily progress and leave each other adorable notes of support —and, every month, we have a bonus Worm Salon, a longer get-to-know-each-other chat immediately following the usual Zoom session. The next one is tomorrow! Hope to meet some of you then.
SERIOUSLY, THANK YOU
I just wanted to note that my book is about the often uncomfortable, sometimes funny, sometimes absurd collision of two spheres: the inner world of doing creative work and trying to be an artist—and the outer world of responsibilities, bills, deadlines, having a “career,” and achieving whatever amount of stability and security one needs to operate in that first sphere.
As it happens, this is the collision I’m navigating right now: trying to write about things I’m genuinely interested in (in this newsletter, in my books, in whatever comes next) and also trying to make my work commercial enough that I can keep afloat financially—all while trying not to let the work become hopelessly compromised by the need to make money from it. It’s not always the most comfortable balancing act, and I appreciate you all bearing with me at this moment of colliding spheres.
Fortunately, I know that it’s a dilemma most of us have to confront in one way or another—and I do believe this book will help readers think about that dilemma in new ways. I certainly drew strength from the great variety of artistic-financial schemes and misadventures that I tried to capture in its pages, and I hope you’ll have a similar experience. So—thanks, sincerely, for taking a chance on the book and contributing to this newsletter community at the same time, it means a lot.
Lastly: Before I sign off, I want to give a shout-out to the literary agent and author Alia Hanna Habib, who gave me the idea for starting a very lo-fi pre-order campaign and whose newsletter and new book I highly recommend to anyone trying to navigate the nonfiction publishing world!
Mason, I've already pre-ordered your book, because I enjoyed the others. But please don't apologise for promoting it here – or stop selling it.
We're all here because we like your writing, and the ideas you share. And all authors need to promote tirelessly, if they want a long, sustainable career. More power to you!
What a fantastic post -- thank you!! I've absolutely intended to order your book but live in France (as you know) so that complicated things... but I think I can order the UK version from Shakespeare & Company here, which sources from the UK. When I checked with them a month ago, the book wasn't yet available to be pre-ordered, but it might be now. I'll let you know.
As a huge audiobook fan I had been considering ordering the audio instead but I think I'll want to jot notes on actual pages and return to it again and again... But I'll also want to listen on audio. So I'll probably try to access the audio through Libby at libraries (I think you still get a fee for each access by libraries) and will "request" it now from multiple libraries so they know it's WANTED!!!!