The big finale!

Given the uneven rollout of these Dozen Days and the fact that the book is out and has been plastered all over social media lately (to my great delight, thank you everyone for posting your pictures!!), calling this a cover reveal is probably a bit misleading. Let’s call it a cover review.

Note: the following is copied from my Kickstarter updates, posted on August 17, 2023

Cover reveals are exciting, no doubt, but they also feel fraught to me. They’re your book’s first introduction to the world and you hope it makes a good impression. But forget even a “good” impression, at the most basic level you have to start with knowing what impression it is you want to make.

I had this idea I wanted to do something with a donut-shaped planet. It would be our Earth floating in the empty vastness of space, but we’d be together, safe, united by our love for warm obloid pastry. I was pretty certain this is the vibe I wanted and I made the following donut, intending to paste it against a starry background.

It’s cute but it wasn’t doing it for me. Not in a cynical “the world is more of a burnt Pop-Tart” sense, mind you, just in that this concept didn’t match the content of the book. Despite the pink-frosting clouds (which I love), the energy in the piece felt kind of low. The book, I believe, is more exciting than what this cover promises.

As I thought about it, my mind kept going back to this image, a collage I did with a group of fourth graders five and a half years ago.

I love the energy in this piece and I could imagine an explosion of donuts (and words) working as an exciting cover. I did a sketch:

I liked this and appreciated that it felt connected to one of my favorite donuts in the book (Galaxy Donut). Not to mention the Big Bang metaphor felt appropriate as this whole project grew out of something very small (a tweet). Still, I couldn’t bring myself to move on the final art. I might have been dispirited by my first failed attempt, or maybe I knew there was a better idea waiting. Whatever it was, I did another sketch.

Now THIS… I knew this was exactly the direction I wanted to go. A box, a gift. Surprises within. It’s also a direct reference to the start of the project, the original dozen donuts I bought on that fateful morning last June. My mind was set.

It would take me a short while to figure out how best to execute the illustration. In the end, I composed the picture digitally. These are all my original painted papers but I scanned them as full sheets and collaged them digitally. This is the only piece in the whole book created that way and I did miss working with knives and glue but I knew I had so many elements going on in this image that I needed the flexibility of an adjustable image. Each element (title, donuts, box, background) exists on its own layer and can be edited individually. Here’s a week or more of of that process condensed into half a minute.

Totally worth it. I mean that honestly, no snark. I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out and I hope you are too.

Want to hold this cover in your hands? Pick up your own copy of DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY here!

We’re picking up where we left off on the third last day of the pre-launch extravaganza! Where have I been all month, you ask? Well, there was a hiccup with the printer that resulted in a three week production delay. It was disappointing to have the Dozen Days interrupted and my concocted-on-the-fly plans put into limbo, but all in all it was a positive thing—the three week delay gave me space to slow down and look at my to-do list and catch up with some unfulfilled donut rewards and (gulp!) untallied campaign receipts. But that’s old news! We’re back on track, books have been rolling out and people have been receiving them. Twitter and Instagram are a-buzz with pictures of books in homes across the US (and as of tonight, Canada), so let’s jump back to the matter at hand.

If you remember the original schedule, the plan for today’s post was a discussion about some of the practical decisions that went into printing my book.

I decided early on that I wanted my book to be printed in an environmentally sustainable way. This meant, for me, not just the highest grade recycled paper and least toxic inks, but a company that is as local to my area as possible. Fortunately, I have this option in Greenerprinter, an eco-conscious print house located a mere forty minutes from my front door. They do good work. The paper stock is an 80% post-consumer recycled paper that has the warmest matte feel. The colors, printed in soy-based inks, do great justice to the originals (color fidelity was, in fact, my number one printing concern). I honestly couldn’t be happier with the final product.

I mean, look how good these look!!!

I thought I might talk about my decision to go with softcover, there’s something to be said about how publishers in other countries often print paperback editions first, then, if there’s demand, issue a special edition hard cover and how maybe, ultimately, going with hardcover is a vanity thing. I don’t know enough to know if that’s true across all creators, publishers, and countries. I can say for myself personally, I had been hoping to go with a hardcover book.

From the first moment I decided to make the donut book I planned to do it in the style of CHARLIE HARPER’S ANIMAL KINGDOM. That book is a massive 288-page, 12 by 18 inch coffee table tome. I was willing to make DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY a bit more modest in size and scale (I aimed for 144 pages and 9 x 12 inches) but I wanted to stick with hardcover. This is where things got a little complicated. Greenerprinter doesn’t offer hardcover, and places that did, don’t offer the best recycled paper choices. The difference in cost, as it turns out, wasn’t all that great. The decision would come down to the paper I wanted to use.

As you can see in the picture above, DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY is to be held close and appreciated in the way you’d hold close and appreciate a warm donut. I wanted the book to feel as good as it looks and I didn’t want any crinkly, plasticky, coated papers. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked the idea of having a hardcover book, both for my ego and for the book’s durability (I also hope the book is something people return to when they feel the need for a creative pick-me-up). But only after a short battle between my hard head (and vanity) and my soft heart (and love of trees and kids), I made up my mind. I decided to go with softcover.

No regrets. Because, honestly, doesn’t this book look good?

Want to know what this paper feels like? You can order your own copy here!

DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY is, truly, a collaborative project. It came to be at the writing community’s (once) favorite water cooler, Twitter, and it’s no exaggeration to say all these donuts would not existed without that forum. I acknowledge Twitter’s inseverable connection to the project in the book’s opening (in the telling of the #DonutsForEverybody origin story) and also in its epilogue. Looking back at this time (June-December 2022), I feel like these donuts happened a thousand years ago. And in terms of a social media life cycle, they did. Still, I wanted to capture some of the excitement of the moment and I thought a good way to do that would be to use tweets from that time for the back cover blurbs.

The first tweet came from Antwan Eady (yep, it was Antwan who suggested I edit INTERVIEW WITH A DONUT) and I knew immediately that I wanted to use it. I’ve been a fan of Antwan’s for a while now—I admire his writing and respect his opinion (most recently, this)—and I’ve been floored by his generosity in boosting my donuts. Antwan’s the very embodiment of community and celebration, and I knew he saw the project the way I did. In fact, in some ways he saw it more clearly, so I was thrilled when he signed off on his blurb.

Quick aside: it was Katie McEnaney’s SHEL SILVERSTEIN DONUT that inspired me to start the picture book donut series, but it was NIGEL AND THE MOON that inspired me to make the pieces as big as I wanted.

The second blurb comes from a tweet by Canadian poet, Jennifer Thomas, who offers her own gifts to the community in her “Words That Make Me Smile” series. Jennifer is another person who understood the scope of my project and the tweet of hers that I chose captured, with two well chosen words, the energy I felt every time I sat down to make these donuts. Words that make me smile, indeed, Jennifer.

I also owe thanks to Jennifer for agreeing to proofread and copyedit DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY. Particularly for her point of view on the epilogue I mentioned above. Before Jennifer’s thoughtful input, it was more of a eulogy, really. And a sour one at that. This change, which wouldn’t have happened without Jennifer’s perspective, I believe saved the book.

It’s remarkable, really, to share a project publicly in this way. On one hand it’s just me in my attic with a pair of scissors, a cutting blade, and stacks and stacks of paper. But, really, it’s so much more. It wouldn’t be the same without Antwan and Jennifer and it wouldn’t even be without all of you. My thanks to everybody.

Alright, enough mush! I’m taking the weekend off and returning after Labor Day with the final push towards the launch. I’ll see you then.

Wait… so what are these tweets? What do the blurbs say?

As usual, you’ll have to get the book to find out. 😉

I don’t think there’s much sense in making this a guessing game. I mean, there’s really no question. If you were to make a children’s illustration art book, who would you want to write the foreword?

No, not Guy Fieri.

Gee, maybe you haven’t imagined this scenario. I’ll give you a clue. Here’s her custom made donut:

Got it? NO? Okay, here’s another hint.

Oh, for goodness sakes, not David Small (although that’d be rad). Here’s one last clue…

Not Kate Atienza (though also rad). NO! It’s BETSY FUSE EIGHT HERSELF BIRD. Yes, Betsy kindly agreed to take a break from writing, podcasting, book reviewing, interviewing, and TikToking to write a foreword to my donut book. Honestly, I don’t know how Betsy does it all (and all so WELL), but she does and I am very thankful for her willingness to celebrate the completion of my project with some appropriate words.

Thank you, Betsy!

I’ve teased a lot and you probably want to know what Betsy wrote but I’m sorry, you’ll have to get the book to find out!

We’re back with my final three guest authors!

I’ve talked about why I wanted to feature works from friends (Part 1), we talked about how I approached the project (Part 2). Today I’m going to say something about trust. It might seem naive and, in light of yesterday’s post about control, contradictory, but I genuinely went into this collaboration idea with no concerns that it wouldn’t work. This wasn’t a huge leap of faith, I knew something of most every author’s work. And in the case where I hadn’t actually seen their writings, I knew them personally. And in the cases where I didn’t know their writing and barely knew them, I had the endorsement of people I trust. And in the case where I hadn’t seen their writing, didn’t know them, and wasn’t given an endorsement, I figured what the heck. What’s the worse that can happen?

How’d it all shake out? Well, in all but one case where I had to edit a bit for length, the pieces came back as near perfect first drafts. A word or two may have been tweaked, but for the most part, they are all presented as I received them. “Impossible,” I hear you say, “How can this be?”

I will say this: there is a chance I am an easy audience, have no taste, and wouldn’t know a gerund from a gerbil. But to suppose that would be also to suppose that the nine writers who so kindly contributed to my book, too, wouldn’t know gerunds from gerbils (the mark of a truly great author is knowing that difference, by the way). You really want to go around this earth insulting nine authors? The better course is to trust that I’m an incredible judge of character.

THE GAME!

Below are three of these fine humans, Sylvia Chen, Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, and Lissette Norman. Below them are the three donuts they used as a creative prompt. Which donut do you think each author picked? Read their bios, look at the donuts and see if you can match them.

And here are the donuts:

What are your guesses? Which donut “spoke” to each author? Did Sylvia (youth recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats award) want to pay homage to young writers by choosing the Sesame Street Typewriter Guy? Did Stephanie (cloudy water child of Minnesota) want to honor the fog-giving Pacific Ocean? Did Lissette (author of MY FEET ARE DANCING and co-author of ON THE LINE) want to organize the wayward Touchdown Donuts into a tidy chorus line?

Put your guesses (and for bonus virtual points, your reasoning) in the comments below.

ps – If you want to see their donutty words, you will have to get the book! Available as a pay what you want pdf download or in delicious paperback.

What’s this little thing on the bottom of my book’s spine?

Looks kind of like an alligator…

Yep, definitely an alligator. Let’s zoom in…

Alligator Boogaloo is the name I use for my personal work. As a artistic project/creative philosophy/business venture, Alligator Boogaloo straddles a line somewhere between zine making, self-publishing, and a small press. I’ve released an ukulele instruction book that did well, a picture book that might have done well (if I could have figured a way to sell it), and a number of zines and minicomics that I’ve made purely for my own enjoyment. Soon, of course, DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY will be added to the Alligator Boogaloo bibliography.

So why did I self-publish? I enjoy the experience. I like everything up to the selling, anyway, but that’s growing on me. I was thinking what I liked best was having full control of the project, but if I break that down, I think what I like best is the freedom to experiment. Putting the book together has been invigorating and I’m feeling some dormant back burner ideas (experimental and otherwise) ignited. Anyway, now when you see the alligator on the spine and his slogan on the copyright page, you’ll know what he is. And, if some of those rekindled ideas catch on, you’ll likely see him again.

Oh, in case you came here looking for those hard hitting topics, I’ll cover them here.

on self-reliance: There were day where I didn’t show up for work, luckily I’m a good boss and respect my employees’ need for mental health days.

on self-delusion: My expectations regarding my output were reasonable but I did forget how much I can fine tune such things as a one-pixel difference between two images (endlessly).

on self-destruction: I took plenty of naps.

on self-esteem: As proud as I am of this book, I don’t feel the need to prove myself with it as I did with other projects. It’s a true labor of love.

on self-publishing: Fun but I know I’m checking out after I fulfill all the preorders. Speaking of that, get yours here!!!

I don’t do critique partners. I will, on occasion, seek feedback from a trusted friend on a specific element in a manuscript, but for the most part, I trust that part of me that seems to be able to view several perspectives at once. I forged ahead with the attitude in writing DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY. I mean, come on… how bad could it get?

Well, let me tell you.

On completing the book, I sent it to a writer I admire and respect with the request to use a compliment they once paid me as a blurb on the back cover of the book. This person (who could it be, I wonder?), kindly agreed on the condition that they could first review the book in its entirety. I sent the PDF to this person knowing that there was only one area of concern. It’s a single line almost smackdab in the middle of the book. I knew it could be viewed as problematic, but, as I said above, I had considered the line from several perspectives and was willing to stand by it.

Guess what. I hadn’t looked at it from every angle. There were two I missed as I discovered in the Author-In-Question’s reply to me. Most notably, the book, for them, was something that could be shared with kids. I had been viewing the book for an adult audience, a coffee table book for kidlit people and other fans of children’s book illustration. This book raised, for the AIQ, a concern that I was cutting kids out of the picture.

This feedback was returned in the kindest, smartest, most thoughtfully deliberate way. The line wasn’t a dealbreaker, but they wanted some time to sit with it and the issues it raised. Not wanting this person to spend more time than necessary on this favor they were doing for me, I wondered if I should just change it. I balked initially so I quickly interrogated myself to ask why I was so attached to this line.

It’s clever, sure, and works on many levels but I had never actually tried a replacement. Could I think of something better? My mind suddenly went to that scene in Steve Martin’s ROXANNE where Steve Martin (playing the role of a modern Cyrano de Bergerac) gets called “big nose” by the town bully. Steve Martin turns the table on the bully by pointing out how basic that insult is and coming up with 20-something better variations.

I sat down and tried to come up with 20-something replies a donut might give to an interviewer in response to the question “Any final words for our audience?” Here they are, presented (as Steve Martin did) by theme:

TWO DOZEN DONUT ONE LINERS
by Jerrold Connors

OBVIOUS:
This hole thing has been a pleasure.

METEOROLOGICAL:
Let a donut be your umbrella on a dark and cloudy day.

CHIC:
If you’re not into desserts, we donuts make fashionable headwear. Try a Beret Beignet.

PERSONAL:
Embrace an eclair, cuddle up with a cruller, lay down with a long john. You won’t be sorry.

PUNCTUAL:
There’s never a bad time for a donut. Enjoy!

CIRCULAR:
My secret for success: timing is everything, always be around.

NAUGHTY:
If you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a hot cup of coffee.

NAUGHTY 2:
Eat me.

PHILOSOPHICAL:
Like a circle with no beginning or end, donuts are forever.

PUNNY:
I’m feeling a bit glazed, I donut know what else to say. 

#RELATABLE:
My biography The Hole Truth comes out this fall. I’d appreciate a Goodreads review.

CUTE:
As we say on the shelf, see ya ‘round!

MELODIC:
To paraphrase James Brown, “I taste good! You know that I would now!”

SYMPATHETIC:
I wish everyone could know the simple pleasure of being a donut. Maybe dip your buns in sugar for a taste.

COMPLEMENTARY:
What more perfect shape is there than the circle? Not to blow my own horn, but we’re perfect.

SCIENTIFIC:
Did you hear astronomers have discovered a donut shaped planet? It’s only a matter of time before we go galactic.

ZEN:
Find your center and stay true to yourself.

FRENCH:
As the French would say, “Vive la Donut!”

RELIGIOUS:
Don’t forget to give thanks to the lard next time you enjoy a donut.

LEGENDARY:
To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, “There’s two types of donuts, good and better.”

AROMATIC:
People talk a lot about the smell of success. I don’t know what that smells like but I know the smell of happiness. It’s me!

CONTEMPORARY:
This was more fun than my appearance on Hot Ones. My hole is still burning!

HISTORICAL:
Ich bin ein Berliner!

PARANOID:
Can you please stop looking at me like that? You’re making me nervous.

Maybe it was a type of penance for not exercising my creative chops, maybe it was a bit of grandstanding, maybe it was need to prove to myself that if I was going to keep the line, I did do my due diligence, but whatever motivated me to brainstorm these lines ultimately helped decide to replace “All cops are bastards”. I immediately emailed the Author-In-Question and ran my favorite lines past them. We agreed on a replacement and the rest is history.

What line did we ultimately pick? You’ll have to get the book to find out!

We’re back with another round of everyone’s favorite game!

If you caught our first installment, you’ll know why I wanted to include work from various authors. Today I’m going to talk a little about how these works fit into the book.

The book itself is divided into themed chapters. Each of these written works (there are ten in total, one is by yours truly) act as a transition piece between the themes/chapters. Slick, right? Well, that wasn’t my intention from the beginning. By pure serendipity Kate’s, Bill’s, and Jess’s works filled three holes I saw in the book: Kate’s went as an introduction to my kidlit-themed donuts, Jess’ served as a transition between “edible donuts” and “anthropomorphized donuts”, and Bill’s Big Bang became (appropriately) the opening to the entire gallery.

My next three authors had a harder assignment: they received a donut and a gentle suggestion at working within a theme. Was I worried adding a level of complexity would be creatively stifling? Maybe just a little bit. But how could I really worry with these superstars at bat? Naturally, they hit three home runs leaving me extremely thankful for their participation and, of course, their generosity.

THE GAME!

Below are three of the afore mentioned superstars, John Bray, CK Malone, and Maisha Oso. Below them are the three donuts I offered as creative prompts. Which donut do you think each author picked? Read their bios, look at the donuts and see if you can match them.

And here are the donuts:

What are your guesses? Which donut “spoke” to each author? Did the kaleidoscope donut refresh John’s memories of finding plastic prizes in boxes of Cracker Jacks? Did the tired donuts at the cafe resonate with CK’s end-of-a-long-day coffee in the teacher’s lounge? Does the exotic locale of the fairytale donut remind Maisha of her travels around the globe?

Put your guesses (and for bonus virtual points, your reasoning) in the comments below.

ps – If you want to see how their words connect to their various themes, you will have to get the book! Available as a pay what you want pdf download or in delicious paperback.