Ryan T. Pozzi
@ryantpozzi.bsky.social
Former nonprofit executive | Author of The Mess That Made Them (forthcoming from Bloomsbury) | Historian of cultural myth, fraud, and lost stories | BOTN Nominee | Rep: Anderson Literary Agency | www.ryantpozzi.com | Socials are first draft energy
Pinned
It took a while because Fall is a very busy season at our house, but our thank you boxes are finally going out to my agent, my editor, and her assistant for the closing of the deal for my debut at Bloomsbury (pub date TBD.)
I've never been prouder to be a six-time college drop out. 😬
Poll: In a dramatic shift, Americans no longer see four-year college degrees as worth the cost
The latest NBC News poll shows two-thirds of registered voters down on the value proposition of a degree. A majority said degrees were worth the cost a dozen years ago.
www.nbcnews.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I've never been prouder to be a six-time college drop out. 😬
Confused? Misinformed? Generally frustrated? You must be a debut author.
Welcome. Read about all the mistakes I've made so far every Tuesday in Life on the Midlist. Maybe it will help. If not, at least you can enjoy the schadenfreude. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist
Welcome. Read about all the mistakes I've made so far every Tuesday in Life on the Midlist. Maybe it will help. If not, at least you can enjoy the schadenfreude. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist
November 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Confused? Misinformed? Generally frustrated? You must be a debut author.
Welcome. Read about all the mistakes I've made so far every Tuesday in Life on the Midlist. Maybe it will help. If not, at least you can enjoy the schadenfreude. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist
Welcome. Read about all the mistakes I've made so far every Tuesday in Life on the Midlist. Maybe it will help. If not, at least you can enjoy the schadenfreude. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist
Reposted by Ryan T. Pozzi
Is now the right time to talk about how the best preparation of turkey is as deli meat (or maybe that deep frying thing that sets some people's houses on fire every year) and that the way most of us, including me, prepare it for this holiday is pretty forgettable? 🦃
November 27, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Is now the right time to talk about how the best preparation of turkey is as deli meat (or maybe that deep frying thing that sets some people's houses on fire every year) and that the way most of us, including me, prepare it for this holiday is pretty forgettable? 🦃
Very on-brand from the party whose official position on AIDS from 1981 to 1985 was basically, “AIDS? Never heard of it.”
SCOOP: The Trump administration has instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. funds to commemorate World AIDS Day — because the observance was started by the World Health Organization.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Trump Administration Cancels U.S. Observance of World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Very on-brand from the party whose official position on AIDS from 1981 to 1985 was basically, “AIDS? Never heard of it.”
I’m calling it for today. Words were written, doubts existed, nothing exploded. In this line of work, that’s a win. Rest up. We'll try again tomorrow.
November 27, 2025 at 2:35 AM
I’m calling it for today. Words were written, doubts existed, nothing exploded. In this line of work, that’s a win. Rest up. We'll try again tomorrow.
This is such a basic b-answer, but all of the album Flood.
Name your fav They Might Be Giants song.
November 27, 2025 at 12:13 AM
This is such a basic b-answer, but all of the album Flood.
Side post: There's nothing like your post unexpectedly becoming popular to make all your typos and small grammar crimes suddenly super obvious. 🫣😑🤷♂️
Like we always say around here:
Socials are first draft energy.
Like we always say around here:
Socials are first draft energy.
November 27, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Side post: There's nothing like your post unexpectedly becoming popular to make all your typos and small grammar crimes suddenly super obvious. 🫣😑🤷♂️
Like we always say around here:
Socials are first draft energy.
Like we always say around here:
Socials are first draft energy.
Have I ever told you about my favorite bookshop? It's a charming place in Lincoln, NE called A Novel Idea.
I've never left empty handed, but, like most book spaces, it's the people that really make it special. I moved away in 2013 and, while I miss the town, I miss this corner of it most of all.
I've never left empty handed, but, like most book spaces, it's the people that really make it special. I moved away in 2013 and, while I miss the town, I miss this corner of it most of all.
November 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Have I ever told you about my favorite bookshop? It's a charming place in Lincoln, NE called A Novel Idea.
I've never left empty handed, but, like most book spaces, it's the people that really make it special. I moved away in 2013 and, while I miss the town, I miss this corner of it most of all.
I've never left empty handed, but, like most book spaces, it's the people that really make it special. I moved away in 2013 and, while I miss the town, I miss this corner of it most of all.
I honestly thought what I didn't like about the holidays were all the family obligations. Then most of my family died in a rough stretch (more for them than me, I guess) from 2012 to 2021 and, frankly, I could still do without most US holidays.
Keep the costumes and candy and ditch the rest, I say.
Keep the costumes and candy and ditch the rest, I say.
November 26, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I honestly thought what I didn't like about the holidays were all the family obligations. Then most of my family died in a rough stretch (more for them than me, I guess) from 2012 to 2021 and, frankly, I could still do without most US holidays.
Keep the costumes and candy and ditch the rest, I say.
Keep the costumes and candy and ditch the rest, I say.
Life on the Midlist is my free newsletter for writers and other chaos gremlins trying to build careers without selling their souls, joining a cult, or starting a podcast about productivity. Subscribe and let’s fail upwards together. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist
November 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Life on the Midlist is my free newsletter for writers and other chaos gremlins trying to build careers without selling their souls, joining a cult, or starting a podcast about productivity. Subscribe and let’s fail upwards together. www.ryantpozzi.com/midlist
While the industry is less and less accommodating to my sort, “midlist” isn't an insult to me. It's where so much essential work happens. Quieter careers, steady books, readers who feel connected to specific creatives. My dream isn't fame. My dream is longevity.
November 26, 2025 at 5:47 PM
While the industry is less and less accommodating to my sort, “midlist” isn't an insult to me. It's where so much essential work happens. Quieter careers, steady books, readers who feel connected to specific creatives. My dream isn't fame. My dream is longevity.
Old school chum: Hey! I heard you were an influencer now.
Me: Nah. I'm writing. I do have a little bit of a following.
OSC: Don't be modest! I can see it.
Me: Really? Why is that? (Naively expecting something about my charisma)
OSC: Sure, you were always influencing us to get in real trouble.
😑
Me: Nah. I'm writing. I do have a little bit of a following.
OSC: Don't be modest! I can see it.
Me: Really? Why is that? (Naively expecting something about my charisma)
OSC: Sure, you were always influencing us to get in real trouble.
😑
November 26, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Old school chum: Hey! I heard you were an influencer now.
Me: Nah. I'm writing. I do have a little bit of a following.
OSC: Don't be modest! I can see it.
Me: Really? Why is that? (Naively expecting something about my charisma)
OSC: Sure, you were always influencing us to get in real trouble.
😑
Me: Nah. I'm writing. I do have a little bit of a following.
OSC: Don't be modest! I can see it.
Me: Really? Why is that? (Naively expecting something about my charisma)
OSC: Sure, you were always influencing us to get in real trouble.
😑
I know some of y'all get tired of hearing me go on and on about persistence, but the creatives in my debut almost all had a “walked away” moment. They doubted themselves, resented the work, or hated the odds at some stage. The turning point was never magic. It was usually “I showed up again anyway.”
November 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I know some of y'all get tired of hearing me go on and on about persistence, but the creatives in my debut almost all had a “walked away” moment. They doubted themselves, resented the work, or hated the odds at some stage. The turning point was never magic. It was usually “I showed up again anyway.”
Most writers I know aren't tortured artists. They're exhausted administrators who occasionally remember they like sentences. Emails, forms, and spreadsheets are the real villains in this story.
November 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Most writers I know aren't tortured artists. They're exhausted administrators who occasionally remember they like sentences. Emails, forms, and spreadsheets are the real villains in this story.
Not that they deserve much empathy based on their treatment of others, but such hatred and malice can really only come from intense pain.
Sometimes I want to meet the govt types just to say, "Hey, man. Are you okay?"
Sometimes I want to meet the govt types just to say, "Hey, man. Are you okay?"
November 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Not that they deserve much empathy based on their treatment of others, but such hatred and malice can really only come from intense pain.
Sometimes I want to meet the govt types just to say, "Hey, man. Are you okay?"
Sometimes I want to meet the govt types just to say, "Hey, man. Are you okay?"
Reposted by Ryan T. Pozzi
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Current state of my drafts folder: one paragraph I love, a page I hate, three half essays about failure, and a margin note that just says “remember to make this less depressing.” So, thriving.
November 26, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Current state of my drafts folder: one paragraph I love, a page I hate, three half essays about failure, and a margin note that just says “remember to make this less depressing.” So, thriving.
I'm embarrassed by how long it took me to learn this, but a creative life isn’t built on adrenaline. It’s built on unsexy consistency.
I took my first creative gig in 2006. Somewhere along the line I learned that boring, repeatable work habits get me further than sprinting on inspiration fumes.
I took my first creative gig in 2006. Somewhere along the line I learned that boring, repeatable work habits get me further than sprinting on inspiration fumes.
November 26, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I'm embarrassed by how long it took me to learn this, but a creative life isn’t built on adrenaline. It’s built on unsexy consistency.
I took my first creative gig in 2006. Somewhere along the line I learned that boring, repeatable work habits get me further than sprinting on inspiration fumes.
I took my first creative gig in 2006. Somewhere along the line I learned that boring, repeatable work habits get me further than sprinting on inspiration fumes.
I don't believe in “networking.” I believe in long term reciprocity. If I work with you, I want you to feel seen, paid as well as I can manage, and never treated like a stepping stone in my hero narrative.
November 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I don't believe in “networking.” I believe in long term reciprocity. If I work with you, I want you to feel seen, paid as well as I can manage, and never treated like a stepping stone in my hero narrative.
People love to say “Somebody has to be the lucky one.” Statistically true, emotionally useless. The real question is whether doing the work still matters to you even if you're never that person.
November 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
People love to say “Somebody has to be the lucky one.” Statistically true, emotionally useless. The real question is whether doing the work still matters to you even if you're never that person.
Today’s Life on the Midlist is about publishing as a “terrible industry full of wonderful people,” how much of it runs on underpaid labor, and why I sent tea and shortbread instead of rage. Hitting inboxes at 2 p.m. Central.
There's still time to sign up. Link in bio
There's still time to sign up. Link in bio
November 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Today’s Life on the Midlist is about publishing as a “terrible industry full of wonderful people,” how much of it runs on underpaid labor, and why I sent tea and shortbread instead of rage. Hitting inboxes at 2 p.m. Central.
There's still time to sign up. Link in bio
There's still time to sign up. Link in bio
"Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious men are not saints...They never become the man or the artist who is called for by all the circumstances of their individual lives. They waste their years in vain efforts to be some other poet, some other saint."
-Thomas Merton
-Thomas Merton
November 24, 2025 at 10:56 PM
"Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious men are not saints...They never become the man or the artist who is called for by all the circumstances of their individual lives. They waste their years in vain efforts to be some other poet, some other saint."
-Thomas Merton
-Thomas Merton
Elizabeth would love me almost no matter what, like an ancient curse or a chronic illness or something, but I'm unwell so some part of me remains convinced even 12 years on that I need to constantly bribe her with little gifts to secure her love. 🤷♂️
Today's little gift: banana Laffy Taffy
Today's little gift: banana Laffy Taffy
November 24, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Elizabeth would love me almost no matter what, like an ancient curse or a chronic illness or something, but I'm unwell so some part of me remains convinced even 12 years on that I need to constantly bribe her with little gifts to secure her love. 🤷♂️
Today's little gift: banana Laffy Taffy
Today's little gift: banana Laffy Taffy
I’ve known so many writers and artists who gave up before they even started because they decided, alone in a room, that they weren’t “good enough.”
Here’s the ugly little truth:
“Good enough” is just passion that refused to die, plus practice that went on longer than anyone expected.
Here’s the ugly little truth:
“Good enough” is just passion that refused to die, plus practice that went on longer than anyone expected.
November 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
I’ve known so many writers and artists who gave up before they even started because they decided, alone in a room, that they weren’t “good enough.”
Here’s the ugly little truth:
“Good enough” is just passion that refused to die, plus practice that went on longer than anyone expected.
Here’s the ugly little truth:
“Good enough” is just passion that refused to die, plus practice that went on longer than anyone expected.