My New Book Sold 9 Copies
thoughts on art, creativity, and making great stuff
Friends.
I released a new book into the world back on January 25th, my 44th birthday. I self-published it via Amazon, announced it on Substack, talked about it on my podcast, and sent it out into the world to go where it would go.
And where did it go?
Into the Amazon carts of hundreds of people?
Into the hands of hundreds of podcast listeners?
Substack supporters?
Patreon supporters?
Nope.
Instead.
It landed in the mailbox of 9 people - NINE. PEOPLE.
I tell you this not because I’m looking for pity or sales or sympathy. And I’m obviously not bragging because, really, what is there to brag about?! HA! Heck, I’m not even going to post the link to the book in this post because I don’t want the point of this post to be lost.
The point?
Yes, the point.
I’ll get to it in a minute, but first I want to reflect on some things that have changed for me since the release of my first 2 books: (Re)Thinking Everything and Emerging From the Rubble.
First of all, both of those books were written during a period of life where I was very active and very vocal on social media.
I was active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, etc. where I spoke (often with much intensity) about my disgust for “the Right” - not just the “political Right”, but the “theological Right”.
I spoke out against (what I deemed to be) poor theology - hell, the Rapture, etc.
I spoke out against LGBTQ exclusion.
I spoke out against racism.
I spoke out against Christian Nationalism.
I spoke out against MAGA.
I spoke out against Trump.
I spoke out against people who refused to wear masks during COVID.
I spoke out against Evangelicalsm and the many ways people are harmed by it’s theology.
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
And as a result of my outspokenness, I gained a following - my Instagram following shot up, my TikTok account went from double digits to over 10,000 followers (I’ve since deleted my account), my Twitter account reached 20,000 followers (deleted that account too), I had around 100 Patreon supporters - people were drawn to what I spoke about because it struck a chord in their heart.
And it was never about the following, I should say.
I didn’t set out to share those things because I knew more people would follow. I was never looking to build a following, become well known, etc. Not at all. Rather, I was simply aiming to stay true to my journey (the What If Project has ALWAYS been a reflection of my journey with an open invite for others to jump aboard).
Yeah, MY journey.
Because.
You see.
I was coming to realize how harmful some of the values and theologies of “the Right” are AND how much they have harmed me and others … and it made me angry. That season of my life was a time of trying to process and work through my anger and pain in a public way so that others who felt angry and hurt could find words to express their own feelings and experiences.
Anyways.
And so when I released those books into the world and shared them on my social media channels, people bought them. I didn’t sell thousands of copies, but each book sold well over 100 copies (between Amazon sales and signed books sent through the mail).
A second thing that has changed is how I hold my values.
What I mean by that is that although my values haven’t really changed since I wrote those other books …
I’m still pro-LGBTQ.
I’m still anti-racism.
I still believe that black lives matter.
I still believe immigrants ought to be able to live without fear.
I still believe in gun reform.
Etc.
… how I hold those values, how I express those values, AND how I think about and speak to people who hold different values than me has changed.
I’ve shared before how during the 2024 Presidential Election my intution spoke to me that I was becoming (on “the Left”) the same energy that I sought to leave behind when I stepped away from “the Right” - the same judgment, the same shaming, the same hatred had followed me from one side to the other … I just (now) aimed it at a different candidate, a different set of values.
“There must be another way to exist”, I thought. “Canceling my neighbors because they voted for Trump or refusing to read the books or listen to the music of an artist who publicly expressed views that I might find offensive … this doesn’t seem like the best way to live, it doesn’t seem like the way forward. It didn’t work on ‘the Right’ and it sure as heck isn’t working on ‘the Left’ - there must be another way to be and exist and make my way through the world.”
I began thinking about, for instance, my favorite band - Green Day. They are outspokenly …
Anti-Facism.
Anti-MAGA.
Anti-Racism.
Anti-ICE.
Etc.
… and are very vocal about how much they loathe and resist what’s coming out of the current adminstration.
Did you catch them opening up the Super Bowl? They had about 6 minutes to play and they strung together THREE of their most anti-war, anti-regime, anti-facism, anti-System songs in their 200+ song library.
Here’s the performance in case you missed it …
BUT.
Here’s the thing about Green Day.
When I went to their concert back in August 2024? Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong stood up in front of thousands of people and announced to us that everyone (regardless of their beliefs, backgrounds, etc.) was welcome at their table that night and that we were coming together not to argue or fight or flex our muscles of who is right and who is wrong, but coming together in the midst of our differences to sing, to dance, to let everything go for a little while and enjoy being in the presence of one another.
Wow.
Right?
They don’t compromise their values; and yet they make room (intentionally) for everyone, everywhere. They don’t aim their resistance at PEOPLE as much as they aim it at VALUES, IDEAS, POLICIES, etc. that promote harm and division.
In other words.
They don’t equate HUMAN BEINGS with the VALUES they hold - they realize that people are MORE than their values, religious beliefs, voting choices, etc.
And THAT? That’s one of the most “punk rock” things ever - a radical way to live in these explosive times, especially with a platform as large as theirs. They have, truly, found that “other way” to be and exist.
Hm.
And so I set out on this journey of sorts to figure out what it looks like for me to live in a radical “punk rock” kind of way, to live that “other way” … a journey that (understandably) not everyone was too excited to accompany me on.
In many ways this journey has been similar to the beginning of my “deconstruction journey” except rather than raise a set of questions about the Bible to my conservative/fundamentalist friends, I raised a set of questions about how we wield our energy towards people who think differently than we do to my liberal/progressive friends.
The questons I raised were different, but the result were (in many ways) the same …
People got upset.
Hurtful words were said.
Support was withdrawn.
“Numbers” (downloads, follows, financial support, etc.) dropped.
… and so it makes sense that book sales should also drop.
Between my lack of social media presence and my intentional shift in how I hold/share/etc. my values, I expected this book to sell very, very few copies.
Which brings me to my point.
We live in a world where art is only as valuable as the number of pieces it sells, the number of followers it attracts, the number of downloads it gets, the number of likes it receives, etc.
Have you noticed this?
One time I talked to a major publisher about the possibility of publishing one of my books (it wasn’t a serious talk, I was just asking some questions and getting a better understanding of that world); and I was told that they are less concerned about the content of my book and more concerned about the number of followers on my Instagram account.
Wait.
WHAT?
The person told me that most major publishers will publish a mediocre book written by an author with a massive following as opposed to a really great book written by an author with a small following. Why? Because the high following ensures that the publisher will sell more copies; which means that unless the author with the really great book who has the really small following puts in a lot of work to market himself/herself, grow their following, get more likes, more subscribers, etc.
Well.
Then their work has a very slim chance of ever seeing the big stage.
To reiterate:
We live in a world where art is only as valuable as the number of pieces it sells, the number of followers it attracts, the number of downloads it gets, the number of likes it receives, etc.
But, friends, I want to tell you something - it’s OK if your book only sells 9 copies. You realize that, right?
Or.
Are you a musician? It’s OK if only 9 people streamed your song last month.
Are you a photographer? It’s OK if that shot you spent hours on only got 9 likes.
Are you a painter? It’s OK if that piece of art has been for sale for the last 9 years.
Are you a writer? It’s OK if your blog only has 9 subscrbers and one is your mom.
Do you see what I’m saying? The thing you do is valuable simply because you do it - because it means something to YOU. It doesn’t matter if someone else doesn’t like it. It doesn’t matter if A LOT of someone elses don’t like it. What matters is that you created it from your heart, that it brought you joy, and that you didn’t “sell yourself out” and try to be someone you’re not in an effort to get more sales, likes, follows, etc.
The Capitalist society that we live values things that bring in the most money and that come from the person who has the biggest following.
BUT.
As I learned from my publisher friend, the things that make the most money don’t always reflect how great that thing is. A thing is great not because of the money it brings in, but because of the love and joy that went into making it.
And my book? I put a lot of love into it over the last couple of years and hitting “publish” brought me immense joy; and that is what makes it great.
So.
That said.
Keep making your GREAT stuff with love and with joy - the world needs more of that.
Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO