I promise I wasn't self-centeredly searching Substack for my own name. I was exploring the Substacks of a lot of folks who started following me after my Authorstack review and was pleasantly surprised to find this. A whole post about me! I'm beyond flattered. Thank you.
It's absurdly funny to me that you linked to the "wears women's underpants" article on Copyblogger. That joke was so nuanced, nobody got it entirely. First, you had to know that James Chartrand, another regular Copyblogger contributor, had been writing for years as a man, then came out on Copyblogger as a woman ... in an article called "Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants." You had to know that it's James in the photo at the top of my version, biting the apple, and you had to know that at the time, my own avatar was exactly the same: black and white of me biting into an apple, which was spot-colored yellow-green. You'd have to know, somehow, that after meeting James and learning her real name (which I refuse to use; she'll always be James to me), I pitched this idea of an April Fool's Day post, because Copyblogger always did great April Fool's Day posts. This time I'd be coming out as a woman, but I'd have to play it straight because it was funnier that way. But it'd be okay. I'd write about my struggles in the Mustache and Beard Championship circuit, and I'd do it so bizarrely that everyone would KNOW it was a joke. But some people didn't. I got emails of support for being brave, and I had to reply and tell them that it was a joke.
Those people didn't write back. Oh well; that's the price you pay for great comedy. It was worth it.
Thanks for taking the time to read this piece! It was fun to write.
I remembered the story behind the underpants post, but it was cool to revisit the details. Copyblogger was a great place to read back then. Writers with personality, interesting ideas, and unique styles. I remember the April Fool's Day posts too.
I read a lot of work by you and Jon Morrow, so it was a no-brainer to take the blogging course you guys created. From there, I jumped into your books starting with Fat Vampire.
When Write. Publish. Repeat. came out, I listened to it during my commutes. One thing that struck me about that book was the conversational tone and personality that came through.
I think I own ~30 books from you and Sean so far. I'm also enjoying Inspired as F**k. The Being John Malkovitch joke is spot on!
I promise I wasn't self-centeredly searching Substack for my own name. I was exploring the Substacks of a lot of folks who started following me after my Authorstack review and was pleasantly surprised to find this. A whole post about me! I'm beyond flattered. Thank you.
It's absurdly funny to me that you linked to the "wears women's underpants" article on Copyblogger. That joke was so nuanced, nobody got it entirely. First, you had to know that James Chartrand, another regular Copyblogger contributor, had been writing for years as a man, then came out on Copyblogger as a woman ... in an article called "Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants." You had to know that it's James in the photo at the top of my version, biting the apple, and you had to know that at the time, my own avatar was exactly the same: black and white of me biting into an apple, which was spot-colored yellow-green. You'd have to know, somehow, that after meeting James and learning her real name (which I refuse to use; she'll always be James to me), I pitched this idea of an April Fool's Day post, because Copyblogger always did great April Fool's Day posts. This time I'd be coming out as a woman, but I'd have to play it straight because it was funnier that way. But it'd be okay. I'd write about my struggles in the Mustache and Beard Championship circuit, and I'd do it so bizarrely that everyone would KNOW it was a joke. But some people didn't. I got emails of support for being brave, and I had to reply and tell them that it was a joke.
Those people didn't write back. Oh well; that's the price you pay for great comedy. It was worth it.
Hey Johnny,
Thanks for taking the time to read this piece! It was fun to write.
I remembered the story behind the underpants post, but it was cool to revisit the details. Copyblogger was a great place to read back then. Writers with personality, interesting ideas, and unique styles. I remember the April Fool's Day posts too.
I read a lot of work by you and Jon Morrow, so it was a no-brainer to take the blogging course you guys created. From there, I jumped into your books starting with Fat Vampire.
When Write. Publish. Repeat. came out, I listened to it during my commutes. One thing that struck me about that book was the conversational tone and personality that came through.
I think I own ~30 books from you and Sean so far. I'm also enjoying Inspired as F**k. The Being John Malkovitch joke is spot on!
LOL - this is all awesome!