Authors, good trouble, and ripple effects

Widening Circles and Making Thunder

Publishing is a long-standing profession, I mean, technically we publishers are gatekeepers of what the world discovers. In a simple version of reality, writers must get “through” a publisher to have their books published. This sounds a bit too superhero-y, but this is what we (I) do. I choose to publish writers I want to put my time and effort into.

I’ve been pushing forward with independent publishing most of my life. My aim has always been to find interesting writing that feeds my curiosity and I believe will improve, through the literary arts, a better understanding of how to best live in the Midwest. I’ve never been confused with CNN/FOX/PBS. To keep this process going I count on three things: 1) people purchasing books from me (← hint hint), 2) people will keep reading and 3) keep writing. My life feels somewhat like a Mark Twain quote: “A person who does not read good books has no advantage over a person who cannot read." You’d be surprised how many seem to show off to me, “I haven’t read a book for years.” um, okay.

More than a few have told me I’ve given voice to a lot of writers who otherwise wouldn’t have. It’s taken me a while, but I realize I am, as the saying goes, a “fiercely independent” publisher. I’ve been trying to share the stories, knowledge, insights, and best ideas of the most interesting people I can find in hopes that their ideas will improve others. I like to believe I initiate a ripple effect. Read. Learn. Change.

Recently I was reminded of all this when two authors I’ve published posted Substack posts on the same day. Robert Leonard and Chris Jones.¹ It felt like two waves in one for the ripple effect.

Robert Leonard is a popular Substack columnist and well-respected journalist. I published his book Deep Midwest a few years ago. On January 31st, 2024, he posted a Substack column on his Deep Midwest Substack entitled Common Sense Water Legislation Proposed in Iowa.

Quickly: here in Iowa, we have some major issues with water quality (which is both symptomatic of larger problems and the larger problem). Lord Acton sums it up best, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” As pointed out by Bob in this post, what we call Big AG² has the power and is using its entrusted power to do what Acton and I just suggested power does. This sort of thing needs to be, at the very least, exposed.

Part two. Along the way, Bob and Chris Jones met, which now makes perfect sense. It’s been a good thing for me and them. If I played a role in these two meeting I consider this part of my publishing goals. Connections made, narratives expanded.

So, let me continue. I published The Swine Republic by Chris Jones last year. He is a popular Substack author and research engineer. His posts can be found at The Swine Republic. The second piece on January 31st was entitled Interview with Bob Leonard, About Movements in Shitty City. I saw this and thought: Alright, two authors I’ve published, working together to make good and necessary trouble here in the Midwest. The words of Rilke ran through my mind:

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.

As a publisher, it’s more than just books for me. I mean, nothing in this world is as simple as linear arithmetic, everything plods along in a minimum of advanced algebra. It’s people you meet, that meet another person, that read a book, that leads to an interview, that gets passed along and inspires another person to read the aforementioned book…. When one person’s issues blend with another’s change has begun. We inch closer to action when together more than when alone. I feel like this has happened with these two. In the spirit of Margaret Atwood’s quote: “If you’re going to speak truth to power, make sure it’s the truth.”

You may ask yourself, how is this a Substack column about publishing? I don’t claim it’s because of me these two are successful writers, but in my small world of books, I tell myself at the very least publishing these two created splashes with enough momentum to get ripples started. As the saying goes: A 1000-mile journey starts with the first step.

At a conference I used to attend we would all gather to “Make Thunder” before we all went our separate ways. We’d start with whispers, then exhale louder and louder, rub our palms together, and snap our fingers, soon we were all clapping and stomping our feet before we returned to whispers and silence. Giving birth to thunder, creating and forming stories.

The forecast for thunderstorms at Ice Cube Press world headquarters is 100%.

On words we go.

One day I woke up and discovered that Bob, Chris, and I were all members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Below is a list of the writers that comprise the group. Please support the group’s work by sharing and reading them and consider a paid subscription.

The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative roster. Please support who you can by becoming a paid subscriber. 

Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center

Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities

Dartanyan Brown, My Integrated Life, Des Moines

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Jane Burns: The Crossover, Des Moines

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup

Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia

Dana James: Black Iowa News, Iowa

Chris Jones, Chris’s Substack, Iowa City

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Letters from Iowans, Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Vicki Minor, Relatively Minor, Winterset

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Steve Semken, The Pulse of a Heartland Publisher, North Liberty

Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Kali White VanBaale, 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

1. It goes without saying. I would recommend you become paid subscribers of them both. ASAP.

2. For brevity, Big AG is the consolidation of farming into corporations. Hey, I’m no expert here. There is plenty of information on this. Like the two posts I’m referring to in this article.