Labors of Love
. . . and the riddle of how to earn a living
Dear Readers,
I usually send you one newsletter per week every Tuesday. Today I’m sending an extra one. I wanted to address an issue that came up after the newsletter I sent out last Tuesday
Some readers let me know they were unhappy that I mentioned the books I’ve published. “Too much self-promotion,” they said. That was surprising to me, and I want to address it.
Here’s some context. Week after week, year after year since 1995, I have given away a substantial body of my writing, including horoscopes, essays, meditations, experiments in cagey optimism, and ongoing conversations about how to live a soulful life. All of the music I’ve created is also free online.
Believe it or not, I’ve been sending out a weekly newsletter since the year 2000. Only in recent years, thanks to the Substack subscription plan, has it become possible for me to earn money from it. I’m very grateful! The pandemic a few years back caused the demise of 15 newspapers where I had syndicated my astrology column for years. It was great to regain some of my lost income.
All of these online labors of love comprise a part of my offerings. And my books are another way I express myself. From time to time, I mention them here in the newsletter and on social media. These aren’t aggressive sales pitches, but simply a natural extension of the work many of you seek from me in the first place.
Writing books is part of how I make my living. It’s also how I deepen and expand the ideas I sketch in shorter forms.
In the case of the recent mention of my books in this newsletter, I wasn’t even asking anyone to buy them. I was offering substantial free excerpts so readers could explore the texts without spending a penny.
If even that feels too commercial for some, I understand. Everyone has different thresholds for what feels welcome in their inbox.
But I also believe it’s healthy and fair for artists, writers, and creators to let people know about the fuller body of their work—especially when so much of what they already give is freely shared.
In the future, I will continue to offer a massive amount of stuff for free. And yes, now and then, I will also let you know about the books, music, expanded audio horoscopes, daily text message horoscopes, and other plurk (playful work) I create, some of which is for sale.
Thank you to everyone who reads, reflects, questions, disagrees, and keeps the conversation alive. I’m grateful for your presence.
Wishing you rowdy bliss,
Rob
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If you’re one of those readers who is allergic to me mentioning the books and music I’ve created, you should stop reading now. I certainly won’t hold it against you, and, as always, I am grateful that you’re interested in my work at all!
Below this note, for anyone who isn’t offended by my scandalous act of mentioning my books, I’m offering more than 50 free things: music, book excerpts, interviews, essays, and other oddments from my ever-expanding laboratory of plurk. I recognize this may constitute an excessive outbreak of generosity or a suspicious surplus of creative output. For that, I can only offer my mock-apology: Sorry for being so prolific. Sorry for making so much stuff and giving so much of it away. I’ll try to be less absurdly productive in my next incarnation.
My Books:
Want to read free excerpts from my books? The links are below:
Free excerpts from Astrology Is Real: tinyurl.com/BraveBliss
Free excerpts from Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: tinyurl.com/FreePronoia
More free excerpts from Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: https://is.gd/Sny4dO
My entire book for free: The Televisionary Oracle: freewillastrology.com/books/oracle
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And/or buy the books here:
Astrology Is Real: https://tinyurl.com/BookshopAstrologyIsReal
Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaBookshop or the ebook here: tinyurl.com/PronoiaEbook
The Televisionary Oracle: https://tinyurl.com/BookshopTelevisionaryOracle
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For brief descriptions of the books, go here: https://is.gd/MGvyJP
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My Music and Spoken Word:
All my music is free here: https://soundcloud.com/sacreduproar
You can also listen to and buy my music here on Bandcamp: https://televisionary.bandcamp.com/
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Hear my album Beauty & Truth Lab here:
Bandcamp: https://tinyurl.com/BandCampBeautyTruth
Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/AppleBeautyTruth
iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/itunesBeautyTruth
Pandora: https://tinyurl.com/PandoraBeautyTruth
Qobuz: https://tinyurl.com/QobuzBeautyTruth
YouTubeMusic: https://tinyurl.com/YouTubeBeautyTruth
Here’s a whole lot of other free stuff I offer:
This newsletter!
My website: https://FreeWillAstrology.com
My three Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044285086948 and https://www.facebook.com/rob.brezsny and https://www.facebook.com/oroscopobrezsny
My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/robbrezsny/
My YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@BeautyAndTruthLab
My Threads page: https://www.threads.net/@robbrezsny
Audio and Video Interviews: https://tinyurl.com/InterviewRob
My Tumblr page: https://freewillastrology.tumblr.com/archive
Wikipedia page about my band: https://tinyurl.com/WEWwiki
The homepage for my band: https://freewillastrology.com/music
Want some inspiration as you compose your romantic invitations? Go here: https://freewillastrology.com/beauty/archives/14/elationship-love-spells-for-beauty-truth-lab-researchers
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Below is a partial list of my free audio offerings, including music and spoken word:
The blasphemously reverent “Prayer for Us” is here: https://tinyurl.com/PrayerToUs
Do you dare gaze into the abyss of happiness? https://tinyurl.com/GazeIntoAbyss
Maybe it’s a good time to think about Shadow Blessings: https://tinyurl.com/ShadowBlessings
All of us are born geniuses, but most of us have been de-geniused by the grind. Want to re-genius yourself? Guidance: https://tinyurl.com/ReGeniusYourself
Thousands of things go right for you every single day. Listen: https://tinyurl.com/GloryInTheHighest
Welcome to the Beauty and Truth Lab: https://tinyurl.com/BeautyTruthLab
You’re invited to celebrate Unhappy Hour, a ritual that gives you a license to whine and howl. Go here: https://tinyurl.com/HealingSadness
How much of the world can you love: https://tinyurl.com/WorldKiss
Want to get married to yourself? The ritual’s here: https://tinyurl.com/YouCanMarryYourself
Meditate on why this is a perfect moment: https://tinyurl.com/PerfectTrueMoment
Whenever we say “you asshole” in the future, what we will really mean is “my beautiful friend”: https://tinyurl.com/BlessedWithBliss
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Check out my LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/robbrezsny
Rob, I followed your weekly horoscopes for years, until I quit picking up the free paper it was in. About a month ago, a Facebook post of yours showed up in my feed. I was thrilled to see that I could get your work again, without having to add another newspaper to the recycling. All that to say, Promote all your work as much as you want. I don't mind. And when I can, I'll buy something. I appreciate that you put so much out at no charge to us consumers.
My friend, though I may not avail myself of EVERYTHING you post, especially for free, I am so grateful you do. I have followed you for many many years: especially during these turbulent times, a sane and measured voice is much needed.