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My World's on Fire

2020-07-03 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Personal life) · mode: Personal update · tags: self promotion, community lore

Hank tells how two bulbs of his ten-year-old softbox caught fire within two weeks, so his world is literally a little on fire, then, four days before A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor comes out, runs through things to know (a recap video, the audiobook cast, a resource guide, tour tickets) and says that despite a stressful time he feels surprisingly little book stress.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — The ten-year-old softbox whose bulbs burned out, broke and caught fire; filming with an LED light

  • ★★ About ten years ago Hank bought a softbox and has used it in every Vlogbrothers video filmed at home since, until today. — 00:00:00 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ The original ten-year-old bulbs have been going kaput: one burned out, and one broke when the light fell over. — 00:00:17
  • ★★★ A couple of weeks ago Hank came back to smoke in his office: the base of one bulb was a little on fire, sparking internally; he ordered new lights but didn't set them up. — 00:00:32
  • ★★★ Yesterday another bulb caught fire: after ten years, two catching fire within two weeks of each other. — 00:00:55
  • ★★ Hank figures something must have gone wrong with the electricity of the light, not the bulbs. (speculative) — 00:01:04
  • ★ The video is now filmed with a somewhat harsh LED light; three-point lighting is said to be best, but two will have to do. (playful) — 00:01:10

00:01:24 — A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor in four days: recap video, audiobook cast and epigraphs, resource guide, virtual tour and refunded July 6 tickets

  • ★★★ A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor comes out in four days; Hank is very excited and very nervous, though really good reviews so far have taken off some weight. — 00:01:24 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★ While Hank's world was literally a little bit on fire, it is figuratively on fire too. (playful) — 00:01:33
  • ★★ For readers who forgot the first book, Hank released a recap video on Hank's channel voiced by audiobook narrator Kristen Sieh; it fully spoils the first book. — 00:01:43 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, hankschannel
  • ★★ The audiobook cast is announced, with many voices: five point-of-view characters plus epigraphs between chapters, like a fundraiser transcript with made-up Senator William Casey. — 00:01:56 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★★ Hank likes to think of audio as a different medium and to adjust the audiobook to best serve that medium; he is really proud of what they came up with. — 00:02:17
  • ★★ A book resource guide at altusfuture.net has a book club kit, character playlists and Zoom backgrounds. — 00:02:27 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★★ The virtual book tour is still happening; more at hankgreen.com. — 00:02:35 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★★★ Tickets bought for the July 6th event Hank and John are doing together may have been refunded and need buying again; Hank is sorry. — 00:02:38 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank asks ticket holders to check their inbox for an email from The Strand, the bookstore hosting the event, to make sure they are still signed up. — 00:02:44
  • ★★★ This has obviously been a really stressful time for Hank, but strangely he feels little book stress and is really excited for the book to get out. — 00:02:52 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

00:02:55 — Little book stress, podcast sponsorships and appearances, the last edited sheets and the note 'loose'

  • ★★ Hank really appreciates the positive feedback from John and from early readers. — 00:03:05 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank sponsored a bunch of small independent podcasts for the book and has been a guest on many; podcast listeners may find him hard to miss. — 00:03:09 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★★ On his office floor are the last sheets he edited; his most common self-editing note is 'loose', which he can't define, but you don't want it loose. (playful) — 00:03:32 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says releasing a book while running businesses in a pandemic and launching a new channel has not been chill, but Hank is surprisingly not nervous, just excited. — video description · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★ In a comment Hank says the bulbs are robust CFLs: small ones have less durable components, but big CFLs can last a really long time. — creator comment

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Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor · softbox

Also: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing · audiobook · Decatur, Georgia · hankschannel · LED lamp · Strand Bookstore · William Casey

Only in the description or credits: All Star · compact fluorescent lamp · Kristen Sieh

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