the outlier

how to write a book and the fisher king

hello,

I’ve been getting loads of questions about writing and self-publishing recently and so I thought – Why not answer them all at once in a fun way?

So this Sunday at 6pm London time, I’ll go LIVE for paid subscribers here on Substack to answer questions about anything to do with the entire book writing process. I’ve gathered a few questions already so there’s plenty to talk about.

I’ve written 4 books now, a couple of which have become ‘bestsellers’ (we can discuss what this means) and had one nominated for a major award. I’ve done this a few times so I’m excited to share what I’ve learned and to do this kind of thing for you lot!

To subscribe is £10 per month and will get you into the session. It works out better to subscribe annually so if you want to come along and commit to a year’s subscription, I’m offering 1/3 off until Monday. Push the big purple button to join up!

On Sunday, I’ll send a reminder email and then paid subscribers should get notified when I go live. Whatever happens, I’ll be in touch with you, ready to go at 6pm, someway, somehow. Subscribe to grab your place.

the books📖

There’s lots going on all of a sudden! Next week I’m going to be doing some sponsored content and speaking on a panel for TikTok before heading off to Scotland for a little creative retreat (and some socialising). After that I’m gearing up for Hay Winter Festival, the TikTok Awards and hosting a career day for UK Sport so the month feels quite busy (in a good way).

But there are fun things to do too. Over the weekend I finally saw Laura Marling play live, took up an invite to watch England play 60 minutes of rugby and on Monday, I had a great time at a screening of the BBC’s The Mirror and the Light, the final part of their adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall books. I never got into the book myself but what i’ve seen of the series is brilliant, with Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis going at it as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII. All three occasions were magnificent entertainment, given me much to ponder and will doubtless become grist to my mill as future posts.

Finally, in case you missed it, Superstrengths is live on Audible (so go and get it) and I’m gearing up for the other narrations I keep promising. So far I’m thinking some Arthurian Legend and some TS Eliot.

for your interest

the fisher king

the fisher king

I recently remembered a story that resonated with me long ago, the story of the Fisher King, but I couldn’t remember why it moved me so.

The Fisher King is a small piece of the Arthurian legend of the Grail Quest where a questing knight, sometimes Sir Percival, sometimes Sir Galahad, sometimes someone else, comes to a castle and finds a king sat by the lake fishing. He’s wounded in the groin or thigh, sometimes portrayed as punishment for a past moral failing, and his kingdom bleeds too. It’s a desolate, infertile place, a wasteland, and the king spends his days fishing, waiting for a noble knight to come and heal him.

The knight stays over at the castle and during the night, experiences a mystical procession of heavenly objects, completed by a vision of the grail.

In the morning, he has the opportunity to ask the king a question and when he asks the wrong one, the castle disappears and the knight finds himself alone on the plains.

After continuing his quest and learning more about the grail, the knight comes across the castle once more and again sees the mystical objects appear in the night. The next day, he asks the king the correct question and the king’s wound is healed, the land recovers and the knight, pure of spirit and intention is ready to receive the grail.

The king gives him his gratitude and he goes on his way.

I’ve come across The Fisher King multiple times in multiple tellings and remember having a profound experience with it, one where the story goes round and round in your mind, deeper and deeper, endlessly reflexive like an Escher staircase, something you’ll never reach the end of. I read the story again last week and it seemed quite simple. What about it was so fascinating to me before?

A couple of experiences this week have given The Fisher King fresh resonances for me.

On a group call of fellows you could suggest are questing, we are all asked to submit a question for discussion and this time it became so clear how much the quality of the discussion hinged on the quality of the question. Something surface level makes for a straightforward discussion while something more thoughtful and considerate, or even something more pointed, took the discussion levels deeper.

The when I consider events of this week and the reaction, I feel the same way. The depth of your understanding depends on the quality of your question.

If we ask the right ones, perhaps we can heal the wound, the land will recover and all can be made right. If we fail to ask the right questions, if we continue with surface level analysis and refuse to look at ourselves and our capacity for insight, then we will continue to wander in a wasteland.

Now I remember why I love the story of The Fisher King.

really wrestled to generate this image and it still wasn’t quite how I imagined it

Remember on Sunday at 6pm London time I’m doing a LIVE Q&A on everything to do with writing and publishing a book!

Take out a paid subscription to join in and whether you want to just get access for one month or take advantage of the discount on annual memberships, either way you’ll get notified. See you there.

a book

Juggling a lot of books at the moment including last week’s recommendation, a second read of Intermezzo and Michael Lewis’ Going Infinite, his biography of crypto fraudster par excellence Sam Bankman-Fried, so verdicts on new things will probably arrive next week. I’ve also been impressed with a couple of Substacks from Lea on Sally Rooney and context and Emilie on self-image.

a listen

Blindboy makes a great podcast and this episode with Cillian Murphy is quite a coup. It’s interview to talk about his role in the new adaptation of a wonderful book, Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These (amazon / independents).

a quote

Turn sideways into the light as they say

the old ones did and disappear

into the originality of it all.

– David Whyte

lastly

Thanks for reading! My work is made possible by you so if you’d like to support me you can buy my books, hire me to do something or you can become a paid subscriber using the button below.

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I’ll see you next time.

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