Very Hard to Desclibe

2017-08-15 · letter vlog · John · 3:09 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing · mode: Announcements · tags: self promotion, community lore

In an unscripted update, John reveals the Rodrigo Corral cover of Turtles All the Way Down, reads the final manuscript before it goes to the printer (after which the book belongs to its readers), reports his signing progress, says probably signed copies are still available, recommends Clint Smith's Counting Descent and Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess's Solo, and announces a US tour with Hank in October.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Turtles All the Way Down cover by Rodrigo Corral; no actual turtles

★★★ John reveals the cover of Turtles All the Way Down, designed by Rodrigo Corral, who did the cover of The Fault in Our Stars; he calls it beautiful. — 00:00:01 · Turtles All the Way Down, Rodrigo Corral, The Fault in Our Stars
★★ John says the cover captures the feeling of the thought spirals at the center of the book. (hedged) — 00:00:12 · Turtles All the Way Down
★ John notes the cover shown is wrapped around Paper Towns; people disappointed by the lack of actual turtles will probably also be disappointed by their absence from the book. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:17 · Paper Towns, Turtles All the Way Down

00:00:33 — Reading the final manuscript before it goes to the printer; the book will belong to readers

★★★ John is reading the final manuscript of Turtles All the Way Down today because it goes to the printer tomorrow. — 00:00:33 · Turtles All the Way Down
★★ John says this is probably his last full reading of the book: once something is published and he can't change it, he finds it unbearable to read. (hedged) — 00:00:38 · Turtles All the Way Down
★★★ John says it's an emotional day: for six years the book has been mostly his, and after today it will belong to the people who read it, which is exciting but hard to describe. — 00:00:45 · Turtles All the Way Down
★★ John says he just really hopes people like the book, but from tomorrow there's nothing he can do. — 00:01:01 · Turtles All the Way Down

00:01:07 — Signing progress (184,000 sheets) and the LectroJogger

★★★ John has signed 184,000 sheets and is on the first of the two turtles; eight boxes (16,000 sheets, about 32 hours) remain, and he must finish by Monday (21 August 2017). — 00:01:07 · Turtles All the Way Down
★ John says he would already be done if he hadn't gone to Venice, but he liked going to Venice. (playful) — 00:01:20
★★ To put the signed sheets back with their boxes, John gets to use his LectroJogger, a magical piece of 20th-century technology that exists solely to line up sheets of paper. — 00:01:24

00:01:47 — Amazon sold out of probably signed copies; others still available

★★ John says Amazon has sold out its allotment of probably signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down, but many remain, for instance at Books-A-Million; more at ProbablySignedTurtles.com. — 00:01:47 · Amazon, Turtles All the Way Down

00:02:00 — Poetry recommendations: Counting Descent and Solo

★★ John has been reading a lot of poetry lately; he doesn't know why, but guesses it's how his brain wants to process text at the moment. (hedged) — 00:02:04
★★★ John recommends Clint Smith's Counting Descent: small but packing a punch, with funny poems like 'When They Tell You the Brontosaurus Never Existed' and gut-wrenching, sad ones; just brilliant. — 00:02:09
★★★ John recommends Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess: he has long been a fan of Alexander, and this book is really special. — 00:02:26

00:02:32 — John and Hank's October US tour; sign-off

★★★ John announces that he and Hank are going on tour when Turtles All the Way Down comes out in October, their first tour together since 2012. — 00:02:39 · Hank Green, Turtles All the Way Down
★★ John doesn't yet know where the tour will go; it will probably be only in the United States, with details in the coming weeks. (hedged) — 00:02:50 · United States

Threads in this video

milestone · Turtles All the Way Down: announcement and publication of John's novel (2017) — John reveals the Rodrigo Corral cover of Turtles All the Way Down and reads the final manuscript before it goes to the printer tomorrow. (00:00:01)
first use · John's 'desclibe' flub (2017) — John mispronounces 'describe' as 'desclibe' while describing his feelings about the book, giving the video its title. (00:00:59)
progress update · John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — John has signed 184,000 sheets and is on the first of the two turtles; eight boxes (16,000 sheets, about 32 hours) remain, and he must finish by Monday (21 August 2017). (00:01:07)
reminder · John asks viewers to pre-order signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — John says Amazon has sold out its allotment of probably signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down, but many remain, for instance at Books-A-Million; more at ProbablySignedTurtles.com. (00:01:47)
restate · Does the author's intent matter to what a work means? — John says it's an emotional day: for six years the book has been mostly his, and after today it will belong to the people who read it, which is exciting but hard to describe. (00:00:45)
announced · Turtles All the Way Down tour: John and Hank's US book tour (2017) — John announces that he and Hank are going on tour when Turtles All the Way Down comes out in October, their first tour together since 2012. (00:02:39)
callback · John's 'amazing Lectro Jog of Amazing' paper jogger (2011) — To put the signed sheets back with their boxes, John gets to use his LectroJogger, a magical piece of 20th-century technology that exists solely to line up sheets of paper. (00:01:24)

Where the stories that moved here went next

John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — kept; last: recalled, 2021-04-02
Turtles All the Way Down tour: John and Hank's US book tour (2017) — completed; last: looked back, 2026-10-16
Turtles All the Way Down: announcement and publication of John's novel (2017) — completed; last: looked back, 2026-07-07

Mentioned

Central: Counting Descent · Solo · Turtles All the Way Down

Also: Works: Paper Towns · The Fault in Our Stars · When They Tell You the Brontosaurus Never Existed

Organizations: Amazon · Books-A-Million

Concepts: authorial intent · obsessive-compulsive disorder · poetry (concept)

Places: United States · Venice

Products: Lectrojog

Only in the description or credits: Clint Smith · Kwame Alexander · Mary Rand Hess · Rodrigo Corral

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