A week in pictures

ABC 167: On a whirlwind of a book launch

In a word, the past week has been surreal.

Excerpts of the book were published in The Atlantic, The Verge, and Insider. I was on a smattering of podcasts including Cal Newport’s and Harvard Business Review’s. I was on TV for the first time, and Michael Pollan wished me congratulations 😊.

But by far the in-person events have been the highlight. Here are some pics.

Funnily enough, my publisher discouraged me from doing any in-person events. “You’re unlikely to inspire many people to buy the book who wouldn’t have bought it already,” they said. But I didn’t write a book to make a buck. I wrote it because I had a message that I wanted to share with people.

And let me tell you, dear reader, there isn’t much better than a room of people vibing with what you have to say. I’ve got a few more events (Seattle, LA, Denver, and SF) and I can’t wait.

The most surprising part of the past week, though, is how many people with whom the book seems to resonate. I don’t have a particularly big audience—especially by internet standards—and yet at the time of this writing, the book is in the top 600 of all books on Amazon (!!).

As you might know, the first week of sales is of critical importance for first-timers like me. It’s the best chance I have to reach a bestseller list because all pre-orders get lumped into the first week of sales.

So, I have a favor to ask you.

If there’s anyone in your life who might benefit from the book, would you send them the Amazon or Bookshop link? The first sales week ends tonight at midnight (hence the Saturday send).

I’m grateful for the support you all have given me throughout this process—whether you’ve been a subscriber to this newsletter for five years or five minutes—and I’m trying my darnedest to keep the momentum going. We’ll be back to standard ABC programming next week. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Warmly,
Simo

P.S. The song of the week is my favorite pop song from the past few years. It instantly puts me in a good mood. The full songs of the week playlist can be found here.