Bob Eckstein's Blog

What a year. Well, I hope you have your health. I guess that's all that matters, right? I spent the summer pivoting and changing plans, like everyone else. Taught more this year and focused on producing books. Couldn't do any book events, per se, but I did some remote things and spoke "at" the Norman Rockwell Museum, Milford Readers & Writers Festival, and locations everywhere including South Korea from my living room without pants.

I want to share this first book, The Elements of Stress and the Pursuit of Happy-ish in this Current Sh*tstorm, and I honestly believe it can help. I say things can’t get much worse but they can get much funnier. Written with famed New Yorker cartoonist, Michael Shaw, it includes over fifty of our cartoons. Bursting with timeless advice, it’s essential reading for these times, and we kept the page count down so it's priced less than a pumpkin-flavored latte grande.

Hope everyone had a great summer. The end of summer for me is always going to the US Open for free during the qualifying round where I hang out with friends and take it easy. I always bring work I intend to do on the subway and I try he stands but the crowds on the 7 line and the sun at the tennis center make that difficult.I produced more work this year than ever before. I also got more rejections. It was awhile before I found a home for many of the pieces I have coming out which include Cartoonists In Cars Getting Agita (American Bystander), Self Diagnostic Flowchart for T.A.D., Trump Anxiety Disorder (maybe WaPo), a fully Illustrated report on the Writer's Digest Annual Conference (New Yorker) and cartoons in MAD magazine and Playboy. But the bulk of my time this year was spent on finishing three book projects that I will start to support right now through events and interviews. Despite all that work, I also did some serious procrastinating in the form of home projects. I'll share two here. The first is a make shift bridge to cross the creek inner backyard after a tree crushed our main bridge. I split a fallen tree length-wise with a chain saw and just turned it over. A real bridge is being built now.The second project was inspired by a pile of crap in the garage–old copper pipes from when we fixed our plumbing. I added sprockets and a butter dish I bought at the flea market for $2 to make a Steampunk birdbath (yes, I'm calling this a Steampunk birdbath).At the moment my apartment is filled with boxes of my two new items (World's Greatest Bookstores Postcard Set and The Illustrated History of the Snowman. The book can be preordered online by going to those links above or better, any independent bookstore can order them if they are not already in the store.) Both look amazing and I can't wait to share them. Below is a list of places I am doing book events.). Below, the video with the mountain, is the trailer for the book. Click in on and let me know what you think. Click on the events below for details.SEP 6 Thu 12 pm FREE Book Signing, Mays Fields, Brimfield Antique Shows Brimfield, MassachusettsSEP 30 Sun 11:30 am Admission required Milford Readers and Writers Festival, Milford, Pennsylvania w. David Borchart & Christopher WeyantOCT 10 Wed 2 pm FREE One Man Show at The Cooperage Project Honesdale, PAOCT 17 Wed 6:30 pm FREE NYPL Author Talk NYPL The New York Public Library, NYC w. Lenore SkenazyNOV 7 Wed 6 pm FREE Book Event for Illustrated History of Snowman, Book Culture (536 W 112th St. location) New York, NYNOV 16 Times TBA Admission required Miami Book FairDEC 8 Sat 11 am - 2 pm FREE Hawley Winterfest Hawley, PennsylvaniaDEC 9 Sun 8 pm FREE Book Event for Illustrated History of Snowman, Books Are Magic Brooklyn, NY

I've been lucky to be working on a few fun projects that are right in my wheelhouse (and I had a chance to do a couple of pieces on the Olympics for The New York Times). I'm having a fun time working for Writer's Digest, who I love, and they just ran my piece on a contest to win a free bookstore in Pennsylvania. And right now I'm writing a funny book about cats but I have three finished products I can talk about...First up is a postcard set called World's Greatest Bookstores: 100 Postcards, coming out in Sept. by Clarkson Potter of Penguin Random House. The official description is: "Based on The New York Times bestseller Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores, Bob Eckstein brings his heart-tugging illustrations to a postcard set. Here are 100 postcards that celebrate the pillar of every community – the independent bookstore – with 50 total illustrations, including seven never-before-seen designs – to both send and save."It's really beautiful. After my bookstore book came out I still continued visiting and painting as many new bookstores as i could and so this is a great way of sharing them. I also went back and improved the original pieces. Right now you can only pre-order on Amazon but of course I'd prefer you attempt to get it from your local bookstore – just ask them for it if you don't see it.Later that month I come out with the epic The Illustrated History of the Snowman. This is the most amazing thing I've worked on. The 300 plus photos and paintings are astounding. More on this book later in the year but I'll add it was so satisfying and I reunited with my editor Ursula Cary who is now at Globe Pequot my publisher so it was a real pleasure to work on.One other project just getting finished is The Ultimate Cartoon Book of Book Cartoons, a collection of cartoons about books and bookstores by, literally, the world's greatest cartoonists (like Roz Chast, Sam Gross, Arnie Levin, Paul Noth, Ed Koren, George Booth, Danny Shanahan, Barbara Smaller, Liza Donnelly, P.C. Vey, Frank Cotham, Bob Mankoff, Julia Suits, John O'Brien, Chris Weyant, Michael Maslin, Nick Downes, Michael Shaw, Pat Byrnes, Robert Leighton, Peter Steiner, Jack Zeigler, David Borchart, Mick Stevens...wow, that is some list!). I edited the book and wrote a snappy introduction and it comes out in Spring of 2019 by Princeton Architectural Press. More soon and thanks for reading!

Last chance to wish all a Happy New Year! Hope everyone got off to a good start in 2018.If you’re reading this, thanks and let me share what I’ve been working on...first, sorry I've been late, I was juggling a few projects. I want to share a friend'snew book, Jack Handey’sPlease Stop the Deeper Thoughts. I was lucky enough to do the cover...In December I did an OpEd on the sexual harassment scandal for the New York Daily News...did animated promotions for the Will & Grace comeback...I’m currently working on the artwork for a project very close to my heart, an illustrated novel which takes place in 1850 called the Sea Below Us. It’s a fictional novel that is a comedy, mystery and romance based on the real events surrounding one of the greatest horror stories in history, the disappearance of Sir John Franklin. I spent years researching this subject, all enjoyable. I’m also working on The Illustrated History of the Snowman which is based on the 2007 holiday classic of the same name but this will be a visual bonanza. It will be released at the end of this year by Globe Pequot. Penguin Random House and Clarkson Potter style will be releasing at the same time a box set of my bookstore paintings, some never before seen.More news soon. Thanks for sticking with me.

(Circling the Bases appears now in the current issue of Funny Times)Dear Mr. Meat Loaf,We at Major League Baseball are big fans of your body of work and appreciate how much you have done for this great sport. But now baseball needs your help. As you know, or maybe you don’t, the 2016 fall classic did horrible in the ratings and was the least viewed World Series ever losing out to even reruns of the Big Bang Theory. Long story short, baseball has a problem and we over here have been searching for answers.We realize now it has nothing to do with what cities were playing but that today’s kids didn’t even know it was baseball season. While spitballing on how to get their attention, it hit us that since they’re all just glued to their pads and X-boxes, that the way to reach them would be through song, and sequentially, a video game based on the song. We propose you re-release your classic hit, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, in which you cleverly integrate baseball as a metaphor for the trials and tribulations of young love by next year. Of course many of us here remember our dads using your song to teach us about the birds and the bees as kids. So thank you for that. We would finance such a project as we need you to update the lyrics to match today’s mores. To facilitate this, we already hired a research team who has provided us with the following data as to what is considered now getting to first, second and third base with the ultimate intention on going home. Please read this carefully as this is crucial to relating to today’s generation.First Base Kissing comes much later now. Long after rounding second base. Actually, kissing someone’s face is now not even a base. First base means receiving what is called a sext. Doesn’t even have to be from someone you know. Women can now get to first base, too, by sending or receiving these sexts. It would be great if you could work in something about rounding the bases being not just for men.  Second Base This is getting a selfie with some degree of nudity. The research team came up with a few words that rhyme with selfie; healthy, wealthy and lefty, if that helps any.Third Base This is still when things are getting hot and heavy in your relationship but now that means you are ready to agree to an actual time and place to meet face-to-face. After dating for maybe months already, it’s now time to see what you each look like aside from your favorite picture on Facebook or Instagram. Due to everyone’s busy schedule, getting to third base is harder today than it was in the old days. We suggest you change the setting of your song from a car to something like a mall or Appleby’s. We’ll have the sponsor would pay for the spot.Fourth Base Today’s kids have no idea how many bases there are in baseball, and like iPhone upgrades, the number of bases is always changing. At this moment, fourth base means any physical contact, but only if it’s on video, a mobile device or security camera. Also, it doesn’t have to be sex. It can be horseplay in a park or elevator, or anything as long as you’re both in the same frame getting physical and as long as it’s recorded. This way, with electronic documentation, whether or not your buddies are lying about it, getting to fourth base is never in question.Home Plate You need to fix this part. Nowadays scoring requires waivers and proper consent. No offense, but the original Paradise by the Dashboard Lights is a litigation nightmare and not the image we at MLB want to project as a progressive organization. If you’re going to sing about lust and passion in a parking lot and insist on including baseball than you must discuss safe sex. We actually could have sued you over that since you were without the express written consent of Major League Baseball. Let’s put that behind us now. Going forward, let’s record something that will make Legal happy. You’re the songwriter, do it any way you want but we need you to work in marriage or prenups or just something in writing.Thank you in advance for your consideration. You will not only be saving baseball but teaching countless misguided adult singles and divorcees as to what the dating landscape is out there–it will go a long way to getting everyone on the same page. One last note; Of course we will need to recast Phil Rizzuto’s part in the song (kids never heard of him.). That said, we have a soft agreement with Ryan Seacrest to perform on the remake.Sincerely,the Owners of Major League Baseball-END-

I heard from a couple of friends that today is Amazon Prime Day to remind me of their special sale. I also heard from the president of the American Booksellers Association and about 6 bookstores, thanking me for my OpEd in the New York Daily News.If you plan to do some online shopping tonight on Amazon, please consider buying from an independent bookstore instead. Of course, it's understood if you happen to live somewhere where there are no physical stores and Amazon is your only means to anything, but if given the choice, please readmy editorial to understand why you are helping yourself and your own community by shopping local.I have a new book out, and I don't even encourage booklovers to purchase my book thru Amazon (I assure you my "people" are not delighted by my stance). I have visited my own Amazon page but once (to resolve a complaint–I don't follow the book's rankings or reviews, ever) and I have not shared that link to buy my book, not once (any online feature on the book I ask the writer to remove any link to Amazon). I thank those who have purchased my book already, wherever, and my hopes is that it will sell well enough that I am asked to create a sequel and continue this project, to paint and write about another 75 great bookstores. So thank you for supporting me and if you have a copy already, consider buying ANY book for your independently owned bookshop. We need books and we don't need more drones.

Sorry it's been so long. I completed a short book tour at ending in the Midway and have been juggling 4 new book projects at once. But I'd like to share some book news. First, I just want to share this little item I came across on the internet. Norm MacDonald is my favorite comedian so it's a real treat to be lumped in with his book (I would not consider my book a comedy but Martian won for Best Comedy).Last week ATG selected Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores their Book of the Week.So anyway, a new edition of my bookstores book is out which includes an Index and page numbers and updated information. I initially wanted the book to be stripped of all traditional book elements, even the way a reader opens a book. But I got a lot of feedback asking for these elements so my publisher and I agreed to do the next reprint which is now in production.  It's also available in Korean, Japanese and Chinese as of now and a special gift set of postcards is being produced which include new bookstores not in the book.

Catch the action either on myFacebook pageorTwitter account.The New Yorker will be including my work sometime after 7:30 at this link, which at the moment is not live yet.Thank you for watching.

Your book comes out. The champagne cork has popped. You contact your alumni newsletter. You have a spanking new designated Facebook page for your new baby. You get blurbs up the kazoo. So it can be very disheartening the first time you visit your Amazon page and see numbers you didn’t know went that high and the only review is from your mom. You cancel that subscription to “Bestselling Author Digest,” cancel the order for the indoor lap-pool and wondered what happened.It’s important to remember that today writers have it much harder than those of yesteryear. I’ve seen this firsthand. Not because of my new book but meeting with bookstore owners and bestsellers the past two months (including at the Miami Book Fair and the ABA Winter Institute). I also previewed an advance copy of The American Writer by Larry Samuel, which in part explains the uphill problem all writers now face.Here are five examples how we have it harder than Hemingway (…and what we can do about it).More CompetitionThere were not a trillion new releases every year back in Hemingway’s day. The numbers are certainly stacked against us. But remember, most of them are cookbooks or books with cats.The answer is to maintain realistic expectations. Most bestseller lists are now made up of miscellaneous titles. Pay less attention to online rankings….unless you write a cookbook for cats.Multi-taskingPapa didn’t have to do social media, shoot video trailers, and I guarantee you, he never glue-gunned snowman mobiles in window displays like I had to when my first book came out (The History of the Snowman). For each book I make posters, bookmarks, and write hand-written letters to indie bookstores. And can you imagine Papa even having a Facebook page?Today’s writers have to wear many hats but there are online resources now to learn all of this including webinars and blogs like this one. Nothing like this existed back in the day where it seems the writer’s only source of comfort was the bottle.AppearancesThis sounds like a trivial thing but our appearance has never mattered so much, an annoyance the likes of Ernest Hemingway didn’t have to deal with. Now, more than ever, readers what to know as much about their favorite writer as possible. For many writers, this is way more than we bargained for when pursuing this craft.I suppose, in this case, we have to count our blessings that the public cares enough to want to know what we look like and as a result, this public connection can be monetized in the form of public speaking engagements and unprecedented branding for our titles. Publishing is one field that has been immune to ageism (for the most part), another blessing. Besides, another advantage we DO have today is Papa didn’t have Photoshop.Advances.In relation to the value of the dollar then, Hemingway’s generation of writers enjoyed, on average, higher advances. Advances are shrinking. It’s a matter of the pie being sliced up too many ways now, a relatively recent occurrence. It’s not easy. We’re writing in a time when there is no middle class for writers–advances are all or nothing and often you’re at the wrong end of the stick if you don’t host your own TV show.But there are other avenues to try to make up for the sting. Ebooks…um…teaching…did I mention ebooks? Best we move on…Book EventsNow I bet you thought I was going to suggest that Hemingway didn’t have to show up and do book events. Papa actually DID do book events back in the day. That hasn’t changed. I actually researched this and learned he was so nervous doing book events he would drag a writing friend to sit up front with him. And it wasn’t until he had some swigs from a bottle of whiskey he hid under the table that he would loosen up and read with swagger.But it was still easier back then. I say this as someone who did a few events this month, sometimes sandwiched between a pair of other book events on the same day. Do you know how hard it is to fill a room when every single person you know is coming out with or self-publishing a book themselves? Hemingway never had to deal with cell phones going off. If I got drunk during my talk I’d be thrown out of the bookstore.But the reason it’s worst is that the day of an all-expense-paid book tour is all but over except for a handful of lucky suckers. What you can do about it? Whatever you want, because now you have a choice as publishers not only no longer pressure you to support your title on tour but many publicists would rather see you invest your energy elsewhere.If you still like book events, good for you. The book tour can be very elastic and creative, taking the form of different shapes, like virtual blog tours. But after many decades of authors being sent on the road, it’s TV, radio and even print media that is a priority because everyone now has had horror stories of no one showing up for their book event.The truth is, Hemingway was never armed with the ability to reach as many people outside his own books. Remember for whom the bell tweets: It tweets for thee.