Do you have a mantra?

ZZZZZZZZ - It's been one of those weeks

I’m writing this email from my living room table. Next to me is my two-week-year-old daughter who is crying and sleeping at the same time (I didn’t know that was possible). In the next room, our 1-year-old is screaming because she refuses to go down for her nap. It’s chaos. I haven’t had a full night's sleep in weeks.

In these foggy times, my emotions play tricks on me. I feel super insecure about the future. Unsure of myself. I wonder how I’m going to make time to launch a book or do all of my client work. Or just be creative in general, which is the main aspect of my job.

I like to have a mantra in every season of my life, something I can repeat to myself when I’m feeling stuck or unsure.

Right now my mantra is — Show up.

That’s my best weapon against self doubt.

Show up to whatever the next step is in front of me.

Showing up is the one thing I can control

Show up for that midnight feeding.

Show up as a writer, a creative.

By focusing on the micro, the macro feels less scary.

I’m grateful for these times of change and seasons of chaos. They help me understand how useless fear is. I seriously have no time or energy for it. I’ll I can do is focus on the work in front of me. The rest is up to a higher power.

What’s your mantra this season? Let me know in the comments!

My Book Launch Experiment

If you didn’t see my email on Tuesday, I released the cover of my latest book, The Influencer — the second installment in the Died Famous Universe. You can see the new cover and read the synopsis here!

II also launched my first NFT. If you want to read why I’m selling my book cover as a $35,000 NFT, you can read that on Medium: https://kmrutkin.medium.com/why-im-selling-my-book-cover-as-a-35-000-nft-8a57a87cafcd

Things that are inspiring me.

An NFT project called World of Women, a collection of artwork by Yam Karakia and a community centered around representation, inclusivity, and equal opportunities, did something pretty incredible last week. They granted full IP/commercial rights to their 5,000 owners. Anyone who owns these digital collectibles can freely use their World of Women character. They can make a World of Women coffee or tea company (see above). They can sell t-shirts. Make board games. Technically, Coca-Cola could buy one and put it on their cans.

And because of it, the value of these collectibles shot through the roof. The announcement created a deeper sense of ownership within the community. It became more of a shared experience. They were building something together.

Takeaway:

As artists, we hold onto our IP very tightly. I wonder what would happen if we let go just a little bit. What if we gave our fans more of a stake in our art? Is fan fiction the only way for authors to give our readers a sense of ownership? Anyway—Something I’ve been thinking about

That’s all for now.

Thanks for following me on my journey!