Writerly Things, Entry 21
The One About How The Launch Went
Ten Second Takeaway
A Successful Launch — Indy Design Week 2026 — Updates on Mosaic
Polaris: Launched!
Friends—
We did it!
Polaris is finally live, out there, and in the wild.
Getting this book into the world has proven to be just as much of a learning experience as writing it was. I gotta say: as much fun as writing can be, actually talking to people and hearing about their adventures with the book itself has absolutely been the most fun part of this journey. Far more fun than sitting alone in rooms, talking to myself, pacing around in front of my whiteboard or pages.
Thank you again to everyone who made this launch such a success and for the outpouring of support on a personal level. Every text I get about the book fills my sails. Yes, even those little tiny updates matter; I care what chapter you’re on, whether you love or hate a certain character, what questions bug you, if you’re now terrified of your front door peephole, or whether you’re building cities in your dreams.
Launch Party
Despite having to move my Polaris launch party to February 13th, we still had a great turnout and drank yummy coffee. A special thanks to Amanda’s colleagues at Eli Lilly, so many of whom made the journey from downtown Indianapolis and showed up to support us. The Liliputians are the best!
It was a surreal experience to sit at a table and sign copies of a book I’d written; I hope I get to do a lot more events like this, getting out there and meeting readers in the wild.
If I saw you at the launch party: thanks again for grabbing your copies! If I didn’t, keep an eye on this publication for future events.
So … how did it go?
I’ve had lots of folks asking me how the Polaris launch went, so here it is:
Polaris had a strong launch, roughly in the top 10% for a first-time author with no representation and a small (but mighty!) social platform.
Most importantly, the book found new readers, and reviews have begun to trickle in. As of this writing, Polaris has an average review score of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
This is a darn good foundation: it’s also just the beginning.
My goal is to continue broadcasting the good word about Polaris, luring ever more readers to the dark city hidden within.
Announcement: Indy Design Week
One of the best ways to spread the word about a book you’ve written is—you guessed it—to get in front of people and talk to people about the book you’ve written!
In that spirit, I’m pleased to announce that on April 21st, I will be speaking about the creative process behind Polaris at Indy Design Week 2026.
My talk is part of the “First Draft Showcase,” a description of which follows from the Indy Design Week website:
The First Draft Design Showcase pulls back the curtain on the work before it’s polished, approved, or perfected.
This showcase invites designers to share the original presentations they brought into a room for the very first time. The raw PDFs, Keynotes, or slide decks that introduced early ideas, explorations, and creative directions to a client. Not the final case study. The first conversation.
Speakers will walk through their initial concepts and talk openly about the thinking behind them. What they were exploring, what questions they were trying to answer, and how those early drafts shaped the work that followed. It’s an honest look at design in progress and a reminder that great work doesn’t start finished.
For those who haven’t met me in person, trust me when I say: I am a huge nerd, so I’m very excited to tell people how I leveraged UX methods in my approach to writing, editing, and marketing Polaris. I want to take a moment to thank Tori Witter and Stephanie Poppe for this lovely opportunity.
If you would like to hear me talk at length about the process of writing Polaris, join me on April 21st either online or in person from 5-9 PM Eastern Standard. Tickets and further information about the event are available here.
Join the Polaris Project Today
Yes, the book is doing great!
And yes—your help is still appreciated if you have the capacity.
If you want to support Polaris, here are some things you can do:
Buy a(ny) copy of Polaris.
Read it.
Review it. (With words!)
Rate it. (With stars!)
Talk about it. Post about it. Dream about it.
I so deeply appreciate you all.
Update: MOSAIC
In addition to working on getting Polaris airborne, I’m pleased to report that work on Mosaic has soldiered on in the background.
I am on schedule to finish “Draft Zero”—or my “Discovery Draft”—of Mosaic by today, March 31st. Once that draft is complete, it will go into a drawer for about a month, during which time I will work on something else.
In May, work begins on assembling Mosaic. And the step after that?
Getting Draft 1.0 into Early Readers’ hands.
Can you believe it? We’ve gone in a giant circle.
In my April update, keep your eyes peeled for Early Reader callouts, as well as more specific dates about when to expect the sequel to Polaris, information on the book itself, and more information on my Indy Design Week presentation.
Okay. That’s it for now, everyone. Thank you again for making the launch of Polaris so very special. See you soon, and with a new manuscript in hand!
Ries
So excited for you to talk at Indy Design Week. Congratulations on wrapping up the Discovery Draft of Mosaic! 🎉 What a bear of a book! It will be even better than Polaris, I just know it. 😉
I want to know what happens next so badly but then after reading Mosaic I’ll know so the anticipation will be over. Yet, like Harry Potter, I’ll just have to start again.