A Letter to Future Simon

Dear Future Simon:

Hi there. You alright? Hope so. Hope you're still alive. It's 2013 right now, and this is me (you!) writing to you (me!). Because who knows what's coming for our stories and your books?

Maybe you've made it - you have books out, in real bookstores, and some nice people even buy them and read them. Maybe you''re still slogging away, putting short stories up here on the blog, editing EREN and crafting and reworking other tales, other books. I hope so. I don't want that to stop any time soon.

Things right now feel like they're on the cusp of something good. That's a feeling you shouldn't forget. How do you feel right now? Because where I am, life is amazing. This blog's been running a bit over a year and you've met funky people, told good stories, and learned so much. You've got The Writers' & Artists' blog post gig. You earn our money ever day writing things. That's not something everyone can say.

Whether you make it (and who knows what 'it' will be) or decide in the end to pull things back, never get bitter, and remember, you berk, how much you enjoyed all this. The words and the edits, hearing from other people, sharing things on your blog, seeing others' videos on Youtube...

Has Twitter taken over the world now? Hail, Overlords! Maybe it hasn't. Either way, don't forget how great Twitter's been for you. Agents and writers and funky people, all saying things and responding to what you say. When else has that been true? When else has that been possible?

Maybe you live in a zombie-strewn wasteland now. Maybe you live in a creepy utopia where Questions May Not Be Asked. Maybe you don't write anymore - that's fine. But I want to remember how cool this all is right here, right now, being a writer on the web in the twenty first century.

Your pal,

You

P.S. I'm gonna leave some basic supplies bricked up in the wall of the bedroom. You know. Just in case. Zombies and stuff.