The End...?
It's the second update in a month for The Book Accountability Project, but there's a reason for that, as I've reached a pretty significant milestone...
After Elon Musk’s full-blown tantrum this week over Substack and their upcoming Notes feature, I have absolutely no idea how many people will actually stumble upon this update, but here we are. I have finished my book, the first complete draft is done, and it’s currently in my editor’s inbox ready to move on to the next stage.
My thanks, of course, to all the contributors who kindly volunteered their time to share their thoughts on the pretty big subject that is trust in autism research, and to you. I’ve had the occasional like and comment on these little newsletters but the idea of having a community of people to update on progress sure helped nudge me towards the finish line. The reaction to this book - and indeed, the above news I shared on Twitter and Instagram yesterday - has been incredible.
Though, don’t think this is the end of The Book Accountability Project. There’ll no doubt be upcoming edits which need to be made to the book, and as I near publication I have no doubt the inner critic in my head will work hard to convince me that what I’ve written is nothing more than hot garbage. Trying to remind myself that there will be people in the autistic community who need and will value this book helps somewhat, at the moment. I just need to convince myself that people actually want to read Selling Out the Spectrum when it comes out. So your support is very much still needed.
In fact, in addition to the fact a contractual obligation meant I couldn’t exactly give in to my inner critic and give up on the book altogether, this little newsletter has also helped silence the cynicism - so thank you.
OK, so when exactly does this book become an actual, physical thing?
As of yet, I don’t know. What I do know is that further admin lies ahead until around October time, and in my final handful of interviews earlier this year, I was giving people the estimate that the book will likely be published sometime in 2024. That still seems likely and, of course, I’ll let you know when I have more news I can share.
In the meantime, I’m now enjoying having a bit more time spare to crack on with other projects. I’ve got TV programmes to watch, videos to caption, and a potential YouTube comeback to plan as well.
Thanks as ever for reading and for your support, and until next time…
Well done. That's a brilliant achievement. And you've got one over on your inner critic!