Read this, you punks!: The passion economy, Arthur, grief, and Linkin Park

Some good reads for you.

Little Rat catches up on his recommended reading at a local diner. by me.

Hi, welcome to the paid edition of “I love words and you.” I’ve been working on some fresh tickets for y’all to keep things interesting on this side of the paywall. So far, the rotation entails bonus letters, Little chats (discussions and creative writing prompts), and now: Read this, you punks! (recommendations).

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 Today we are talking something new to me, something lovely, and an old favorite. If you have any stray thoughts on any of these pieces, please share in a comment below!

New to me:  No one will read your book

By Elle Griffin (The Novelleist) 

Fiction ain’t so hot right now

All right! First up: No one will read your book by Elle Griffin. This piece is an incredibly well-researched take on the current state of publishing and the difficulty of being commercially successful in fiction writing. As you may infer from the title, it has that nice straight-shooting edge to it. I always appreciate that kind of thing. 

Importantly, the article introduced me to the term “The Passion Economy,” which was coined by angel investor Li Jin. The term refers to this era of Patreon, Substack, and similar platforms, where creators lean into their unique skills and people who are passionate about their niche content contribute modest regular funding. Here’s an excerpt:

“Not only are success stories on Substack and Patreon exceedingly rare, but neither function as a platform on their own. A Substack or Patreon writer will have to gain a following somewhere else (i.e. social media) before they can attempt to convert those followers to paid Substack or Patreon subscribers. And for writers, finding the right platform has historically been difficult.”

Perhaps it is because I have a long-standing relationship with being jaded, but I didn’t find the read particularly devastating. But if you check out the whole piece, I’ll caution you to be prepared for a potentially emotionally challenging conversation about financial stability in creative fields. Either way, I think this is critical reading for any emerging creative.

That’s Lovely: ‘Arthur’ Creator on Ending the Beloved Series After 25 Years, Arthur’s Racial Identity and the ‘New Puzzles’ Ahead

By Selome Hailu

Oh how fun.

I’m excited about this one! Variety reporter and friend of mine, Selome Hailu interviewed Arthur (the Aardvark) creator Marc Brown a few weeks back. The whole piece is wonderfully wholesome, and if you even had a passing interaction with Arthur growing up, it’s a real treat. Selome is an excellent interviewer, and from what I can gather, she turned this piece around quick. We’ll dive into how to ask good questions in the main newsletter another day, but if you want a head start on that conversation, you can check what she’s doing here.

Selome also posted some excerpts that didn’t make the final cut on her Twitter. They primarily involve Selome asking a great question and Marc Brown complimenting her for asking a great question. I’ll give everything about this story ten out of ten library cards as a score—real lovely stuff.

Excerpt:

“Selome: Thank you for making time for me today. The show ending feels like a weird transition for me too — I’m 22, so I’ve never lived in a world without Arthur.

Marc Brown: Me neither!”