THE THINGS THAT KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT BLOG
A look at the trials and tribulations (and occasional triumphs) of an independent author trying to make it as a full-time writer. And a few book recommendations.
You can find the full blog at thingsthatkeepmeupatnight.substack.com
The Diary of an Incomplete Failure #2
Realizing that Self-Publishing Isn't the Way
Ahoy. I hope you’ve all been well since I’ve gone on a bit of a hiatus. I’ve been taking some time to get my shit together. Things got pretty bleak for me a few months ago, both in my personal life and my attempt at a writing career. I’m going to be as transparent as possible, because I consider this blog to be a journal of my writing journey and a place to vent about the things that concern me. What concerns me currently, and what this post concerns, is money.
Ten Black Authored Books to Read Now that Black History Month is Over
Black History Month, to me, has always felt like a constraint on the consumption of Black culture; Black art, Black movies, Black books… Black history are all binged within this month while largely ignored throughout the rest of the year. While I appreciate the intent of the month, and the spotlight it brings, I think that spotlight is too small, and it is too often aimed at the things that aren’t as beneficial to Black progress as one might believe. When it comes to fiction during Black History Month, the books given the spotlight tend to revolve around slavery, Black struggle, and Black trauma, creating the stereotype that Black books only cover the abovementioned limited range of subject matter. And that’s just not true. There are so many books by Black authors covering a wide range of subject matter, across a plethora of genres. It is my hope that these books are more often explored throughout the year, so I’ve made a list of ten Black authored books for the ten remaining months of 2025, each with subject matter that relates to a theme or relevant occasion occurring during the month it has been assigned to. A Black Authored book for every month.
My Thoughts on Meta Pirating Millions of Books, Including Mine, to Train their AI
Over the weekend, I found out about The Atlantic’s article exposing Meta, the company that runs Facebook and Instagram, for pirating 7.5 million books, and 81 million research papers to educate their AI model, Llama 3. I heard of this from an indie author who was reasonably outraged on behalf of the writers who were exploited. The Atlantic also published the Library Genesis searchable dataset, allowing anyone to find out exactly whose works were pirated. After searching the dataset, I found that one of my books was included. What I felt, after realizing my intellectual property had been stolen, to be honest, was flattery.
Book vs Adaptation #3: The Road
A non-spoiler review of the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Cormac McCarthy vs the movie it spawned
Is the book really always better? My Book vs Adaptation series pits movies and TV shows against the stories they are based on to see which version tells the tale best. This installment sets an ultra bleak book against a super dismal movie in an apocalyptic death match to see which will make you feel the most depressed!