Navigate death and grieving with greater openness, honesty, and preparation thanks to the supportive expertise of Singapore’s leading “life celebrant.” Growing up with a hardworking undertaker father known as the Coffin King, death was the family business for Angjolie Mei—but that didn’t make it any easier to understand, or grief any easier to feel.
When her father died unexpectedly, leaving debts but no end of life instructions, Mei found herself taking up his funeral director business, not only to provide for her family, but to help others see death as an opportunity for dignity and celebration. “A funeral,” she writes, “is life’s graduation ceremony,” and we should honor it and plan for it accordingly.
This post is part of a series by the team at WorkingLit. WorkingLit is cloud-based software developed by Microcosm Publishing that gives independent publishers tools to thrive and grow at their own pace. Our industry is run by billionaires and conglomerates, and we want to give our fellow publishers the freedom to market and sell your books, understand your business, and painlessly pay royalties. Learn more at WorkingLit.com.
For the unprepared, every small shift in the publishing industry can feel like a disaster on the horizon. But it doesn’t have to be this way if you have your tools at the ready. Even before the current unprecedented times (™), there was an influx of seasonal disaster fearmongering from all areas: the whole west coast looks forward to The Big One and wildfires that grow year after year; the northern Midwest has to batten down the hatches for yearly snowstorms that shut down business for days. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, where weather predictions regularly forecast a potential Cat 5 hurricane that might decimate coastal cities.
I’m deeply uninterested in fearmongering, and if I were, I wouldn’t be on the administrative side of the independent book world ;). The thing is, the disaster is already here, I’ve seen it (many of us have), and getting anxious about a future era of climate dystopia is kinda useless. Y’all saw, or lived, last year’s horrific hurricane that swept away entire areas of southern Appalachia and the East Coast, or the terrible fires that reached Los Angeles and burned down entire neighborhoods. The Gulf lives in the shadow of Katrina and a number of other hurricanes that did irreparable damage to the landscape and population. Heck, my home city has fatal flash-floods multiple times a year that come and go without much comment.
Something I’ve learned (and this is where the prepper stuff comes in) is: the time to prepare is now. Don’t get scared, get ready! That might sound a little desperate or fatalist but I don’t necessarily mean it like that. Yes, I have met the rural Texans with a large store of firearms, but there are also my beloved queer anarchist friends who preserve food every winter, raise their own animals in the middle of their southern cities, know how to fix their own houses when high winds blow the roof off, and build decentralized, anti-surveillance communication networks. What I mean is, think about what you would potentially lose in the face of a crisis and figure out a sustainable practice to keep what you need. Learn to grow, find, and can your food. As these pals have shown me, teach yourself survival skills outside of the system and see if, instead of feeling paranoid, you just feel like your life has become less fretful and more expansive.
Anyway. Now transmute that ethos into other realms. How do you build a life practice that supports you no matter the eventuality? After all, I’m trying to get at a holistic view of existing in the world that invests in climate safety practices alongside all other kinds of safety and nourishment. So of course, coming as I am from a WorkingLit point of view, I’m starting with books.
First, let’s agree that there’s no one impending disaster in the book/publishing industry. Disaster, industry-shifting changes, and outside forces have come and gone in multiple forms, each shift shaping the industry and unfortunately ridding the world of some amazing publishers as it goes. Whether industry-specific, like the rise of eBooks and Print on Demand (see the prescient and thoughtful A People’s Guide to Publishing podcast episode) or U.S. economy-specific, like tariffs (see…another prescient and thoughtful A People’s Guide to Publishing podcast episode, lol) and Amazon’s relentless pursuit of money at the expense of publishers and bookstores, shifts are wide-ranging.
The same outlets that forecast the disappearance of New Orleans due to rising waters are also persistently forecasting the disappearance of print books, or bookstores. But come on, y’all, the binary deserves to be complicated, there’s no Black and White, we already know this. There is no “existence” vs. “complete disappearance.” We can forecast that, reasonably, such shifts will continue to occur, just as I can unfortunately assume that another hurricane is going to hit my home city and, in advance, make sure my family has flood insurance, a stock of potable water, and a generator.
I guess from what I can see, preparing for disaster breaks down to a few major things:
Know what you’ve got on hand. Keep track of your stock. Life is a mystery, your assets don’t have to be. Publishers: Make your systems as infallible as possible. If you’re hand-counting stock in a garage to keep track of your catalog, please please stop. If you’ve not taken inventory in a while, please build it into your schedule at least twice a year. Track your product movement so you’re not scrambling to reprint or find space for bestsellers.
Recognize your network. If you’re just the “firearms” type of prepper, this is your nuclear family, I guess; if you’re the “queer anarchist” type of prepper, this is your family too, but maybe not so much in the bound-by-blood type of way. And if you’re a publisher, this is not just your audience of readers but your community of peers. You need them and they need you! Keep track of the actual stats year over year, don’t just make assumptions based on your loudest customers. You’ll find out a lot more about your highest-selling accounts, the wild online-only stores that try to return 60% of their orders from you, and the small but determined gift accounts that love what you do. If you’re sure of what you have, you’re sure of where it’s going, and you’re sure of who’s doing it with you, then you can…
Prepare for the future and any eventuality. Remember when I said “getting anxious is kinda useless”? Ok, we’re back to that again. Knowing where your weak/strong spots are means that, as time passes and the world changes, you know where your business could use growth and will need support. At all costs, stay the flexible, creative, generative person I know you are if you’re reading this. With the stable support of data behind you, you can focus your brain on that critical thinking and spend less time wondering when you accumulated 1000 extra copies of an underseller… Pile these three together and they lead to the hopefully inevitable outcome that you can:
Feel like you’ve got the control to do what you WANT. One of my friends referenced disaster preparedness including a “go-bag” and knowledge of evacuation routes. I’m from the south, baby! We don’t have evacuation routes, we hunker down and keep our “bunkers” above ground-level. But you do you. You know your apocalypse best; preparedness is not a one-size-fits-all process. In the publishing world… I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. If you’ve followed steps 1-3 above, you know your context, your catalog, your pals, and your requirements to move forward. You can pivot depending on each year’s needs. In Microcosm’s case, this means owning the software to track sales proactively, thereby weathering recessions with relative ease and sticking around for decades to sell more great books.
Lift up yourself and your community. In the Gulf Coast case: make sure you know the person on your block with a boat (it might be you).
As a book industry worker outside the coastal hubs, I spend a lot of time, mostly digitally, with fellow book people talking about our geographic challenges. There’s something incredibly loving and thoughtful about what I have seen: a growing group of book people who can share their gripes about working in South Carolina, Idaho, Tennessee, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, etc., but also share support systems and brainstorm solutions together. Non-New York presses were some of the first to pivot when Covid started in 2020, and I think it’s because we’re so used to existing outside the spotlight, and (already limited) funding, of the literary world. Decentralization is not a gimmick, it’s vital that we retain independence and also support our fellow indies. Rising tide and all that.
May we all survive and live to tweet (or whatever the next inevitable post-apocalyptic social media is, as the samsara of app churn continues) another day.
Sara Balabanlilar has spent almost ten years working in the book world, including bookselling, event organizing, design, marketing, sales, and indie publishing. She is currently the Marketing Manager at WorkingLit and a Senior Sales Specialist at Microcosm Publishing.
Do you have a passion that you want to obsess about in a love letter to the world? In this new edition of Microcosm’s popular DIY guide to zine-making, Joe Biel updates the information provided in the first edition (edited by Biel and the late and great Bill Brent) to address zine making in today’s digital and social-media-obsessed world, featuring a new foreword by St. Louis zinester and literacy worker Ymani Wince.
Covering all the bases for beginners, Make a Zine! hits on more advanced topics like Creative Commons licenses, legality, and sustainability. Says Feminist Review, “Make a Zine! is an inspiring, easy, and digestible read for anyone, whether you’re already immersed in a cut-and-paste world, a graphic designer with a penchant for radical thought, or a newbie trying to find the best way to make yourself and your ideas known.” Illustrated by an army of notable and soon-to-be-notable artists and cartoonists, Make a Zine! also takes a look at the burgeoning indie comix scene, with a solid and comprehensive chapter by punk illustrator Fly (Slug and Lettuce, Peops). Part history lesson, part how-to guide, Make a Zine! is a call to arms, an ecstatic, positive rally cry in the face of TV book clubs and bestsellers by celebrity chefs. As says Biel in the book’s intro, “Let’s go!”
When you listen and scream along to your favorite punk or hardcore band, does that help your mental health or reinforce your frustrations? Artist Reid Chancellor leads us on a tour through hardcore musicians that have struggled with mental health and written about it in their songs, from Gorilla Biscuits to Youth of Today and beyond.
Picking up on threads that first appeared in Hardcore Anxiety, this new, engaging graphic narrative will be deeply relatable to anyone who has ever grappled with identity, fear, and loss in the mosh pit. Chancellor props open the door towards seeking mental health support with humor and vulnerability, asking the question, “Why aren’t there more hardcore songs about seeing your therapist?” That’s a song we all might need to hear.
Your brain has a mind of its own. And sometimes, even when it’s doing its best, it can feel like it’s out to get you. If you’ve ever had a meltdown in class, suffered emotions nobody understands, or found yourself shutting down at the worst time, you know this all too well.
Thankfully, this graphic guide is here to help you understand your brain and retrain it to better respond to serious upheavals as well as everyday indignities. Sit with Dr. Faith as she explains her insights and neuroscientific nerdiness (and swearing) in the form of a nonfiction graphic novel with artwork by Gerta O. Egy. If you’re struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, anger, grief, or addiction, or if you just want to have a more chill response to life, this guide will help you get your brain back on track so you can take on the world.
Experience every emotion and endure life’s ups and downs with this series of short comics. Featuring Desmond Reed’s unique style of fluid, cartoony lines, these everyday vignettes strike a variety of emotional chords as they tell the story of the fictional band the Cola Pop Creemees.
This standalone volume follows the adventures of the wacky personalities behind the group, letting us in on their candid thoughts and outsized reactions to experiences ranging from the chaos of the grocery store to memories of heartbreak at religious summer camp to a bona fide zombie apocalypse. Their antics will make you laugh as you reflect on life’s difficult moments and emotions. As one character muses, “Am I a strong person for doing things while feeling sad, or am I a weak person for feeling sad to begin with?” Dramedy has never looked so squiggly . . . or relatable.
Perfect for fans of BoJack Horseman, this collection serves both as an entry point to the popular web comic and as a continuation of its familiar characters and scenarios. Includes “Memories,” winner of a 2022 MICE Mini-Grant.
In his classic no-frills style, Ben Snakepit documents the daily events of the years 2022 to 2024. Each day since 2001, he’s drawn a three-panel comic about his day, creating a rhythm with subtle humor and genuine feeling that draws you into events both startling and mundane.
This collection starts off in San Francisco, but aging parents and a major family emergency cause Ben to move back in Richmond, VA. After 23 years away, Snakepit returns to the place where it all started. His band breaks up, he turns 50, and the world and his life change dramatically, but Ben keeps bringing us a comic—and a song—every day throughout it all. Grown-up punks, fans of outsider art and diary comics, and anyone with aging parents will get it—and once you get it, much like growing older, there’s no going back.
Portland, Oregon, is a queer city in the queerest state in the US. It’s also a place where, like anywhere in this country, you can experience bigotry, violence, and discrimination. Out of these contradictions bursts this sparkling collection of first-person stories—a heady mix of fiction and fact—written by contributors from across the queer spectrum and beyond, serving vulnerability, humor, and realness.
Immerse yourself in familiar scenes and landmarks like Washington Park, Caffe Mingo, the Silverado, Powell’s City of Books, Umbra Penumbra, St. Mary’s Academy, the Lloyd Center Mall, Hawthorne Boulevard, Food Front Co-op, Darcelle XV, a ghost bike installation, a backyard barbecue, a call center during third shift, and the many bridges over the Willamette River. Read Gabby Rivera’s original story that became the hit novel Juliet Takes a Breath. Revel in David Ciminello’s tale of a waiter who falls in love with a straight guy from the café next door. Learn Marc Acito’s answer to the question “Where do you find hot men in Portland?” Elevate your vocabulary with Stevie Anntonym’s “Lesbian Lexicon.” Whatever your orientation, these accounts of queer and trans life in the Rose City will make you see the world and your place in it from a different angle.
This new edition of the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology includes a poem by Nastashia Minto and stories by Christa Orth and Kalimah Abioto, along with a new introduction from editor extraordinaire Ariel Gore.
Do you have an idea for something that you want to share with the world but don’t know where to start? Want to make a living without selling your soul? Have a business plan but can’t afford to buy anything up front? This book is for you.
Punk Rock Entrepreneur is a guide to launching your own business using DIY methods that allow you to begin from wherever you are, right now. Caroline Moore talks (and illustrates!) you through the why and how of business operations that she learned over years booking bands, organizing fests, sleeping on couches, and making a little go a long way. Engaging stories and illustrations show you the ropes, from building a network and working distribution channels to the value of community and being authentic. The second edition features a new introduction by Lookout! Records co-founder Larry Livermore.
With first hand accounts from touring bands and small business owners, this book gives you the inspiration and down-to-earth advice you’ll need to get started working for yourself.
Bugs are everywhere! Humans often think of insects as gross or creepy, but we couldn’t survive without them.
In this love letter to bugs, biologist, linguist, and bug enthusiast Karyn Light-Gibson introduces us to an array of our notable neighbors, from bees to bedbugs, caterpillars to butterflies, ladybugs to katydids, and so, so many more. With informative glee and striking illustrations, she identifies the many bugs we encounter every day and delves into their place in science, history, art, literature, culture, cuisine, and even warfare.
You’ll learn so many cool facts about flies, beetles, moths, aphids, cicadas, bedbugs, crickets, cockroaches, and the other creeping, crawling, and flying critters that make our world go round. For every human, there are 1.4 billion insects in the world, playing a vital part of our ecosystem. A small percentage of bugs can be dangerous or spread disease, but the vast majority are our allies as indicators of environmental health, pollinators of our food, and a key part of the food web we rely on. Even the most wary readers will come away with a new perspective on the tiny creatures around them and a serious appreciation of just how important—and cool—bugs are.
