Novel Advice is out today!
My Dad would joke, "The book wasn't released. It escaped."
A little more than a year ago, I got a message from Michael Andersen. I’ve known Michael online for years — he’s one of the leading chroniclers of the alternate reality game (ARG) scene for ARGN and Wired. We finally got a chance to meet in reality at the Immersive Design Summit in February 2019, where I was fairly persistent in my attempts to convince him to write a history of ARGs. It’s something that needs to be done, and I believe he’d do a great job. I continue to hold out hope that he’ll see the wisdom of the idea, and I don’t even think it would get in the way of his main job as the Culture Intelligence Manager at Tiller Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
That October, he messaged me to say, “I have been pitching a kinda weird but amusing idea at work that has been getting enough interest that I think we have a chance of making it happen…what if classic literature advice columns?" We set up a call with his colleagues at Tiller, I pitched my take on the concept, wrote up a few samples, and before I knew it, I had a deal to write my first book. So thank you, Michael, for thinking of me for this. I hope the final result inspires the same “not-abject-horror” of my original reply.
Today, 55 weeks after that initial message, "NOVEL ADVICE: Practical Wisdom for Your Favorite Literary Characters" is officially out in the world. I’m thrilled, nervous, and anxious to see how people like it.
A Low-Key Guessing Game
When I tell people about Novel Advice, their first question often asks which characters are in the book. And I hesitate to tell them too many, because we’ve designed it to be read in different ways. Here’s Michael’s description:
“I have been weaving the term ‘stealth puzzle book’ into my vocabulary at Tiller, and Novel Advice is the perfect example of it. At its surface, the book is a collection of agony aunt columns, offering life advice to those in need. The only difference? Every single person writing in for advice is a character in a work of classic literature...and the person dispensing that advice is ‘Aunt’ Antigone herself. So while you can read through it normally, the more literary minded readers can also try and ‘solve’ the book, by figuring out which characters were pulled from their books to air their dirty laundry!”
To support that mission, each letter is signed with a pseudonym instead of the character name. I’m going to be posting some of their quotes on various social platform over the next week or so.
None of these are meant to be super-difficult, and if you don’t want to play this game, each of the characters are listed in the table of contents. There is one entry, however, that has a secret message hidden inside. If you find it, let me know!
Dedication
The book is dedicated to my father, Dave Bushman. Two days after I delivered the completed first draft of the book, he died from COVID-19. I write about it in the book’s afterward — and answer “Why Sweden?” — so I won’t dwell on it here, just to say that my joy from this book is inextricably bound with grief.
Pre-orders in the Wild
Though today is publication day, due to the vagaries of supply chains and metadata tracking, several people received their copies of the book early.
The sight of people holding their copies fills me with a new kind of joy. Most of my previous work has been in more ephemeral formats; to have something physical, tangible to hold is a new experience for me. I find that I like it.
Help Spread the Advice
If you can, please spread the word about the book. Post pictures of your own copy on the social networks of your choice. Write reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, or elsewhere. Buy copies as gifts for everyone you know, even strangers!
Because of the pandemic, I’m not going to be able to do any bookstore signings. So instead, I’ll send a signed bookplate to anyone who requests it. And it’ll be signed not only by me, but by Aunt Antigone too! If you’d like me to send you a bookplate, fill out this form with your information.
Thank you again for signing up for this newsletter, and I hope you enjoy the book. Comment or reply here and let me know what you think, which character will listen to the advice and which ones won’t, or what other characters you would like to see get schooled by Aunt Antigone.
Thanks. so much,
Jay