Thank You for Reading This
A Year-End Notebook
I was going to leave you alone this dead week, but I decided to say thank you.
The end of a year is—as it is for many of you, I suspect—a time of reflection for me, and I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude. Whether you have been reading since I started this newsletter in May (when I did not yet know what this would be), are one of the many new subscribers in recent months, or someone who just occasionally dips in to read what I have to say: thank you. Thank you! This year I have gotten a sample of what Oliver Sacks calls “the special intercourse of writers and readers” and I’m afraid I am hooked forever.
This year has been challenging in several ways—they all seem to be, these days—but there has also been much to celebrate.
As this year ends, I am grateful for:
The birth of my daughter1
Five years of marriage
One year without alcohol
Five years as a graphic designer at the Ann Arbor District Library
My son’s speech and language development
The launch and growth of this very newsletter2
My biggest book cover client to date
I won’t keep you long, dear reader—you have lots of nothing to do—but before you go, I’d love to read what you’re grateful for. Feel free to leave a comment or reply to this email directly.
If you’re new here, and would like to read more, here are some of my favorites from the 44(!) missives I sent this year:
📓 Nathaniel’s Notebook 📓
News: My note about why we indent paragraphs and monks missing deadlines took off recently and was featured in Substack’s The Weekender.
Note of the week: A brief history of the book cover blurb.
What I’m reading: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich (bookshop.org affiliate link)
A newborn baby has a powerful effect on character. But so does a toddler. A child. A preteen. A teenager. A mother changes with every stage. Some stages are within a mother’s skill set. Some stages are like being told to scale a cliff using a rope attached to nothing.
What I’m writing: “Authors (Don’t) Need to Like Their Book Cover” (coming soon)
If Nabokov can’t be trusted with his cover idea, can any writer? I guess your answer might depend on how you feel about Russian literature.
What I’m working on: The full cover mechanical for Pushing the River by Frank Bures. Off to the printer!
Thanks for reading! If you love this newsletter and want to support it, you can do so by “buying me a coffee” or becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscriptions are 20% through the end of the year.
Paid subscribers get access to How to Design a Book Cover, a bonus bi-weekly series in which I break down my book cover designs from creative brief to final cover. You can read the first post in the series for free here:
Until next time,
—Nathaniel
I don’t put pictures of my children on the internet, sorry, but I can assure you she is very cute.
My subscriber count has doubled since November 1. Want to know the secret? So do I. I have no idea—but what a wonderful Christmas present.
I'm grateful for my daughter's family traveling here to spend Christmas with us (mom & dad) and her sister's family. It was so uplifting to all be together.
Also grateful for discovering this community of writers & readers in 2024--it has motivated me to write on. Making my dream of publishing my finished manuscript seem more attainable.
I'm one of those newer subscribers, but really enjoying your work. I started a small press this year and have been really enjoying the opportunity to think and learn about cover design and other aspects of the trade. Thanks for sharing your expertise!