Andy Newton's Blog - Posts Tagged "writer"
Campaign Trail's Final Stretch
We're mere weeks away from the release date of our book, and for my co-author, Michael Bleicher, and me, it all remains fairly surreal. Michael and I started writing From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts back in December 2016. We had been publishing a fair amount of political satire in the wake of the 2016 election. Everyone was traumatized, and humor sites were hungry for content with which they could further insulate their echo chambers. The election had been, to put it mildly, a clusterfuck, and like many Americans, its events, from the asinine to the abhorrent, seemed seared into our memories. At some point in all of this, we had the idea to write a novel incorporating not only the scenarios and themes of our recent short political satire, but also the characters we had developed over our years of writing humor together.
Of course, neither of us had much of a clue how to go about authoring a novel. Like many writers, our computers were filled with megabytes of aborted drafts and half-baked outlines. But together, we figured, we could keep each other honest, and with nothing more than outdated MacBooks and an unearned sense of confidence, we managed to complete a first draft over the following 10 months. At that time, the novel was called, Yes, Sir, in America, a title we soon discovered no one found compelling or amusing. The next year and a half, we would return to our manuscript every month or so to trim, reorganize, clarify, and punch-up. It was during this period, as we attempted and failed to find a mainstream publishing route, that Marty Dundics, editor of comedy website the Weekly Humorist agreed to put out our book under the auspices of Humorist Media.
Every aspect of this process has been a labor of love and a learning experience, and that has yet to cease being the case. Now with the book nearly stocked on the shelves, we have begun marketing and promotion. Like when we first set out writing the novel, we only have a vague notion of how to do this, and with our book coming out under a small imprint, Humorist Books (and the first of the imprint’s releases at that), there isn’t quite the same guidance and structure we might receive with a big corporate publisher. However, we do have the benefit of Marty Dundics’ unflagging support and friendship. There’s a reason we went this route. Those of generous spirit may call us “niche”; others, “emotionally debilitated.” The hope is that we release our strange, absurd novel into our little corner of the world, and by virtue of its unique qualities, it finds the audience it begs for. If Art Garfunkel reads it, we might just retire.
Of course, neither of us had much of a clue how to go about authoring a novel. Like many writers, our computers were filled with megabytes of aborted drafts and half-baked outlines. But together, we figured, we could keep each other honest, and with nothing more than outdated MacBooks and an unearned sense of confidence, we managed to complete a first draft over the following 10 months. At that time, the novel was called, Yes, Sir, in America, a title we soon discovered no one found compelling or amusing. The next year and a half, we would return to our manuscript every month or so to trim, reorganize, clarify, and punch-up. It was during this period, as we attempted and failed to find a mainstream publishing route, that Marty Dundics, editor of comedy website the Weekly Humorist agreed to put out our book under the auspices of Humorist Media.
Every aspect of this process has been a labor of love and a learning experience, and that has yet to cease being the case. Now with the book nearly stocked on the shelves, we have begun marketing and promotion. Like when we first set out writing the novel, we only have a vague notion of how to do this, and with our book coming out under a small imprint, Humorist Books (and the first of the imprint’s releases at that), there isn’t quite the same guidance and structure we might receive with a big corporate publisher. However, we do have the benefit of Marty Dundics’ unflagging support and friendship. There’s a reason we went this route. Those of generous spirit may call us “niche”; others, “emotionally debilitated.” The hope is that we release our strange, absurd novel into our little corner of the world, and by virtue of its unique qualities, it finds the audience it begs for. If Art Garfunkel reads it, we might just retire.
Book Club Packet!
Michael Bleicher and I have put together a book club packet for our debut novel, From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts. It includes a number of discussion questions and wacky activities that are sure to foster fun and compelling conversation.
Download our novel's official book club packet here!
Download our novel's official book club packet here!
Campaign Trail's Book Launch: Wine, Wardrobes, and Wonderful Company
Last weekend, Michael Bleicher and I celebrated the launch of our debut novel, From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts, at the Weekly Humorist headquarters, and, boy, did we have a blast. We traded off reading passages from the book, discussed a bit of the nuts and bolts of our writing process as well as the basis of some of the novel’s characters, signed copies for attendees, accidentally wore the same shirt, drank lots of cheap wine, and I was reminded why I shouldn’t slouch in photographs.
We’d like to sincerely thank everyone who decided to remain indoors on what was most likely one of the last true summer days of the year in order to chat with us about our book. Be sure to keep an eye out for future readings and discussions of From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts.
If you haven’t yet ordered your copy, go do it now!
We’d like to sincerely thank everyone who decided to remain indoors on what was most likely one of the last true summer days of the year in order to chat with us about our book. Be sure to keep an eye out for future readings and discussions of From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts.
If you haven’t yet ordered your copy, go do it now!
Humorist Books - Open for Submissions
I'm excited to share that Humorist Books will be open for submissions for the entire month of May.
Humorist Books is the publishing imprint of comedy website the Weekly Humorist . My debut novel, From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts, was its inaugural release, and now I will be serving as editor; my first task being to drown in a deluge of query letters and manuscripts.
Anyone interested in submitting their work for consideration should read the guidelines on the Humorist Books landing page.
Humorist Books is the publishing imprint of comedy website the Weekly Humorist . My debut novel, From the Campaign Trail or Thereabouts, was its inaugural release, and now I will be serving as editor; my first task being to drown in a deluge of query letters and manuscripts.
Anyone interested in submitting their work for consideration should read the guidelines on the Humorist Books landing page.
