Field Guide to Unsuccessfully Writing, Illustrating, and Self-Publishing Books*
Welcome to a collection of bite-sized lessons I’ve learned the hard way—then turned into cheeky survival tips. Some are serious. Most are semi-helpful. All are mostly harmless.

🔹 Field Guide Note 1

🔥 Be Like a Firefighter. Run Toward the Noise.

Yes, you’ll confront capitalism, confusion, and copyright. That’s the point. Suit up. Go in

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🔹 Field Guide Note 2

🛰️ Books Are the Mothership of Media

Books are the source code for launching content on other media channels. So even in the digital age, write it for yourself. Then deploy it in pieces how readers want it.

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🔹 Field Guide Note 3

🛣️ On the Storytelling Highway, great sentences are scenery Make readers hit the brakes.

Make every line a reason to pull over.

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🔹 Field Guide Note 4

🪦 Build Your Sentence Morgue
Some slain lines wait (wade) for you in the River Styx.

Not every cut line is gone forever.
Give your best deleted sentences a second chance at life.

Start your morgue.
Resurrection is part of the process.

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🔹 Field Guide Note 5

🫧 Blow Bubbles with the World

Everything You Sense Is Writing Material
Stay curious. Let the world hand you the soap, the air, and the wand. The magic occurs when you have the patience to wait on the screen for one of them to pop.

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🔹 Field Guide Note 6

🌞 → 🌤 → 🌙Be Bright. Lower the Brightness.

When your eyes start to hurt from all that writing, remember to adjust the settings—not just in your device, but in your day.

Gentle light, gentle pace. Keep going.

🔹 Field Guide Note 7

🖍 → 🤖 → 🌀Draw. Animate. Loop.

Turning your character into a GIPHY isn’t just fun—it’s marketing in motion. A little doodle can become a searchable, shareable story across the web.

Tiny movement, big ripple. Keep creating.