What do you want to talk about?
First, welcome to the new subscribers who may have seen my tweet calling out Tiago Forte:
Please read the full thread before you think I’m a jerk.
Then go buy Building a Second Brain. I’ve almost finished the book and Forte’s framework has become an instant and welcome addition to my information overload.
Second, what do you want to talk about?
Right now, hit reply and let me know what you’d like to see in this newsletter.
If you’re new or don’t remember me, I’m a full-time editor for a nonprofit. I previously freelanced as an editor (which I still do on a very limited basis).
My nominal claim to fame is being an early developmental editor on Atomic Habits.
And I once worked as a proofreader for the Texas Senate.
I’ve self-published my own books and have co-written and ghostwritten others, some of which were traditionally published.
My longer bio is available here.
I initially relaunched this newsletter in late December because I missed writing about writing and connecting with writers like you. I send once a week. What day?
There’s no telling.
But this first year is all experimentation because I want to send what’s helpful—which means I hope you always feel free to reply.
I want to be a valuable input into your writing life so you can create more valuable output.
Initially, I thought this email would lean more toward the mechanics of writing—how to edit well, a quick tip here and there.
But my articles have been more about encouragement than arguing for the Oxford comma.
I say all of that to say this:
Do you want encouragement, teaching, or both?
What else related to writing, editing, or publishing would you like to know more about?
Hit reply and let me know.
💻 Good reads
Jane Friedman is relaunching a service she previously provided in critiquing first pages. It’s free and includes nonfiction—but your work and your edits will be published on her site. Here’s the sign-up form. Note: the work won’t only be done by Jane; she’s using a stable of editors. I can’t wait to see this series!
I had great success a few years back running Facebook ads for my late uncle’s murder mystery novel, and I thought about relaunching those ads—until I read “The increasing importance of newsletters for selling books.” Aside from the increasing difficulty of even paying to rise above the noise of online ads, the most salient point to me was this: “The most successful newsletters involve actually expanding on the topics that are explored in the books.”
🔥 This week’s best passage
“Think about a dinner party,” he says. “We take so much time cleaning our house and cooking the food, but then we just let conversations run rampant and stay shallow. But we can go deep. We can edit. We can alter the course of the conversations and make connections for life.” —Jessica Pan, Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes
🧹 Housekeeping
Let’s connect on Twitter.
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