NEWSLETTER UPDATE

New Year, New Website

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Happy New Year!

It's been a few weeks since I've sent an email. That's in part because we've been dealing with a seemingly endless series of travel hiccups related to Covid and crossing borders with Skutull. We are scheduled to arrive in London on January 6th, at which point I'm optimistic the drama will end. It's quite the tale and I plan to write about it in a future Nomad Life chapter. 

You might be noticing some changes to the newsletter, which is related to the other reason I haven't had much time to write. For the last several months, I've been working on a new website.

And today I officially launched it! 

After months of work, I have a redesigned layout, a set of decorative graphics, and several handy new features, such as the ability to increase the font size when reading stories. 

I'm both proud of the enhanced website and excited for the new ways it will enable me to share my writing.

SHOUTOUT

I want to give a huge shoutout to my friend and designer, Tyler Kruger, who is responsible for designing my logo, the decorative graphics, and most of my new website. If you ever need branding or design work, I highly recommend Tyler's design agency, Kruger Design. 

CHANGES TO THE NEWSLETTER

You may have also noticed the layout of the newsletter looks different than it used to. In conjunction with upgrading my website, I have also migrated my newsletter from Substack to Mailchimp. 

Substack was a good platform to get started on, but it doesn't have the features or customizability I need to make my vision come to life.

The only difference for you will be that the newsletter has an upgraded design (I love the new scroll with Skutull on the wax seal that Tyler made) and the "from" email will be info@zackthoutt.com instead of an anonymous Substack email. 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN 2022

2021 was a pivotal year for me. After over a decade of writing as a secret hobby, I started sharing some of my stories and was humbled by how many people took the time out of their lives to read them.

Thank you for your support. It keeps me motivated to continue further down this new road. The vast majority of writers never make a living off their work, and I don't plan to be an exception. What motivates me to write isn't money or status, but an enhanced understanding of life and connection to my community. I love writing, and I love it even more when something I wrote makes a positive impact on somebody else's day.

I have big plans for 2022...

I'm still living nomadically in Europe and plan to publish armchair travel stories to Nomad Life throughout the year. 

I have several short stories coming down the pipeline that I'm itching to share with you in the coming months.

And I'm in fairly deep into writing my first novel, which I plan to finish in 2022. The optimist in me thinks that I can do it by summer, but I want to prioritize quality over speed, so it's difficult to say when the book will be "complete." What I can share right now is that I've tentatively titled my novel, The War After War, and it's a mixed-genre story with elements of historical fiction, drama, and thriller.

WHAT'S NEXT IN YOUR STORY?

Now that you've listened to me ramble about my 2022 plans, what are your hopes and dreams for the coming year? 

Reply to this email with your answer or send me a message on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. 

Happy 2022!