Not in the Final 32... Again

Another stressful scramble on the shortlist

Hey! Stronger coffee or just the weather?

The end of Buildspace came and went last night and I wasn’t a part of the final show - The Final 32.

I did make it onto the shortlist again though, one of 64 out of the 17,000 participants who signed up for season 4.

And that’s an achievement in itself!

Regardless of the outcome or the end, I’m glad to have been a part of a supportive community creating a wave of motivation over these past six weeks.

I doubt Maneus would be the book it is today without that help.

Demo Day

The Final 32 wasn’t the only event over the weekend. On Saturday, all the participants gathered at a virtual conference and we took turns talking about our various projects.

There were, of course, many people working with cutting edge tech and using vocabulary I could barely understand, but there were also many artists and creators working on everything from documentaries, board games, children’s books, and more.

Having Maneus up there with all those others does feel special in a rather heart-warming way.

Guiding Goals

My personal reason for signing up for another season was to have the energy to write Maneus. This strange idea for a story that was slowly being lost to time.

An ambitious and often surreal adventure through generations and fantastic locations. I wanted to spread what I thought were important discussions. The epic format inherently asks questions about legacy and regret.

I found that appropriate for what I wanted to say.

My publically stated goal was to have 100 copies sold. That led to me working extra hard to finish drafting and proofreading as soon as possible.

I needed time to promote the finished book to have any chance of reaching that relatively high number.

As of now, I have 18 processed orders showing on Amazon. That’s not exactly 100, but much more than nothing.

While the bet was originally set to end with the season, I think I’ll try extending it out a little while longer. There are still a few events left, so I feel that’s reasonably respectable.

A lot of words for me to ask you to get a copy!

And then let others know about my story Maneus!

Until next time.

Cheers,

John

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