Magic

So James, you know how those 4 kids stumbled through a wardrobe? And a little boy let loose a snake into a public zoo? Or what about that young girl who found herself decidedly over the rainbow? Well, that's where I spent my week James. In a magical place that I never expected and had no idea was even there.

Winter Institute, held by the American Bookseller's Association, is nothing short of magical. I had an incredible time, met some tremendous people and made some connections that I think will be instrumental in my future. And somehow, through all of the insanity, my week kept on bringing me back here - to our blog. Themes like storytelling, meeting our heroes and how we speak to others were constant themes throughout the week. I have so many new stories to share, both my own and others.

First, I want to address something you said in your last post. "What I mean to say is that John Green produces a lot of thoughts in public media. Not all of which are perfect gems." I read your post on Wednesday night and was pleasantly surprised to find John Green addressing that very issue in the panel he was on Thursday. He likened Twitter to his neighborhood, explaining that the Internet should be an extension of our real-world relationships. We say things that don't matter and aren't perfect all the time. If we do this online, it makes people feel like they are having authentic, honest, human interactions. This phenomenon gives online conversations more value, albeit a completely different kind. This panel on social media marketing encouraged us to let people into our stores by simulating the in-store experience online. Tell people what's happening. Tell them about books you like. And let go of the notion that everything we write has to be perfect.

I think this is an interesting idea and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it. John Green's right - we're used to text mattering. When you write it down, you're making a permanent contribution to the world. You're taking a thought from your own mind and making it public. There has always seemed to be something sacred about this to me. But John challenges us to let go of this expectation. We say things all the time that have very little significance or meaning. He's just suggesting that we bend and shift a little. Words still have power, but social media gives us a new venue for more casual communications - which come along with their own benefits. There's certainly a slippery slope there - kids not having adequate introductions and opportunities to use meaningful written words. But that is just another challenge I think we have to consider and meet.

Anyway, enough of that! Let's move on to something slightly more interesting: meeting your heroes. It's a tricky business, especially when you're meeting them in more than one capacity. On Wednesday night, I found myself in line with 500 teenaged girls, waiting to see John and Hank in their show associated with the release for The Fault In Our Stars. Mothers dropping off their 13-year-olds asked me to play chaperone for the evening and I happily spoke with many of them about their love of books, television, nerd culture and life in general. They were all such vibrant story-tellers, which I think is a quality we can thank John and Hank for encouraging in them. I was so impressed by their instant sense of community and camaraderie. Way to go young nerdfighters!

The show was excellent, as I expected, and afterwards I waited my turn in the excruciatingly long signing line to introduce myself. Upon explaining that I was with ABA, John apologized for how "weird" the show must have seemed. John, you should know that nerdfighters come in all forms! I had a blast, but his humility was charming anyway. Oh, and I shared a high five with Hank...

Thursday was a busy day at Winter Institute. Lots of panels, networking, learning about new books being released this year. It was definitely intense. While eating lunch, publisher reps came by in an unending parade of advanced reader copies. Two straight hours of being pitched to with only 10 minutes in between to get up and stretch. It doesn't sound that bad, but when you're in a banquet hall filled with nearly 1,000 people, all talking as loudly as they possibly can, I challenge YOU not to be exhausted by the end.

Ok, so the part you're really interested in - how was my semi-private dinner with John Green? It was great! And by great I mean a completely normal dinner with a room full of average people. John Green - completely normal and average in every way. And THAT was what made the experience so excellent. He listened to everyone and asked thoughtful questions. He talked about the difficulties of owning a small business with his brother (DFTBA Records). And he teabefore for having a childhood crush on former figure skater and North Andover resident Ron Kravette. It was magical. Because at the end of the night, I think we both felt about he same way towards one another - we enjoyed our conversations, would be happy to hang out again and graduated from acquaintances to friends. I'm not even being presumptuous... he said it, not me. And that's what I think I've always liked and known about him - he's just a regular, nerdy, slightly awkward dude who just happens to get a lot of online attention.

So James, I don't know how much I buy into that whole "don't meet your heroes - you'll just be disappointed" saying. I highly recommend meeting your heroes. It gives us a chance to reinvest in our own potential. And therein lies my motivation. Because who separates you and me from John Green.

That's right. Nothing.

Here's to motivation, potential and getting stuff done.

DFTBA, James.

Tardiness

Hi James! It just occurred to me that I'm on New Orleans time and therefore it is already past midnight on the east coast. I knew it would happen eventually... I'm late to post. But I've been working on a response all day. I promise to have it up tomorrow. For now, here's a taste of what I have to share with you:

John Green on social media (1/19/20)
"This should be fun. I know that owning a business and running a business is not fun day in and day out, but there are moments when it's fun. There are moments when you're making connections with your customers and it's really fun and you feel grateful that you got into this weird business of ours. And I think that that should be the goal in online communication as well. That should be the goal when you're reaching out to your community. And I really believe that in the same sense that you have this community of customers and the physical community in which your stores are located, you also have an online community and it's really helpful to me at least to imagine them similarly. It's helpful for me to imagine Twitter or Tumblr or Facebook or wherever as my neighborhood. And in the same way that things that I say to my neighbors aren't that big of a deal, things that I say on twitter aren't that big of a deal. I think that's one of the number one obstacles that we all face, particularly when you're using social media for the first time - we're used to text mattering."

Ps - I think I get a pass with my lateness since I spent last night getting you all sorts of behind the scenes info on the secret lives of authors. ;-)

Stories

On Sunday morning, before I began the business of cleaning, cooking and other odds & ends, I had a long think. In your last post, James, you said “[The burden of creation] must not be demystified or pretty soon everyone will think they can write or draw or play music. Who wants that?” And at first, I agreed. You’re right, some people are special and are better at creating art! If everyone thought they could do it, then it wouldn’t be special any more. What kind of a world would that be?

With this thought in mind, I started thinking more about what I am doing this coming week. For those of you who don’t know James and me personally, we work together at a bookstore. But this week, I’ll be leaving the Andover crew to hold down the fort while I venture down to New Orleans for the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute. This annual event is a gathering of booksellers, publishers, authors and other members of the book selling world. This is my first year attending and I was already super excited because it is being held in New Orleans, which happens to be one of my favorite cities. But then I got an email that I never expected in my wildest dreams. A representative from Penguin invited me to a private author dinner with John Green!

I have been to a few author dinners before. There are usually about a dozen people there, including the publisher rep and the author. It’s an excellent chance to speak with the author in an intimate setting and to network for future events. But this particular author dinner goes well beyond my normal level of enthusiasm for such things. I have been an avid John Green fan for about 3 years now. I’ve read all of his books and follow his YouTube projects. He’s always struck me as an all-around good guy who has the right combination of intelligence and humor. He’s been a personal inspiration for my own writing and I’ve watched his YouTube channel with the specific goal of making my own videos better.

So when I say that this author dinner won’t be like the others, I hope you understand why. John Green isn’t just another author for me to network with. He’s a personal hero who I have spent a number of years looking up to. He’s one of the “special ones” that James alluded to. One of the people who excels at creation. If everyone were like John Green, well the whole world would be a lot more awesome, but there wouldn’t be anything special about him anymore. So I wasn’t feeling all that bad about my slight level of obsession. I felt good about having him up on a pedestal and I was looking forward to standing up there with him for a few hours. All I had to worry about were my nerves.

But then I read Paper Towns (the only book of John’s that I hadn’t read yet). I just finished it Sunday morning and two of the passages stuck out. They came to me exactly when I needed them, and from the man himself.

“But isn’t it also that on some fundamental level we find it difficult to understand that other people are human beings in the same way that we are? We idealize them as gods or dismiss them as animals.”

“What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person.”

Thanks John Green, that’s exactly what I needed to hear, and not a moment too soon. You’re just a guy, John. You’re a guy who happens to be very good at conveying a story, in many different mediums. And I think that’s what Paper Towns is all about: how hard it is to see our own understanding of the human experience in someone we have placed upon a pedestal. That is my challenge this week, James. To sit next to John Green and see him as just another human being. Because that is where the real honor will be. In sitting at a table, talking and laughing as equals.

So after that epiphany, I started thinking about stories. We are all made up of stories. Some are great. Some need to be followed by a snarky line like “And then I found 12 plastic skeletons.” But everyone’s lives are made up of a string of stories. Some of us tell them really well and can even conjure up imaginary stories to delight our friends. Still, others don’t think their stories are worth sharing or are too afraid of what others might think.

Then a metaphor entered my mind. Try to follow me on this one. Imagine a supermarket, with dozens of isles filled with food (in this metaphor, the food is stories). Folks like you, me and John Green, we are like giant grocery stores packed with food. We rely on stories to succeed, we are defined by the fact that we have stories inside of us and that we need to tell them. Other people, they might be more like malls or Hess gas stations. Sure, there is some food in those places, but that’s not their defining trait. You go to the mall to shop or the Hess station for gas. You might stop while you’re there for a cup of coffee or a cinnabon, but neither a mall nor a gas station would go out of business if they stopped selling food. Some people need to tell stories in order to live. It is what we are meant to do, and if we are lucky, we can also make a living doing it.

So James, tell me what you think about stories and what sort of role they play in this world. Do you have any great stories to share? I hope that by Friday, I have plenty of new stories for you.

Be good while I’m gone!

-Jen