Seth’s latest Manifesto, Stop Stealing Dreams is out (released last week, actually), and exceeding expectations.
Few peer into the abyss like Seth does (which takes a combination of courage and the ability to synthesize mountains of information at a high level, while also being keenly in tune with human motivation and desire), and I hope you’ll help me spread this manifesto far and wide.
That’s what’s being published today through The Domino Project.
Poetry has always been important to me, as I grew up in a household where Langston Hughes was quoted in the car, and the memorization of short poetic works came as second nature.
In college, I helped found an Urban Arts Organization (it was essentially a poetry troupe, but we were in college and “urban arts” sounded more sophisticated…) and enjoyed both writing and performing my work.
Sarah Kay’s book is special because so much care was taken to preserve her art. (It also tickles me to see spoken word at TED, but that’s beside the point.) Her poem is beautiful, timeless, and it’s hard to imagine that Sarah isn’t 45.
Such poise and grace and talent and class.
It also happens to be the last hardcover released under the Domino imprint, which brings this past year into focus for me.
Yes, almost twelve months have passed since I read the post that changed everything. I’ve written about the experience here (and here) as well.
What a year.
When reading articles like this one, it makes me think about how fortunate I was to be involved with The Domino Project.
Seth was clearly ahead of his time in thinking about the changing landscape of the publishing industry, and was obviously spot-on with the leadership he took to plot the course for what’s next. I shouldn’t be surprised when seeing how quickly Amazon is moving, but it’s humbling to consider in retrospect.
Interestingly enough, I had dinner with a few friends this weekend (two of whom are bestselling authors), and we talked through what a traditional publisher—from a practical and financial perspective—instead of self-publishing.
It truly didn’t amount to much.
When you consider the ever-shrinking advances being paid to authors, staggering PR incompetence of some publishing companies, the control ceded when entering into a traditional arrangement, and the sheer length of time it takes to go from completed manuscript to finished book on bookshelf…
“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”
— Dr. Suess (via Seth)
This is the latest book from Domino, and one I read many months ago when I first moved to New York. It’s a special book to Seth and I hope you’ll check it out.
To promote the book, Seth is hosting a live teleconference on Monday, October 3rd. He’ll be answering your questions about the book and sharing some of his priceless riffs as well. Details over on his blog.
Weirdo.
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of attending Seth’s live event at the (fabulous) Helen Mills Theater called The New Dynamics of Book Publishing.
I recalled some of what was mentioned from Seth’s talk in Atlanta when he came for the Linchpin tour. WIth me now being involved with The Domino Project, however, I have a new lens through which to view the material.
One of the reasons I applied for the opportunity is because I had no experience with the publishing industry. Many of the fundamental concepts and terms were foreign to me initially.
The event was filled with important people from the publishing industry, many of whom were “scared shitless” about the changes taking place. Seth offered countless anecdotes, ideas, and warnings about the changing landscape.
As is typical of his events, Seth lectured for about an hour and a half before devoting the rest of the day to the crowd’s questions. Many openly expressed concern and dismay for the predictions offered, despite there being clear alternatives to eventual obscurity.
We walked through the always-interesting history of the music industry, and the changes (the Compact Disc, greed, and trying to adapt the old way of doing business to the new digital world) that marked the beginning of the end. Seth always mentions the music industry being a perfect system when it was working properly, and I truly saw what he meant that time.
Next up was the topic of the publishing industry and how rapidly things are changing. We discussed ebooks, the Kindle, and how these things are altering the way people consume ideas. Seth waxed eloquent on the topic of his books being a medium to spread an idea as opposed to something having value because of the pages and ink. The book is just the medium.
He discussed some specific tactics (along with the hilarious history of bringing Purple Cow to market) used to promote the spreading of his books. From boxed sets, to unique offers, and the like.
Overall, it was a fabulously illuminating event that helped me grasp some critical concepts related to book publishing, and I’m thrilled to have attended.
My time working on The Domino Project altered the course of my life.
It was a pleasure and an honor working alongside one of my heroes, who I’m now happy to call a friend. Additionally, I made six great friends who I hope to remain in regular contact with for the rest of my life.
Following the end of our time with Domino (it was always a six month contract), I assisted with the launch of endmalariaday.com which gave me the opportunity to flex some of my server and performance optimization chops (the site did 35K+ pageviews on launch day).
And today, Seth recognized Alex, Ishita, and me on the Domino blog…which actually inspired this redesign (smile). The design was originally created by my good friend Chase Reeves who is growing weary of my open praise and thanks, but I don’t care. Chase is the man.
Just thought I’d dust off the old blog and share a bit of what’s going on.
What’s new with you?
Over at Domino HQ, we just launched the #Trust30 pledge and it’s being received extremely well.
It’s a 30-day writing challenge in conjuction with our launch of a reimagined version of Self-Reliance that leverages WordPress, MailChimp, the Domino platform, and a pinch of good luck.
I’m thrilled with how the site came out—take a look and get involved if it’s of interest. ::tips hat::
Amber posted on the The Domino Project blog yesterday about assembling a street team to assist with our marketing efforts. There has been a deluge of responses already, and they’re still coming in.
Check out the post, give it some thought, and please get involved (this is a link to the application) if you think you’re a fit. We’d love to work with you.
As I venture further and further from the world of resumes, cover letters, and succinct job titles, I’m finding comfort in my inability to be defined.
There isn’t a label for what I do. I don’t have a title that describes me. There’s no way to capture the essence of my interests in a single paragraph. And that’s fine.
What I do know is that I connect dots. And I see opportunities growing organically in a way that’s hard to articulate. I know that I maintain a healthy disregard for the impossible, and that I’m interested in living a life worth leading.
I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up however, so I’m in search of novel experiences that stretch me, challenge me, and push me outside of my comfort zones. So being involved with this project works out pretty well.
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