It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Was Charles Dickens describing 2025?
Back in the before times, before the pandemic, I had the good fortune to see Hamilton on the West End in London. I knew absolutely nothing about the entire Hamilton phenomenom, but I was in London for work and a friend urged me - rather sternly ordered me - to go see Hamilton while I was there. I obediently went to the show, which promptly launched my own significant Hamilton obsession.
One of the most memorable scenes is in the first act. Hamilton is an orphaned immigrant and the country is experiencing very dark times. There’s all this drama and conflict, so much angst and turmoil, all leading up to the American Revolution.
And then the Schuyler sisters come along and sing their perspective:
“Look around, look around, at how lucky we are, to be alive right now.”
That surprising contrast has always stuck with me. Because in the midst of so much chaos, and the conflict of an impending war, they celebrate being exactly where they are:
“History is happenin in Manhattan, and we just happen to be, in the greatest city in the world.”
I love that sentiment so much. Because they can stand in the middle of a British occupation, in the midst of injustice and turmoil, and celebrate the excitement and opportunity of the times they are living. They recognize the significance of the moment, as it is happening.
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For several months, I’ve been saying that 2025 has been one shitshow of a year, for America and for the world. Every week, the list of terribleness gets longer and more varied.
The truth is, tragedy and outrage is what captures our attention. The worse the news, the more likely we are to pay attention. Human beings are deeply wired to focus on danger and threat - it’s literally how we’ve stayed alive. And all the online news apps harness this bug to keep us hooked on the drug of awfulness.
Which means if we want to be more like the Shuyler sisters, we need to intentionally refocus on the amazing things that are also happening all around us. If we want to celebrate the times we are living through, we need to refocus our attention on the opportunities and possibilities.
If mental agility is a positive thing to strive for - and I suspect it is - then maybe we should practice turning the news upside down.
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For the last two years, I’ve been writing a novel. I intend to traditionally publish this novel, which means finding an agent and a publisher, and hopefully a film agent. Which means in addition to writing, I’ve also been immersing myself in the business side of publishing, to pay attention to the market and trends. I’ve been doing webinars with agents and editors and recently published authors, to learn everything about the process of publishing.
Which has been very eye opening, because the world of publishing is so very broken! Everything has been disrupted, and the ongoing business consolidation of the major publishers has led to years of layoffs. For an aspiring author, it can be incredibly bleak and depressing. Here’s a short summary of all the terribleness in publishing:
The 5 major traditional publishers are increasingly risk averse and are less likely to take risks on new authors. They only want the “sure thing” commercially viable books that fit certain formulas.
These financial pressures have caused them to shrink the “mid-list” - making it harder for many authors to survive, even after publication. Only the “famous names” are getting generous publishing contracts.
The political environment has increased censorship and litigation, and reduced precious funding for libraries and schools.
The increasing cost of paper and printing is forcing publishers to focus on shorter stories - the shorter the better. Tariffs also impact books.
The recent success of the romantasy genre (romance + fantasy) is making it harder for authors to get published in other genres.
People are so busy online, they don’t have the attention span to read whole books anymore.
A.I. is learning from pirated books and will soon replace actual writers.
This list is not exhaustive, but provides an overview of how tough publishing is right now. So tough it feels similar to the dark and chaotic months before the American Revolution.
Which should be my signal to channel the Shuyler sisters. Perhaps I should consider the possibility that maybe history is happening right here, and I’m so incredibly lucky to be publishing in America right now. If I want to practice this type of mental agility, then maybe I should look for evidence of this alternative reality.
Here then is a list of evidence that this is the best ever time to be publishing fiction:
Just 2 months ago, one of my favorite authors - Frederik Backman - appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Backman lives in Sweden and writes in Swedish, and all his books are translated into English. And still, he has sold many millions of books in English. He’s so popular that he’s appearing on late night talk shows, which means fiction authors are going mainstream!
Successful authors are increasingly becoming celebrities, with their own large platforms and social media teams. Many authors are successfully growing their own platforms and lauching their own tours and events. People are buying expensive tickets to see their favorite authors on tour!
The romantasy genre is creating a whole new market of readers. Romantasy authors are selling many millions of books to an audience of younger, more female readers. More young women are reading books!
Authors have more autonomy to independently manage their own careers now. One prominent case study is Brandon Sanderson. He’s a very successful fantasy author who’s sold more than 40 million books. He has traditional publishers, but he’s also formed his own entertainment company with 70 full time employees! His company sells limited edition books and merchandise, enabling him to maximize his own profits.
Today, there are twice as many literary book agents as there were 20 years ago. That must indicate overall industry growth and expansion.
Digital books have made it easier than ever for anyone to publish. The costs to entry are essentially zero. I can publish here on Substack, or I could start my own podcast, or I could self publish my digital books. When you consider print and ebooks and audio books and podcasts, there’s so many options to publish today, and many of them are free.
People are hungry for stories. The news headlines can be so awful that people want to escapte into fiction. The world is looking for compelling stories, whether it’s books or movies or reels, people still want to be entertained and inspired.
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So which story is true? Is it a terrible time to be publishing or an incredible time? I think the answer is — I get to choose.
I will choose to be like the Shuyler sisters - immersed in the belief that I am so very lucky to be alive right now. Outrage and awfulness sells news stories because humans are attuned to fear. But it’s hope and optimism that drives positive change and action.
Hamilton believed he was in the very best time and place to shape the future of America. Which he succeeded in doing. The finale of Hamilton outlines all his accomplishments that still impact us today.
The fact is this: we are in the best place and time to shape the future of our own life. Whether it relates to publishing or politics or parenting or anything else, we have more information, more tools, more opportunities than ever before.
I can learn so much online about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. I can network and practice and figure out how to write a great book. And then I can learn how to publish and market this book, and the next book, and the one after that.
There is so much disruption happening. And so much possibility. Both, and.
I’ll conclude with a second picture, taken just 15 minutes after the picture above. Same place, almost same time, but completely different vibe. And I’ll try to remember that no matter what’s in the headlines tomorrow, I always get to choose my own vibe.
This brightens my day!