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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2h

On This Day in History: October 11, 1967
Yoko Ono opened her Half-a-Wind show, known as Yoko Plus Me, at London’s Lisson Gallery, with Half-A-Room, everyday objects cut in half and painted white. John Lennon quietly backed the show. We are definitely a Yoko house.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2h

On This Day in History: October 11, 1924
Paris opened the Bureau of Surrealist Research at 15 Rue de Grenelle, with Antonin Artaud as director. A walk-in lab for the irrational, it invited the public to bring dreams and strange encounters, days before Breton’s first Surrealist Manifesto.

The original Bureau of Surrealist Research, photo courtesy of Grace Mvg DM

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4h

Genius is Complicated: Francisco Goya

Court favorite and witness in the same body. He painted saints and butchers with the same eye, royalty and prisoners under the same light. He served a king he despised. Genius here isn't charm, it's stamina for truth, and that bill always comes due.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, c. 1797, 21.5 cm × 15 cm (8+1⁄2 in × 5+7⁄8 in)

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 23h

On This Day in History: October 10, 2014
Malala Yousafzai, 17, won the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest laureate in history, sharing it with Kailash Satyarthi for defending the right to education. Shot at 15 for going to school, she challenged every government to treat girls’ learning as vital.

Malala Yousafzai at the 2023 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

On This Day in History: October 10
Birthdays: 1917 Thelonious Monk, pianist and composer of “Round Midnight”; 1930 Harold Pinter, Nobel-winning playwright of The Homecoming and Betrayal. A wild pairing of syncopation and silence that rewired the century.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

Quote from the Francisco Goya chapter of The Mess That Made Them by Ryan T. Pozzi

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

I didn't assume anybody DIDN'T know that. I could just foresee folks coming for me for promoting this as a sales technique instead of as a chatty conversation I was having with my wife.

I find that sometimes preemptive clarification saves me some angry messages. I too sensitive for angry messages.

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

(This followup comment is to acknowledge that this isn't about how it "should be," but rather a discussion of what can increase effectiveness in commercial sales. No one should HAVE TO trade on their looks. Still, the science consistently tells us attractiveness is very powerful.)

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

Me: Attractive authors putting their pretty front and center in their marketing draws eyes. What would I need to benefit from some pretty privilege?
Her: I think you're beautiful
Me: I mean the public. Get in shape, fancy treatments?
Her: Plastic surgery

No danger of getting a big head in my house.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 1d

Doctor's waiting room furniture is a lie. Looks comfy, feels hurty.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

On This Day in History: October 9
Birthdays: 1835 Camille Saint-Saëns, composer; 1935 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; 1940 John Lennon, Beatles cofounder; 1948 Jackson Browne, singer-songwriter; 1964 Guillermo del Toro, filmmaker; 1969 PJ Harvey, singer-songwriter. A stacked day for music and movies.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

7/
Give it a shot. I think it can be a win for both of us. If you sub for a few weeks and disagree, that unsubscribe button isn't hard to find.

In the meantime, I'll either say something that will change your perspective on our business or I'll piss you the hell off. (Did you see Private Parts?)

Text of the "if they hate him, why do they listen?" scene from the movie Private Parts

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

6/
In the same way that you should never take specific financial advice from someone who isn't intimately familiar with your personal situation, you shouldn't take industry or career advice from me.

I try to stay rooted in my lived experience, but I have opinions and you'll hear those, too.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

5/
But also, we're all adults here so I think I can level with you and say that I hope you like it enough that, when my debut finally does release in 2026ish, you'll think, "He's not boring and sorta helpful, so I'll give that book a read. Maybe even buy a copy.

I don't give advice.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

4/
I'm not special, unless you think being lucky is special. I just know that obsession + experience = some amount of insight and I write this 600-word weekly newsletter to try to share that insight with you.

Why? Partly habit. I spent my career in nonprofit arts working with communities in need.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

3/
That's 1,000 hours of research to-date. Add my experience sending 208 query letters, getting multiple offers of rep, choosing an agent, going on submission, getting an offer from a global top 50 publishing house, negotiating the hell out of it, and signing a contract all in the span of 8 months.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

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Though much of the science has been debunked, I was once a Gladwell fan & devotee to the 10,000-hour rule so when I changed careers I started spending three hours each day on reading, webinars, podcasts, and AMAs about traditional publishing, more out of habit than bc I still believe in the rule.

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

From the mailbag:
Q: How are you qualified to write about the publishing industry? You've never worked as an agent or editor and your debut hasn't even released yet.

A: Other than being a bit hostile, this is a good question bc I'm no Brian Murray, after all. What I am is an obsessive researcher. 🧵

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

On This Day in History: October 9, 2023
Spooky Season Edition!
Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, set the world record at Half Moon Bay with a 2,749-pound pumpkin, enough for about 687 pies. A ridiculous, joyful feat of cultivation.

Uncredited photo of world record pumpkin via https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

Messy Genius Spotlight
Spanish painter and printmaker
Francisco Goya (1746–1828)

Born in Fuendetodos, he rose as a court painter in Madrid. After illness left him deaf at thirty-seven, he stripped away flattery and made the Disasters of War and the Black Paintings, images that refuse comfort.

Vicente López Portaña - el pintor Francisco de Goya

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

Something to read instead of writing the followup to my debut?! Yes, please! (I'll DM you my email address, but no hurry. Whenever you're ready to share it.)

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

Hurry up so I can read it already! Damn.

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Reposted by Ryan T. Pozzi

Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 4d

Hey folks: Who was it that promoted their book with a challenge to visit 100 bookclubs earlier this year? I remember it, but I can't remember the author or find the digital footprint for the campaign now.

I need to know for...secret reasons...
#writingcommunity #booksky #WritersofBluesky #halp

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

Ugh, why did you let me start playing Stawdew again?

Wasn't I clear that I'm not entirely capable of managing my own affairs and part of your role, as my parasocial friends, is to keep me on task?

Now I'll never finish this manuscript. #booksky #writingcommunity

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Ryan T. Pozzi @ryantpozzi.bsky.social · 2d

If I could have a do-over on the stupid mistakes I've made these first 46 years - not all mistakes, just the really "why the f- did you do that" ones - I'd be set. #GoalSetting #RealisticGoals #MeasuableAndSpecific

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