26 Comments
Feb 27, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Wonderful examination, Samuél.

I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary on Twitter. Planning to delete my account and write about my experience in a few weeks, particularly highlighting the superficiality of the experience.

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Thank you sir, looking forward to reading that piece ... I'm sure you'll answer this in that piece, but did you find it helped in any tangible way aside from an ego stroke / helping you write very witty sentences of 140 characters? (I have a feeling you already had that skill on lock)

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Spoiler alert: no. :-)

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Feb 27, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

my god i have a million things to say. i’ll just start with thank you.

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As far as I can tell, these comment threads NEVER END. So say away, my friend. I know for a fact a lot of folks reading these comments would love to hear your thoughts on this one, it's a big ole baloney sandwich, ain't it?

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founding

I hadn’t heard of this work, and it’s very interesting to think about what’s behind it! I like the points you make about why a writer writes. I think sometimes one (myself included in this statement) put so much emphasis on the success of what one writes being tied to recognition or money and as a result doesn’t write. Because what’s the point. It’s like going from point a to point z and not allowing for a journey.

I had a college friend once randomly ask me, When did you give up on being famous? I was in my 20s and it floored me. The implication is that he (also a super creative friend and dreamer) was giving up and wanted to check in if I was there yet. I had to admit I was way ahead of him.

Maybe it’s that need to be heard/recognized/famous that is good and keeps writers writing. I hope you have in no way given up on being famous. 😁

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Ahhh thank you Martina. It's such a constant battle between the very obvious "writing is a sacred act and is an end in itself" to "I really should also put my work out there, for despite what we may think, none of us exist in a vacuum."

The whole "give up on fame thing" is a great point. I wouldn't say I've given up on it by any means, but the benefit of being in a (mildly successful) band that toured quite a bit is THAT part of the "fame" aspect--the one that sates the ego, that makes you feel like you're a star--was more than filled during those years with Slim and The Beast. Then again, this whole Substack Adventure began with my feeling that if I keep telling people I'm a writer and refuse to put my work out there, then I'm just a big phoney baloney. It's a personal feeling, phoniness, but once we start feeling it, I do think we have a duty to get past it, however we deem fit.

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founding

We’ll, you’re definitely not a phony! I think the drive to have people see or read or hear your art can be the driving force that pushes you to create. I read Van Gogh was always pushing his art and sold one painting. But that longing to be recognized combined with his talent drove him on. I told that fame story to maybe give an excuse for giving up. It’s a dumb reason. I think people create for a number of reasons and finding your own personal guides or goals is the real driver. Thanks for sharing!

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Feb 28, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Maybe perfect? Merci for this. I will share it despite all of the above because I reckon a few people I know need to hear it. x

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Sing it loud, sing it clear. Let's blast it over the rooftops of Paris to the tunes of Chet Baker.

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Feb 28, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Samuél, I’m actually angry at how much this affected me, existentially as an author and creator. Capitalism has infected me. If it doesn’t make me money it’s not valuable and therefore not worth doing. How gross is that.

I did talk about this in a recent piece vis-a-vis AI and didn’t come to many hopeful conclusions. We as a society don’t value art, so we don’t pay for it, so artists have to do other things that do pay in addition to, or instead of, doing art. Less art in the works leads to unhappier people. And also people who would be artists but who churn out content for a quick buck at the expense of creating anything meaningful and thus just add to the useless noise.

Ugh. And I’m one of them.

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Feb 28, 2023·edited Feb 28, 2023Author

Haha damn, yes that is gross. I am happy to make you angry though, if it's for vaguely anti-capitalist purposes? That's the real rub, though: none of us are anti-capitalists, because if we were, we wouldn't be on these computers, or living in these cities. We're kind of stuck in that sense.

I do disagree slightly, however, insofar as we are seeing a resurgence of the valuation of art with platforms like Substack. One year ago, nobody aside from my friends, the few hundred people who bought my first novel, and a few walking tour clients of mine knew anything about my writing. Today, at least I have an outlet to share a whole lot of art, and I get to speak to fellow folks like you. Tedd Goia's recent piece spoke to this. HOPE IS NOT LOST NICCI!

https://www.thefp.com/p/americas-culture-is-booming-really

I do agree with you, though, that we must be wary of content creation, and refuse it on principle. Do I think I'm producing "content" every week? No. Some people might think I am. But that's just like, their opinion, man.

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I will read this and try to balance the trash with the valuable, soul-feeding stuff. :)

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Feb 28, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Really great Samuél! So many tandems would love to talk to you about! Especially the culture of Twitter etc. & likes which push 3rd rate writers to NY Times book lists. Bravo!! ❤️

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Merci! It certainly doesn't inspire confidence when any industry's notion of quality is fundamentally linked to popularity. See: the Grammy Awards, 2023, and the state of "popular music" in general

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Mar 1, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Your piece is incredibly moving and touches my writer-soul on every level. I am one of the (I’d like to say “increasing,” maybe, after reading this?) few who finds far more joy in writing in semi-humble anonymity than the hollow churn of self-promotion. Merci, Samuel.

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Thank you Annie. The work is all we can count on. Once it's out there, bridging gaps and making connections is all that matters.

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Mar 2, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Merci pour cet article, qui a résonné avec ma propre journey en tant qu’écrivain.

Plus les années passent et plus je commence à accepter l’idée de rester dans l’anonymat avec une paix intérieure: J’ai beau garder l’envie de partager mes écrits -notamment le roman que je prépare depuis 7 ans- mais l’attrait pour la lumière et tout le chemin pour se vendre en tant qu’auteur ne me disent plus grand chose.

Pourquoi “vendre” lorsqu’on peut aussi partager?

Bien entendu, être rémunéré pour le temps passé à coucher des mots sur le papier ne me déplairait pas, mais la folie des grandeurs et la courses aux nombres devient juste lassante. Devoir entretenir la vitrine de nos réseaux sociaux avec du contenu pour “rester à jour” est chronophage, et à force je ne sais même plus si mon compte Instagram est fait pour le “moi auteur” ou le “moi personnel”. Le mélange constant de la vie privée et public crée une anxiété parfois difficile à vivre.

Finalement, ce qui compte le plus pour moi est le message et la qualité de ce que j’écris, et non plus le fait que ce soit bankakle ou attrayant aux yeux de la masse. Mais je pense tout de même que le fait que cet art soit reçu et lu par des personnes puisse influencer sur ma motivation (avoir des retours, des personnes qui comprennent, qui interprètent et s’approprient mes mots!).

Dernière pensée: L’écriture est aussi un bon moyen de faire une thérapie par soi même, et ça, ça n’a pas de prix !

Merci encore pour l’article, je vais aller me renseigner sur les auteurs partagés :)

Ps: I’m still waiting for un exemplaire de Slim & The Beast ahha

Sorry for the frenglish

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T'as ecrit un roman! Hell yes dude. Quand est-ce qu'on peut le lire?

J'adore ce que tu dis "pourquoi vendre quand on peut partager" et en générale je suis d'accord, mais les deux ne sont pas incompatible (comme sur Substack, où on peut partager pleins de choses gratuitement sans oublier le fait que l'écriture est aussi une profession).

J'aimerais bien pouvoir lire tes textes quand ils sont prêts, et c'est dans ce sens là que je ne suis pas d'accord 100% avec "Stokes Prickett" dans le sens qu'il faut aussi avoir le courage de partager son travail sans un but d'avoir un retour. Pour moi, le premier étape de l'écriture est, comme tu dis, la thérapie, mais après plusieurs brouillons ça devient quelque-chose d'autre (comme la musique, pour moi en tout cas).

envoie moi un email pour qu'on puisse se voir et je peux finalement te donner une copie de Slim and The Beast! slopezba@gmail.com

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Mar 2, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Merci pour ta réponse ! En effet, l’écriture n’est plus qu’un simple hobby si on y passe plusieurs heures par jour. Faire un mélange de partage et de vente, j’aime cette idée 👍 Mais c’est difficile de partager sans attendre de retour (pour mon cas) car ça s’apparenterait à lancer une bouteille à la mer ahah

Merci, si je réussis enfin à me faire publier je t’enverrais une copie. 👌

Je t’envoie un mail soon, deal!

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UPDATE:

It turns out the anthology that I submitted has been published. And I'm in it. The mystery continues. Or perhaps culminates?

https://twitter.com/adalva/status/1553601147369361408

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Mar 3, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

This is absolutely wild

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Let's commiserate over Calvados whilst cycling past Concorde in a few days ...

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Mar 9, 2023Liked by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes

Samuél,

I think it has always been hard to make a living from art. I love the example of Van Gogh provided earlier in this stream. Plus, for the few who do make such a living, luck plays as much a role as anything else. Who you know, where you live, and serendipity all play roles alone with self-promotion and talent.

Little Steven (Steven Van Zandt) has made some relevant observations here from the perspective of music. He notes that you can create great music, but without management and distribution support your creations will languish and ultimately get tossed in the trash by your kids when they clean out your garage following your death. So, he sees roles for all the people who work together to make successful records.

These roles are further illustrated by Marc Myers in his book Anatomy of a Song. Looking at records that became influential hits, he often notes the lucky breaks, the additions made by session musicians, and the coincidences of having the right collaborators available at the right time that all helped take songs with potential and made them commercial successes. Almost none of the songs he highlights sprang fully formed from their creator.

So, I think we should avoid trying to equate successful art with making money. If something speaks to you and if you see (or hear) something new in the piece every time you come back to it, then it is successful art. Take pleasure from it. Getting the piece out to a wide audience is another issue with all the concerns about promotion, publicity, and more luck that you note.

I am glad to interact with you on Substack, but I also realize that there are thousands of other good writers of whom I an unaware.

So, keep creating and look for paying gigs that you enjoy.

Peace brother.

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This is beautifully said, Craig. Thank you. Your point about being able to return to a piece and finding something new each time may be the best definition I've read so far or something that is successful. The commercial/extraneous concerns about who ELSE will be able to revisit the work multiple times are questions of marketing, business, distribution ... things that are of a very different kind of creative process, which, to your point, often requires the support of small armies.

Here's to discovering the many other writers we have yet to discover.

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