36 Comments

Oh, what a bummer! I always loved reading the essays and I thank you for sharing so many wonderful pieces. This series had a real impact on me. (In fact, I just read and LOVED Anne of Green Gables this month bc of the BTMU essay about the book!)

Looking forward to what is to come, and if you know any SubStacks that are doing a similar concept to BTMU, please share! 🥰

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Aug 27Liked by M. E. Rothwell

I love the idea of having projects for a time, and then moving on to the next one. This one was a huge success! Can’t wait to see your next one!

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author

Thanks Elle!

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This was one of the first communities I joined on Substack last year, and it’s meant so much. Some subscribers have come my way through it, which, I’m beyond grateful for. But it’s given me so much more than that: In publishing my essay, BTMU was the first to give me any confidence to think I had any business being on this platform in the first place. For that, I’ll never forget it. Thank you, so sad it’s going, but can’t wait to see what comes next!

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Aww Amelia, I’m so pleased to hear BTMU did that for you. Thank you so much for that lovely comment!

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Will it still be hosted here as a continuation of what has come before (BTMU) but with different name? That would keep things simple for me: not having to change subscription and still having access to past articles.

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yes it will!

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Yeah, looking forward to something new.

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If I ever write in my publications about the books that "made" me, its' spirit will live on.

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Aug 26Liked by M. E. Rothwell

oy

but/and looking forward to,

yours, thankful and excited

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'oy' is right 😉

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Aug 27Liked by M. E. Rothwell

I loved the whole idea of BTMU from the start and was honored to be included. It was my first foray into anything collaborative here, and I so appreciated your encouragement. I always enjoyed reading the posts to discover not only books but other great Substacks. Can’t wait to see what unfolds next. <starts new magical realist story draft>

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Aug 26Liked by M. E. Rothwell

Loved BTMU. It will be interesting to see what’s next. I’m also a big fan of short fiction.

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It was such an honour to be featured on the great BTMU! Sad to see it go, but totally understandable, and what will rise from the ashes sounds fantastic!

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honored to have been a small part of this experience - cant wait to see what weird stuff comes next

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Sad to hear this! FYI, as a reader the essays came too frequently for me. One per week would have been a more digestable pace.

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founding

Are you considering read-alongs led by domain experts? Best example is Simon Haisell's Footnotes and Tangents. where I'm doing his year long read of the Cromwell Trilogy. It's a lot of work to produce substantive, weekly essays that complement the book. And Simon is also doing War and Peace!

I think it would be a natural segue for you.

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Aug 26Liked by M. E. Rothwell

Brainstorm: how bout new version of publication is just about blood meridian followed by reader responses bein like ya blood meridian so good bro!

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author

How did you guess exactly what is coming next? Are you the Judge?!

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Aug 26Liked by M. E. Rothwell

Everything has an endpoint and recognising it is a skill. I'm looking forward to the next iteration - especially it is about the weird and the wonderful.

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Aug 28Liked by M. E. Rothwell

What an honor it was to be a small part of the BTMU universe!!!

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