Hi Bleeders!
It’s officially been a month since Girl Gone Wild came out—and wow, what a rollercoaster.
This book was the most preordered title at TrioHousePress, landed positive reviews from Publishers Weekly and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, got love from my hometown and nearby papers, and sparked a whole run of podcast conversations. And now I’m finishing the audiobook and preparing to head out on book tour in a little over a week.
What’s been especially empowering is seeing how my stint selling T-shirts on the Girls Gone Wild tour has transformed from a horrible experience into various works of art across mediums over time. I made lemonade out of one of my sourest lemons.
Over almost fifteen years of iteration, this story has lived a lot of lives along the way:
Back in 2012, I wrote an early essay in the now-defunct Nerve.
Slate published the following essay in January 2025:
✍️ I Was a Girls Gone Wild Merch Girl. I Quickly Realized That My Job Was About More Than Selling Booty Shorts.
Last May, I reported a Canadaland podcast episode:
🎧 #1160 Confessions of a Girls Gone Wild Merch Girl
On my podcast Private Parts Unknown, I shared one of the full interviews from my reporting:
🎧 Girls Gone Wild, Culture Gone Wrong & the Flash That Lasts Forever with Leslie Lebowitz
All of these are different expressions of the same obsession. And because I just can’t leave a rich, multifaceted story alone, I’ve also written a related TV pilot—and I have other plans for the future.
Which is exactly what I’m teaching in my WritingWorkshops.com seminar:
✨ The Multi-Passionate Writer’s Life
🗓️ Tomorrow, Saturday, May 2nd from 11am-1pm PT
📍 Live on Zoom (recording available)
💸 $99
This class is for writers who resist the “pick one lane” advice. If you’ve ever thought, this idea could be an essay, a podcast, AND a screenplay—you’re my people.
We’ll cover:
how to develop one core idea across multiple mediums
how to strategically and efficiently produce and repurpose your work
how to build a sustainable, multi-hyphenate creative ecosystem
tools, protecting your rights, selling/monetizing your work, etc.
And it’s a small group, so you’ll have time to ask questions about your specific projects.
👉 Sign up now for The Multi-Passionate Writer’s Life
If you’re a fledgling or aspiring multi-passionate, I’d love to see you there.
XO,
Courtney
How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought
Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network & Business
12 Months to a Full Memoir in Essays Incubator: Write Your Memoir in a Year
What’s the story or experience you keep coming back to in your work?
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.