Coming into the end of the year and seeing all the "best" of the year lists starting, I thought it would be a good idea to remind you that in January A LETTER TO JO, a WWII story written by @iamjoestweet about his grandparents (lettered by @TaylorEspo with art by me), came out...

Every year when these lists start coming out they are heavy with the back half of the year. Books that release early in the year fall to the back unless they have good coverage or just REALLY make a good impression (or have names behind them)...

That's not me complaining that our book isn't on a list. That's me complaining about the validity so many of us attach to these lists. Especially in a year like this. Our book came out within a month of the country going into the pandemic. The 1st show I had it at was C2E2..

We flew home from Chicago after the book sold out at the show and I restocked for ECCC a couple weeks later and that was it. No more shows. No more getting out there. No in store signings. No word of mouth from the publisher. The book had great reviews. Then it slid to the side..

Not just our book but thousands of others go through the same thing. Genuinely good books that people pour thier everything into just get forgotten about in the rush to put list together. Yes. I'm saying our book is good. I know I don't do confidence often but there you go...

This has been a tough year for everybody. Creators, publishers, fans, etc. More than ever I feel like we need to remember the "best of" lists are just nonsense that feels good to be a part of but, they aren't a measurement of worth. There are amazing books that NEVER make lists..

This year is also a year that publishers need to take better responsibility for the books they publish. It absolutely falls to creators to promote their books the best they can. That should also mean that publishers need to do the same. Don't forget this is a partnership...

It's pretty frustrating to put everything into a book and have it come out and the publisher all but forget it exists. To just dust of their hands and say "good luck" just to turn around and tell you your book maybe didn't do great sales wise or whatever.

I was going to share some of the good reviews A LETTER TO JO has recieved but I've kind went on and on. So just don't let the lists and awards season pull you down. If you want to share a link to your project that has kinda dissapeared in the year, add it to the thread.