Embracing the Dummie in Me

“Why would we need you? There are no dummies here.”

The year is 2006 and I had just wrapped for the day presenting at a conference, recording interviews for a client, and giving a seminar on the potential of podcasting. One of the things I had talked about at length was the podcasting community — really cool people who loved talking shop, meeting other podcasters, and making connections.

Then I met the charming fellow quoted at the beginning of this blogpost.

What had caught my eye was a sandwich board pointing to a podcasting class being taught at a different event in the conference center. I was always excited to connect with others and see what their approach to podcasting was, so I swung by the classroom to make a quick introduction.

My introduction did not go well. At all.

ME:  Hi! How are you? I’m Tee Morris, the author of Podcasting for Dummies. *hands instructor a card* Nice to meet you.
INSTRUCTOR: *looks at card, then glares at me* What do you want?
ME:  *blinks* Um, nothing? I was just presenting at the other conference, saw podcasters here, and I thought I’d say “Hi.”
INSTRUCTOR: *still glaring at me* Why would we need you? There are no dummies here.
ME:  I…didn’t say there were. I just thought I’d come by and say—
INSTRUCTOR: *in an even firmer tone* There are no dummies here.
ME: *nods* Have a good class.

In retrospect, the instructor was probably thinking I was going to promote myself or Podcasting for Dummies, so he felt the need to protect his class. That doesn’t necessarily qualify him for a “Get Out Jail Free” card for being an inflamed asshole, but the curt dismissal did leave an impression that would last for years. It gave me pause over people’s perception concerning the For Dummies books and its writers. This grew more evident as numerous events I approached about presenting passed on me and my street cred, while local events didn’t even bother reaching out. Continuously being rejected, disregarded, and ignored as an authority on this topic, even with a #1 Nielsen Bookscan title on podcasting, started to wear on me.

Then there was the job search process. I would offer different businesses and institutions my background of a decade of digital content creation, telling potential employers “How many of your applicants are published authors in this field?” Responses ranged from “I don’t care about your books…” (an actual quote from an executive interviewing me for Social Media position) to “You lack experience…” (and that was for a Podcasting Producer position). I began to wonder if being affiliated with the For Dummies brand had been a colossal mistake and a waste of my time. Whenever I mentioned my work with Podcasting for Dummies, I could not help but feel as if I were being shaved, stripped, and paraded through the streets of King’s Landing.

“Why would we need you? There are no dummies here.”

But then 2015 happened.

I got my usual end of the year statement from Wiley — something you get from all reputable publishers, no matter the age of the book — that would let me know my sales numbers. This time, my statement came with a check. Not a huge check, but a check nevertheless. The 2^nd Edition had been published in 2008 and was in desperate need of an update, and yet I had a check in hand.

Months later, my first quarterly statement for 2016 arrived. With a check. Double the size of the 2015 one.

Then I received my next quarterly statement for 2016. With a check. Double the size of the previous one.

I called up my editor at Wiley Publishing (and keep in mind, I’ve not talked to him in years…) and his first words to me were “Yeah, we were just talking about you…” because Wiley also noticed the sudden uptick in sales for this nearly-ten-year-old title. That talk led to more phone calls, this time with Chuck Tomasi in the loop, and finally a new contract. Podcasting for Dummies: the 3^rd Edition was a go.

All this sounds cool, yeah, but there was some trepidation on my part. Did I really want to return to the place that gave my reputation what I believed to be something of a dent? None of these events I petitioned, no podcasting camps or seminars, no one in this field expressed an interest in extending an invitation for me to speak, lead a class, or host a webinar. Yet here I was, opening up archived files and digging into words I had written with Chuck and Evo Terra (1^st Edition, one of the early adopters, and good guy) once again. That was when I realized that while I have other published works in social media, Podcasting for Dummies was the only title that had gone to 2^nd Edition and was now headed to a 3^rd Edition.

So somebody was buying this book. A lot of somebodies.

Shortly after the 3^rd Edition of Podcasting for Dummies went to print, I was hanging out on Twitch with my buddy, Michi. We were chatting about my first few steps into this realm of streaming, and I remember saying “This reminds me a lot of when I started podcasting.” to which he replied, “My wife thinks that should be your next book — Twitch for Dummies.” I laughed it off, saying my recent run with PfD’s 3^rd Edition had fed that need. However, months later while hanging out on a friend’s stream, the topic turned to where to begin with Twitch. The channel’s host, Aura, said, “The best way to learn is to ask other streamers. We don’t have a book like Twitch for Dummies. Maybe we should.”    

A few more phone calls, a few messages to Aura, and contracts were issued. Twitch for Dummies would be my own undertaking, but following the words of Aura (my Technical Editor on this project), I turned to other streamers for their help. I asked what they recommended for gear, for ways to grow, and for pitfalls to avoid. This title was to be a look at my own journey through Twitch as well as a platform for streamers large and small to offer advice about streaming content. What happened unexpectedly was Twitch for Dummies becoming the love letter to a community that had welcomed me with open arms. This same community reached out and asked “What can we do to help?” which led to giveaways of signed copies on people’s streams. Months later, people are still discovering Twitch for Dummies and talking about it.

And then…

Over the summer, I was contacted by my editor at Wiley. He was in a bind and needed a chapter specifically about capturing and editing gameplay for the 2^nd Edition of Making YouTube Video for Dummies Jr., one of their more popular titles. There were some conditions:

• The video editing software featured had to run on Windows.
• The software had to be free.
• The chapter had to be written, edited, and approved within a week.

And my editor at Wiley thought “Let’s reach out to Tee.”

Within a week, I taught myself the basics of HitFilm Express (recommended by other video editors on my social media networks), wrote up a chapter, ran through edits, and finalized it. Later on, I met my editor from Wiley at GenCon and thanked him for the opportunity. He shrugged and said, “I needed someone I could trust. You were the first person to come to mind.”

And as I write this, I’m waiting to hear back from Wiley on a new proposal. I threw it out to ZGphoto and his Chat when people were struggling to get their Fireteam comms in order. Everyone agreed that my next title should be Discord for Dummies which could be, if it does happen, the first book to be published on the communications platform.

Sometimes, you don’t really grasp how fortunate you are. Whether it takes one interaction or a series of events, perspective is incredibly empowering. It also gives you the impetus to kick sense into yourself. The For Dummies line may be often joked about, parodied, and looked down upon on account of its brand; but the For Dummies line also remains to this day the top seller of “How To” books. Their authors have included PhDs in Physics and Mathematics, leading voices in the Computer Tech industry, and artists of all disciplines, all of them sharing their expertise and their experiences. Not only am I associated with these top tier authorities, Wiley Publishing knows I’m a For Dummies author they can trust.

All this took a while to sink in with me.   

“Why would we need you? There are no dummies here.”

So no it’s not me, it’s not Wiley, it’s them. It’s event organizers fixated on snake oil sheisters focused on the monetization of something they themselves really don’t grasp, the insecure instructors who establish their authority on a topic through intimidation, and those who wish they could have a For Dummies book in their bibliography devaluing this little triumph I have managed to repeat multiple times. If a conference passes on me, the reality is they just turned down a subject matter expert from the leading publisher of instruction books. Smart move. Not that I would expect any of these event organizers and webinar hosts to admit it. That’s a bit like admitting you’ve bought a For Dummies book.

Truth be told, some of my fans and friends have. Some have even owned it on my stream, and theirs. And for that, I say welcome to the family. Let’s make cool shit today with what we’ve learned. And if you got questions on podcasting, on streaming, on content creation, and (maybe) on Discord, I’m here to help.

My name is Tee Morris. I’m a For Dummies author. And pretty damn proud of it.