We Hunted The Mammoth
So I have a quick favor to ask.
I’m trying to get the readership of this blog up to the level it was when I took my hiatus, and then some, but it’s been tough so far. A lot of people who used to read the blog don’t know I’m back and posting, and of course a lot of people don’t know about the blog at all. And so my posts aren’t getting the traction that I know they could.
Hey! As you may recall, several months ago, I hung out my shingle as an editor and writing coach. Now, I’d like to replace that shingle with a slightly different one: I’m dropping the line editing to focus on coaching and developmental editing for anyone at work on (or contemplating) a nonfiction writing project.
Before, I was aiming my services at academics; now, instead of focusing on a demographic, I’ve decided to focus on a problem: writer’s block.
Are you frozen halfway through a draft of your latest article, staring at a blinking cursor on the screen? Or dodging calls from your agent because you’re making no progress on the book you promised would be completed by now? Or scrambling to meet your work and family responsibilities and unable to find time to write?
As a writing coach focusing on writer’s block and other forms of writing resistance, I can help to get you productive again—and teach you techniques that will enable you to unblock yourself in the future. If you’re struggling to figure out what you want to say, I can be your sounding board and brainstorming partner. I can help you to develop a regular writing habit and serve as an accountability partner to keep you on track.
And, as a developmental editor, I can help you tame an unruly draft, bringing structure to your writing and finding the throughlines to your narrative.
I’m still very much interested in working with academics, whether students, instructors, or professors. Are you eager to reach an audience outside your profession, or struggling to turn your dissertation into a book? As a longtime book reviewer, often of academic books, I know how to make complex ideas accessible to a broad audience—and I can help you translate academic insights into engaging, readable prose. As an escaped grad student (ABD at Northwestern in history), I know something about the demands and pressures of academia and what it takes to succeed.
If you’re interested, contact me at [email protected] to arrange a free, no-obligation 20-minute phone or Zoom call to discuss what I can do for you.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! For a limited time, I will be offering a 20 percent discount on my already reasonable rates for anyone mentioning We Hunted the Mammoth in their email.
And if you’re not looking for writing coaching yourself, please mention this offer to anyone you know who might be.
You can check out my website at David-Futrelle.com for a little more on my background.
So, yeah, as the headline says, We Hunted the Mammoth is going on an indefinite hiatus. For the last few months, I have been trying to make this work, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it won’t. As you know, I have been struggling to raise enough money to keep the blog financially stable, and that has been weighing on me.
But there’s a bigger factor: I’m simply burned out. I’ve spent the last thirteen years writing about some of the worst people in the world, and, well, it’s wearing me down. I’m deeply tired of these people and their endless hateful nonsense; it’s time to move on. (I am putting My AI Obsession on hold for now as well.)
I’m deeply grateful for all of the support you all have given me over the years. Some of you have been so generous with your donations that I don’t know what to say. I want to thank everyone who has donated to or otherwise offered assistance to the blog over the years.
I’m not shutting the blog down entirely. One of the things I have enjoyed the most about this blog over the years has been reading the comment section, and I don’t want to leave the regular commenters in the lurch. I’ll continue to post Open Threads and possibly even a few real posts from time to time, and I hope some of you decide to stick around.
I may return at some point to launch We Hunted the Mammoth 2.0, likely with a somewhat different focus, but right now, I don’t know for sure if or when that will be.
As many of you know, I have started up a new venture, hanging out my shingle as a writing coach; you can read more about this here. If you’re feeling stuck with your writing, I can help to unstick you. I am focusing most on academics but all nonfiction writers are welcome!
If you have thoughts you’d like to share, please post them in the comments below, or send them to me directly at dfutrelle at gmail.com.
As this extended Pledge Drive draws to a close, I’d like to offer my profound thanks to all of you who donated, including several kind souls who really went above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you so much!
I’ll be bringing this extended Pledge Drive to a close in a couple of days, but I wanted to let you know how things are going. Or not going, because we’re still a long way off from my goal. To those who have donated, some quite generously, I want to express my profound thanks. But I need more of you to donate if we’re going to get to the finish line.
So if you haven’t donated yet, please consider clicking the button below.
You can also give by Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.
Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to the blog–by donating, sending along tips, providing technical help, spreading the word.
I want to thank everyone who’s donated so far during this pledge drive–some quite generously. But we’re still less than halfway to the goal, so if you haven’t already donated and you’re a fan of this blog, I hope you can go ahead and send a few bucks (or a lot of bucks) my way. Click below to make a one-time donation (or sign up for a monthly subscription).
You can also donate to me on Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.
Thanks again; I can’t stress how much your support means to me.
–David
It’s that time again–time to raise the money needed to keep this site running.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know what a unique beast it is. For the past 13 years, I’ve been relentlessly covering the ongoing backlash against women’s rights; now, I also cover the even scarier attacks on trans rights. I spend my time slogging through the worst that the bigots have to offer, so you don’t have to. And I try to do it with an intact sense of humor.
I bring you this coverage without ads or paywalls, or secret billionaire backers. I rely entirely on donations from you, the readers. Many of you donate on a monthly basis, and I appreciate it enormously. But I get the bulk of my operating budget through these pledge drives; without them, I can’t keep the blog going.
So please click on the button below to make a donation, big o small; you don’t have to have a Paypal account to use it.
You can also give by Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.
I want to thank all of you who support this blog in whatever way you can. It means the world to me.
PS: If you’d like to help this blog in a non-financial way, please help to spread the word about this pledge drive on social media; it can really make a difference.
The (extended) pledge drive is over, and I want to begin by thanking everyone who donated, whether it was a lot of bucks or just a few. This pledge drive started off very unpromisingly, but you all turned it around in a big way and brought us close to our goal.
That said, we didn’t make it all the way. We came a couple of thousand dollars short of what I need to keep the blog on an even keel.
The pledge drive got off to a worrisome start, but thanks to you, things have once again turned around in a big way. Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far!
But we’re still a few thousand dollars short of what I need to keep the blog running. This is a one-man, two-cat operation, and I depend on these pledge drives to pay the bills. So if you haven’t donated yet, please click the button below and give what you can.
You can also give by Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.
My last post on the pledge drive inspired many of you to donate, some quite generously, and I’m very grateful for it. But, seven days into what was going to be a ten-day Pledge Drive, I have raised less than half of what I need to keep this blog going.
So if you care about this blog, and you haven’t donated already, please go ahead and click the button below and give what you can. The future of the blog is literally at stake, and even a small amount will make a big difference.
You can also donate to me on Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.