[DIGEST] The Great Migration...

We’re nearing the end of my safari. If you haven’t had a chance to check out my whole rundown with loads of pictures, then make sure to do that before it goes behind the paywall.

We’re staying in the Serengeti this week, where we took a balloon ride, hung out with all sorts of animals, and tracked The Great Migration. Every year over a million wildebeests migrate across Kenya and Tanzania bringing millions of other animals along for the ride. We finally caught up with them on our last day in Serengeti.

If you want to share how you are doing this week, then there are two ways to interact with this post.

1 - If you don’t want to say anything, or bristle at identifying yourself, then you can reply with this nifty poll.

2 - If you’re feeling very brave, then reply below and tell us how you are doing right now on a scale from 1-5.

This week I’m a bit sluggish…but that’s just because I saw Taylor Swift on Monday! Y’aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall, it was everything. She played an insane 3.5 hour set with dozens of her bangers.

Plus, Haim, one of my favorite bands ever, opened for her and they played a song together! I couldn’t have asked for a better show. The audio in Sofi Stadium left something to be desired, but it was still so great. However, physically I’m about a 2.5 right now, and can’t wait to spend the weekend recovering.

Announcement: On Friday, August 18th at 12 pm PT/3 pm ET/8 pm BST, Monica Leonelle and I are hosting a free webinar about the 5 trends that are shifting the future of publishing. We’ll be going through everything we’ve seen in the past year in the ever-changing indie publishing landscape. Spots are limited, so click the link below and sign up to save your spot.

What I wrote on Substack: This week I wrote about one of my favorite marketing tactics, the group giveaway. It’s been responsible for the most leads per dollar of anything I’ve ever done, with the exception of virtual conferences. However, unlike virtual conferences, group giveaways are infinitely scaleable.

I also contributed to the first article on and my new Substack, The Author Ecosystems. This is something we’ve been cooking up for a while and I’m thrilled to be able to finally start sharing it with you. I’ll still be talking about the Author Ecosystems here, but we’ll be doing deep dives over there.

Finally, I wrote this piece for about the book that changed everything for me and set me on the path that started my deep love of religion and mythology, Siddhartha. My tattered copy is as old as I am! We were both published in 1982.

A new chapter of Magic also dropped this week. Ollie tries to fix what might be the only non-toxic relationship in her life.

New chapters are free, but paid subscribers can access the archives. You also get access to a bunch of free books and stories from my back catalog.

Upcoming article: I’m a little bit late to the game, but next week I’m finally ready to talk about how to think about integrating social media into your author business and when to avoid it entirely.

I’m about a month late to the conversation, but it took some time to compile my thoughts properly and build a case for what I actually think about social media platforms and how to use them effectively as a writer.

Roundup: Here are some of my favorite articles of the week. I discovered you can save articles so I don’t have to go through my whole feed multiple times a week. You might say “obvi, Russell,” but like…I’m going through a lot right now with the whole lifing thing so maybe cut me a break, please and thank you.

Also, I clearly need help, b/c there are darn near close to 40 articles in this roundup. I went through several times and I just think you’ll love all of these too much to cut any of them.

• wins the golden taco this week for her articles on how her first boss trying to steal her soul and breaking down how she made money in Q2 of 2023. Combined with last week’s heartbreaking article about the last days of her dog’s life that hit too close to home, she has more than earned my paid subscription.

•  exercises appreciation, thinks it’s time to let the old ways die, finds it hard to relax, and asks what feels most alive right now.

• knows the secret feminist history of butter cows, has disability grief in an ableist society, and ponders why some poets sound like middle-aged mothers trying to get their kids to eat too much cooked meat.

• thinks transparency in pricing is a data point, not an end goal, smells something rotten with venture capital, and digs deep to unearth why people think the economy is bad

• breaks down how NLU built an audience and makes its money through many revenue streams, finds another case showing that the media business is hard, and makes something in 30 minutes that Ben Wyatt couldn’t in three weeks.

• rebuilds trust as a writer, shows you how to write a beat sheet to tame unruly work, visits an old-school printing press, and outlines her process for building a 100-word-story writing habit.

• learned a lot from her first year on Substack, goes from lifequake to lemonade, lays out a hierarchy of needs for creative person, and is at the center of many concentric circles.

• takes you through how to start a podcast without breaking the bank, researches the artist’s mind through five books, tells you what AI can’t tell you about art, and explains Van Gogh’s advice to young artists.

• wants to know what good work looks like to you, shows you why mindset is so important in marketing, and gives three quick steps to evaluate your content strategy and improve your funnel.

• writes about late bloomers, eschews linear accomplishments for non-linear ones, and uncovers how counterfeit culture leads to overwork.

• wonders whether there is a difference between book borrowing and book stealing, interviews Nancy Reddy about landing a 5-book publishing deal, and looks back at her first pen name.

• sure does embarrass herself a lot in front of her son, wants his kid to stop loving problematic books, meets the Persian Chuck Norris, and wants to be good but is bad.

If you like what I’m doing around here and want to check out the archives, you can do that with a 7-day free trial, or simply go straight to being a paid subscriber. You also get access to my YA Dystopian novel, The Vessel.

A million years ago the world ended. Since then a group of five have kept the City running. Now, one of them has died.

Every generation, the five most powerful people in the City transfer their consciousnesses into nubile, teenage hosts. This allows them to continue their important work of keeping the city functioning and protected from the nuclear wasteland beyond its borders.

When one of the Five dies, though, the others decide that their bodies are too fragile and decide to find new hosts earlier than usual. This triggers a competition, where children from across the City travel to its center to compete for a chance to earn a place as a Vessel for one of the Five.

If chosen, their families will be taken care of for the rest of eternity. There is great prestige in being a Vessel, along with enormous wealth for the families of the chosen, which means every participant has their own motivations for competing.

Althea is one of those competitors. She is from a poor farming family on the outskirts of the City, and with the money she receives from her sacrifice, her family would never have to work again. She is willing to risk her life for them.

So, she decides to compete, traveling from her home in the outer rings through the inner rings and finally to the center where the competition is held.

Along the way, she discovers the City she once venerated is a more dangerous place than she ever thought possible. Every turn is fraught with peril, and the competition could be the death of her, even if she doesn't win.

Join Althea for a story of friendship, love, struggle, and perseverance in the face of enormous odds. Perfect for anybody who loved Divergent, The Hunger Games, or The Maze Runner.

Paid subscribers can access the entire archive of this series from the beginning, along with other series and every article I’ve ever written. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can access the archive for free with a 7-day trial.