2024 Substack Wrap-Up
And Some New Cartoons!
One Last Push
As a new author, a lot of the marketing lands on my own shoulders. If there’s one thing I’m not good at, it’s marketing myself. But I’m not unique, a lot of us writers and artists have the same challenge. Nevertheless, here goes. And if my agent is reading this, I’m also working on the new book, I promise!
If you think the gift-giving season is over, when it comes to books, it never ends. As a kindergarten teacher, I love stories, but I also love empowering my students to tell their own stories, so I wrote a book all about just that! A Story No One Has Ever Heard Before follows three storylines while highlighting how the structure of a story works, from characters and problems, to trials, travails, and solutions. At the end, kids get a chance to try out storytelling for themselves!
If you happen to read it, let me know what you think, and please leave a review anywhere that reviews are left. And tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your librarians, etc…! It would mean a lot to me. Thank you.
A Year in Review
I started writing and drawing on Substack in March, 2023. Now, it’s the end of 2024. I really love this new medium, because it has afforded me the opportunity to (and provided me the challenge of) working on new types of content. I write more prose, I create longer pieces, and I continue to refine my “voice.” (I also have to edit more. NOT fun.) All in all, it’s been great.
Looking Back
One of the newsletters I’m most proud of publishing is one about anxiety, and even though it’s from 2023, I’m including it because it was the first piece I completed that really showed me what’s possible here. It was a combination of many of my cartoons along with a bit of writing. It also got me this:
Looking Forward
If 2023 was looking back at my work and presenting it in a new format, 2024 was pushing my lazy brain to see what else I could do. Here are some of the newsletters that I am most proud of from this year.
This one was silly, fun to draw, and creatively formidable.
How to Draw Things Using Simple Shapes
So you want to learn how to draw, but you don’t know where to start? Easy! With a few simple shapes, you can draw just about anything. Here are some examples:
Here’s a little bit of autobiographical storytelling. It was exciting to grapple with the pacing on this one. When I began drawing this piece, I wasn’t quire sure how it would end. Too meta for my own taste, I know.
This is another post based on a true story. My co-teacher got me a sketchbook as an end-of-the-year gift and accidentally ordered a humungous one. I still haven’t figured out what to do with it, but that’s what this post is all about.
What I can do with a Giant Moleskine Sketchbook
This past kindergarten school year, amid the tumult of report cards, big emotions, and final culminations, my wonderful co-teacher bought me an end-of-year present.
Something New
Reruns are great, but I wouldn’t send out a newsletter without giving you something you haven’t seen before. So, here are a few more cartoons for your perusal.
The End
Thank you so much for being along for the ride on my 2024 run. I’ve already got some pieces I’m working on for 2025. But for now, here’s to quite the year.
Happy New Year!
-Avi
Happy new year, loving your work 😊
"Who am I to have Imposter Syndrome". yep! Thank you for all the sparks of joy your illustrations give me Avi. Happy New Year!