Hello world!
I recently realized I wanted to start writing again, and I've been trying to figure out a way that does that in the most decentralized way possible. Since BlueSky is my main social media platform, and the ATProtocol is (hopefully) the social internet of the future, I was interested in trying to leverage that tech for a blog. so, here we are on WhiteWind!
A little bit about me (in my current iteration): I am the publisher of Fieldmouse Press, a 501(c)3 nonprofit publishing house based in Grass Valley, CA. We have two major projects;
- SOLRAD, the multi Eisner-nominated online literary magazine for comics
- Our comics publishing project, which prints about 6-10 "graphic novels" a year and, starting in 2025, 2-5 short works a year
My original involvement in "comics writ-large" was as a commentator and cultural critic. I find that a lot of people in small press comics get into publishing that way - Gary Groth, Ryan Carey, Rob Clough (one of my partners at Fieldmouse) and myself were first critics before they were publishers. Criticism is a helpful lens for a publisher; it's an opportunity to think expansively about what you like, what you don't like, and reflect on how you feel a medium works best. Other workers inside of the comics ecosphere, like Tucker Stone, were first commentators and critics.
What should readers expect from this "blog?" Well, first, this journal/blog will contain material that is mostly comics-oriented in nature, although I'm not trying to limit myself to just comics. I want to find some space to talk about the publishing process - how I've found myself in this position of budgeting for and contracting with printers, designing or approving book design, the long journey to finding distribution, and even sneak peeks on what Fieldmouse Press is working on. I'll also be sharing my thoughts on recent goings-on in comics.
Because of the federated nature of BlueSky, you won't need to go to an additional website to find my blog posts, although they'll be contained on BlueSky's WhiteWind platform. Posts will be freely accessible via link on my BlueSky page, and via this link: https://www.whitwnd.com/sequential.li
If you have thoughts about accessiblity, how this shows up in your feeds, or things you'd be interested in seeing my thoughts on, you can email me at hoffman@fieldmouse.press. Let's talk soon.
