Just Good Shit: 05.17.20

A lot happened this week! The Art of Showing Up came out on Tuesday, and I celebrated with a teeny tiny “book party” (slices of Milkbar cake that my girlfriend had delivered as a surprise + a bottle of champagne that my former BuzzFeed team/now friends sent). It was a lovely, special day — a little bit of joy in this otherwise weird and dark time.

On Friday, VICE did a big round of layoffs without warning. I wasn’t laid off, but a lot of my extremely talented colleagues were, and it sucked. It was just a really sad day all around, and even though I was lucky, I don’t feel good about any of it, you know?

On a brighter note, thank you to everyone who pre-ordered Showing Up, and to those who posted about it on social media or told friends about it! I am so grateful and flattered, and seeing my book in other people’s hands/homes will never get old for me.

Here’s what else I had going on this week…

My shit, elsewhere

Alison at Ask a Manager ran an excerpt from Showing Up about venting responsibly, and my episode of the Food Heaven podcast aired this week! (We recorded it a while ago.)

Reading

The Un-Heroic Reality of Being an ‘Essential’ Restaurant Worker, Eater.

Inside the Book Industry's Battle to Stay Afloat During the COVID-19 Crisis, Esquire.

Adele Isn’t Discussing Her Weight So Why Are We?, SELF.

Janny's Delivery Service, VICE.

Regrow Scallions in a Cup of Water, Lifehacker.

Currently doing this……feeling like a botanist witch genius.

All Hail the Squirtarita, Quarantine’s Perfect Cocktail, Eater.

This Unhinged Story About Friends in Quarantine Is Just Such a Treat, Cosmo.
I laughed out loud a lot at this pitch-perfect Hey, Ladies! reunion.

Watching & listening to

We’ve been watching The Last Dance on ESPN and really enjoying it. Also very into the Jessica Simpson episodes of You’re Wrong About.

Have a good Sunday night! ☀️

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'The Art of Showing Up' is officially here!

Photo of The Art of Showing Up book on a light wood table, next to a cup of coffee

Today is my book’s birthday! The Art of Showing Up is now officially available in print, e-book, and audiobook format in the U.S. I’m really proud and excited (and also nervous, as I always am when I publish something big). You can buy the book from any of these retailers:

You can also read some early praise for the book here.

Marketing a book during a pandemic is very strange, and no one in the publishing industry really knows what to expect in terms of sales. I really appreciate any and all support right now; here are some things that would be helpful/are very welcome, if you’re so inclined:

Buying the book (or gifting it to someone else)
Posting about the book and/or other work of mine that you've liked in the past on social media
Reading the book with friends or a book club (email me if you’re interested in having me pop into your virtual book club!)
Just telling friends/family/colleagues about the book
Rating/reviewing The Art of Showing Up on Goodreads and the website of your book retailer of choice

Simply sending good vibes is also very welcome!

Finally, THANK YOU for reading my blog/newsletter/work, especially those of you who have stuck with me for a while now; I don’t take it for granted, and I really, really appreciate the support, generosity, and good cheer. 📔✨

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Some nice things people have said about 'The Art of Showing Up'

The Art of Showing Up is officially here! I’m really grateful for and proud of the nice reviews I’ve received so far, and I wanted to share some of those comments here.

Here are some blurbs from other authors:

“Miller has penned a fresh, wise, practical, modern guide for figuring out how to be true to yourself while also meaningfully connected to others. An important contribution to the larger, complicated project of solving loneliness.” —Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering

“Rachel’s advice is smart, straightforward, and empathetic. The Art of Showing Up offers a roadmap to becoming a better friend and happier person. Read this book!” —Alison Green, author of Ask a Manager

“This is an incredibly practical book full of easy, yet meaningful, ways to develop more friendship and love in your life. Through steps that anyone can do, Rachel helps us find the support that we all crave in our lives and leaves us feeling ever more hopeful!” —Shasta Nelson, author of Frientimacy

“Rachel Wilkerson Miller has given us a toolbox for strengthening our relationships with one another and with ourselves. This book is the resource that twenty-, thirty-, and fortysomethings were missing—and that we didn’t know we absolutely needed.” —Caroline Moss, coauthor of Hey Ladies! and host of Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!

Some snippets from early reviews:

“VERDICT: Excellent tips for forging relationships with others and becoming an even better ‘old’ friend.” —From a starred review in Library Journal

“Miller (Dot Journaling), deputy editor of Vice’s Life vertical, provides digital natives an easy, entertaining guide to adult friendships. … Miller starts each section with brief general principles, then relies heavily on lists and action steps, which will make for easy reference and perusal, and her charismatic voice will appeal to any reader of self-help. Those looking for help braving the social unknown will want to take a look.” —From the Publisher’s Weekly review

And some quotes from folks who got advance copies via NetGalley:

“This book is exactly what it proclaims to be, a dissection of how to show up for yourself and others. It does not simply muse on self-care and proffer face masks and baths and journalling. It offers a discussion of all the ways in which we can show up and gives exercises, very specific advice (i.e. sample dialogues, how to approach very specific situations, ways to practice new tasks) and truly meets you where you are. If you are someone who has a lot of skills here or someone with absolutely none, someone with mental health issues or none at all, there is something here for you. … I read a lot of these books and many I don’t give a second thought to (often don’t offer anything ‘new’ to this over-thinker, happy self-analyzer, personality-test aficionado). But this book truly does.” —Christina S.

“I felt like this one was written just for me! I’ve been not showing up for a good part of my life for neither myself or friends and family. I’ve managed to focus my energy on my kids without looking inward or outward for anything. … I felt like this one was written just for me! I’ve been not showing up for a good part of my life for neither myself or friends and family. I’ve managed to focus my energy on my kids without looking inward or outward for anything.” —Elizabeth M.

I’m fully beaming! ✨✨✨

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‘The Art of Showing Up’ arrives in 16 days!

We’re rounding the corner on May (!!), which means my new book,The Art of Showing Up, will be available soon. The original publication date was May 26, but back in February, my publisher informed me that the production schedule was changing due to coronavirus; it’s now coming out on May 12, 2020. (If you pre-ordered it, you might have gotten an email that said something to this effect over the weekend.)

You can pre-order The Art of Showing Up via the following retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble
Bookshop

Workman
Books Are Magic
McNally Jackson

(If you’re a bookseller, librarian, or reviewer, you can request an e-galley on NetGalley. And if you have other questions about getting an advance or want to set up an interview, you can email Jennifer Hergenroeder.)

If you want a sense of what the book is going to be like, here are some things that I think sum up the vibe pretty well (a handful of which actually appear in the book):

As far as I know, the UK edition is coming out on June 25 as originally planned. There’s also an audiobook, which I was scheduled to read at the end of March; I wasn’t comfortable traveling to or recording in studio at that point, so they went with a different narrator, which was totally fine. (The production company assured me that most professional narrators have their own at-home recording set-up, meaning they would be able to record remotely in a way that I simply couldn’t.)

Events are sort of up in the air at this point; I was originally supposed to do some in NYC and Chicago and maybe D.C., but that’s not happening now, and I’m waiting to hear whether they’ll be moved online. I’d also love to figure out a way to join in any book clubs that read The Art of Showing Up/meet virtually in June or July. Right now, I’d say that, schedule permitting, I’m totally down to call in for the last 20 or so minutes of any gathering of four people or more, and I’ll just kind of handle this on a first-come, first-serve basis for as long as I can manage it. (Email me if you’re interested!)

Promoting a new book right now is uhhhhh….pretty weird, and I don’t know exactly what the market is going to be like in May and beyond. I really appreciate pre-orders (a great way to support authors you like!), reviews on Goodreads (or wherever you bought it), and, if you enjoy the book, just sharing that information with your social network, friends, etc. The main thing I want is for this book to reach the people who would enjoy it/connect with it. ✨

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'The Art of Showing Up' galleys are here!

Yesterday I received galleys of The Art of Showing Up! (A galley is a printed, close-to-final version of a book that is sent out to press/reviewers. It’s made of cheaper materials than the final book will be, and might not be printed in full color or have a finalized layout/design.) I had seen the cover design, of course, but there was something about seeing it IRL as an actual book that was entirely different (in a good way).

I’m feeling very Ahhhhhhh, it’s happening!!! right now. I did two book-adjacent interviews this week, had new headshots taken on Thursday, and then the galleys arrived on Saturday. I definitely had some anxiety last week as the new year kicked off, knowing that 2020 is the year when this book will come out, and feeling very nervous about that fact. May is *just* far enough away to feel like The Great Unknown Future, but it’s also…not that far away at all! I’ll still be essentially the same person in May!!! And showing up is topic that is incredibly close to my heart, so I feel fairly vulnerable putting this into the world.

If you want a sense of what the book is going to be like, here are a few things I’ve written in the past year that either appear in the book or came up when I was researching it:

You can pre-order The Art of Showing Up via the following retailers:

(If you’re a bookseller, librarian, or reviewer, you can request an e-galley on NetGalley. And if you have other questions about it, you can email Jennifer Hergenroeder.)

By the way, I’ve learned in the past couple months that there will be a UK edition — Jun. 25 is the date I’ve been told — and an audiobook (which I will likely not be voicing myself). I’ve also had quite a few people ask me if I’ll be doing a book tour, and the answer is that in general, that’s not something that most authors do. But I will probably be doing some events in NYC and Brooklyn, along the East Coast, and (I think!) Chicago. Hopefully there will be many! Despite my nerves and general preference for being home, I am really excited about this topic, so I’m really down to talk about it! ✨

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You can now pre-order “The Art of Showing Up’’

My second book, The Art of Showing Up, is going to be released on May 26, 2020, and is officially available to pre-order! You can find it below:

As a general rule, pre-ordering is a great way to support an author you like, and whose book you’re planning to buy; pre-orders tell bookstores that people are interested in the book, which is a cue that they should carry it/stock a lot of copies.

As for book itself, here’s a little more about it (at least in its current form)! It’s inspired by this BuzzFeed post and is divided into two sections: how to show up for yourself and how to show up for other people. It covers topics like getting to know yourself and your needs, setting boundaries, showing up for yourself every damn day, being comfortable being alone, shooting your phone (but also keeping in touch), showing up for yourself when shit gets hard, having difficult conversations, making new friends, having better friend hangouts, dealing with a friend who is wilding out, handling weird/awkward friend group dynamics, and showing up for others when they are going through hard times. It’s mostly new material, and I’m very excited to bring it into the world! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 05.17.20

My shit, elsewhere

Reading

Watching & listening to

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'The Art of Showing Up' is officially here!

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Some nice things people have said about 'The Art of Showing Up'

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‘The Art of Showing Up’ arrives in 16 days!

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'The Art of Showing Up' galleys are here!

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You can now pre-order “The Art of Showing Up’’

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