Tag: writing

Newsletters, Podcasts, and Subscribers (oh my)

~ meximinnesotana ~ Leave a comment

Hello Blogging Friends,

Hope all is well in your world. I’ve been pretty silent here for a while. And it’s because I’ve been thinking.

I’ve also been writing on another platform, Substack.

I’m not a big believer in paid newsletters. Truthfully I’m actually kind of SICK of newsletters. They crowd my inbox, the detritus of my old interests. But it’s strangely hard to unsubscribe from them all. Because, you know, there just might be SOME juicy tidbit here or there. Once in a while.

Oh, who am I kidding? Anyone know of an AI service that can unsubscribe from everything that we are not opening at least 30% of the emails?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Now that I’ve been podcasting at Somatic Wisdom for 8 months, and I’ve generated ~45 episodes of content, I am truly loving the audio medium. It’s been joyful to write solo episodes, along with expanding to interviews. There were five in the first season (out of 36 episodes), and I think there will be at least 8 in the second season (~24 episodes planned).

And so far there were over 700 downloads in February alone, and 3k downloads in total for the podcast! I’m flabbergasted, given that there are 4 million total podcasts out there. Of course, only about 17% of those are regularly releasing content. That means there are ~680k different options out there for listeners, so I don’t take for granted when people choose to follow my channel.

I realize I’m still a “small player” in the podcast world, and I have no idea who listens. Still no written reviews on Apple podcast where it matters as far as scaling. But no worries. When we deliver good content over time, I believe that’s how we attract resonate listeners.

This was one reason I opted to start the Somatic Wisdom Substack page. Several of my mentors and people I follow have been opting to publish their work in multiple formats, like Tara McMullin and Jenny Blake.

Multiple Formats for Many Different People
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

For those of us who are business owners, consultants, coaches, and content creators, we need to have efficient ways to get our overall message out there. It makes abundant sense not to complicate things, and to free our time by approaching this more strategically.

I’ve deeply loved the ability to explore here on this blog since 2017. And for those of you reading, thank you for being here, and for engaging in my work. This blog taught me about what kinds of work energize me most (coaching, writing, and speaking about employee wellbeing) and now those are the things that are bringing in income for me.

Though I’m not yet raking in the big bucks, I feel grateful to have had a platform to help me navigate the huge career shift I was in from 2018-2022. Now it’s time to double-down on what’s working and cull back some areas where I no longer want to invest.

Within the next 3-6 months, my intention is to either archive this blog or to migrate the work. I haven’t decided yet.

I’ve not been successful at managing a newsletter related to my work, and I suspect Substack will make that much easier. It’s in a pilot/test phase. I like the notion that it’s a very voluntary process, and I don’t feel like I’m cajoling anyone into giving me their email address.

Your attention is precious, and I don’t want to clutter up your mailbox, unless I’m providing you 10x the value for opening that message.

Do you mind weighing in on a few questions (since you’re here) about the newsletters and subscriptions you most love and value?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I’m curious: what do you like about them? What drives you crazy? What do you wish they did more of? Less?

Wishing you well for March. I’m pledging to come back once a month here, until I make my final decision about where to migrate (if I do).

Thank you again for being here, being part of my writing community and for reading and/or commenting on my work. It’s helped me become a more thoughtful writer, and I deeply appreciate your contributions to that process.

Much love,

Cristy

Celebrating Small Wins – Writing Clarifies Thinking

~ meximinnesotana ~ 5 Comments

I posted a little “100 word story” on LinkedIn last week on celebrating small wins. It reminded me how as writers, we almost never know how our short posts or observations will resonate with readers. Sometimes a surprising thing will get a lot of likes. On the other hand, something we wrote that we “felt” as profound is met with crickets…

This is why blogging can be such a great practice for testing new material as we keep writing on longer topics. For one, we don’t know the algorithms that social media uses. In fact, these algorithms are always changing. So it’s possible (and likely) our people didn’t even see the post. Another reason is that time of day and time of week determines when our readers are most available. How would we even know that if we didn’t try different posting schedules? I love it that WordPress has taken my 750+ posts in the last 4 years and has a dashboard for when people are most likely to read. How fascinating!

As we work on larger projects like books, more complex than blog posts, we will inevitably run into roadblocks. I hit a big one this past week as I thought I would get to the “close to final” version ready for proofreading. At first I got very frustrated because it meant I would miss an “internal” deadline I had set for sending it to my advance reader group and my editor. Then I felt grateful as I realized how writing (and particularly editing) can clarify our thinking.

For a 3 minute video on this topic, click here.

I don’t want to send out a book with a section that isn’t working for me. If it doesn’t work for me, it certainly won’t work for my readers. So while the self-imposed timeline was not met, the more important thing is that I feel the writing is in integrity with what I think and believe (especially for nonfiction).

This will not be my only book. I’m starting to see this one as the cork on the champagne bottle. There’s bubbling stuff in there that I want to serve up, both fiction and non-fiction. This is not my magnum opus, but rather a place marker along the writing journey.

Care to share your small wins for the day or week with us? Drop a comment below!

Be well,

Cristy

SelfPubCon in less than 15 hours! 4am for me!

~ meximinnesotana ~ Leave a comment

Hello Friends,

I am not sure how many of you are in the Self-Publishing space or consider yourselves “indie” authors. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Self-Publishing Advice Podcast from ALLi. For a reasonable annual fee that works out to be less than the cost of paperback book per month (at least the trade paperbacks), they have a treasure trove of resources for their members.

Free 3-day pass if you become a member of ALLi.

Since I’ve been working away at my first book, I have delighted in the idea of being my own book publisher. While I realize the final product will be different from something that Penguin Random House or HarperCollins would produce, I hope any neurodiverse folks like me (or anyone who feels like “cover” some aspect of their identity at work) receive it as an offering of love.

Though I realize the knowledge sphere (and the blogosphere) is a crowded and noisy space, but it excites me that past gatekeepers are so much less relevant than they used to be. I won’t give up reading the authors I love (of course) and enjoying books that are produced in a high quality way. I squeal with delight when Liz Gilbert, Martha Beck, Glennon Doyle or Celeste Ng publish anything new. And yet, how many undiscovered voices become discoverable when the (largely) white, male, neurotypical, ableist gatekeepers no longer get to bar the doors ?

I realize there is potential for right-wing scary types of people to publish as well. Hate speech is also increasing in this time of algorithms and weird amplifications of dangerous ideas (maybe that’s what led to the January 6th debacle at the U.S. Capitol). To me that makes it even more imperative that marginalized voices, whether they are BIPOC sisters and brothers, disabled, neurodiverse, non-binary or LGBTQ+, or any other flavor of human can connect and form communities.

Self-publishing is one of those means, and I think it holds the potential to amplify voices that publishers have scoffed at in the past: “There’s no market for that!”

Just because they cannot “see” or acknowledge our market does not mean we do not exist. And as the marketplace of ideas allows for more perspectives, it excites me to imagine the possibilities for the more sensitive and imaginative folks in the world to find their voice.

Okay, rant over. Anyone else joining me for this one? Or will I be alone at 4am central time with my coffee and in my pjs?

Cheers, happy writing & happy weekend, whatever is ahead for you!

cristy@wedefydefinition.com

Shipped draft to my editor

~ meximinnesotana ~ 5 Comments

Whew!

Even though my manuscript draft likely needs substantial developmental edits, it felt great to ship it out today.

About two weeks ago I got a strong impulse to find an editor. A couple of friends had volunteered to read the draft, but I realized after I had a few friends read the introduction the first time, that I really needed to have someone with experience to help me edit. I got great feedback, but it was not detailed enough to make decisions on the overall book.

About 15 years ago I finished the draft of my master’s thesis. It was only 40 pages, and it nearly killed me to write! I sometimes tell the story that it cost me my first marriage, my home and my job. But that’s probably an exaggeration. Just my marriage and my home then… 😉

This time around the book will likely be 110-130 pages. All in all, it’s a short book. But still, the number of decisions it takes to complete a project like this felt overwhelming to me. So I decided I would hire someone to professionally edit given that I am self publishing this time. Even if it costs me something, I want to spare my reader too much wandering from the main point.

  • I write kinda compulsively, so you can understand how an editor might need to figure out all the crap I need to cut!

So I posted a little ad on LinkedIn on September 10th for a freelance editor and in 2 hours I had 8 applications! Only two of the prospects actually read the posting carefully enough to see that I asked them to email me if they were interested. She reached out to ask about the budget and I told her I have no idea what I’m doing. But her quote (per word per round of editing) sounded very reasonable!

We decided on a small test project (an article for LinkedIn on the Shapes We Ask of Our Bodies) and I sent her $50 via Venmo for some accountability on that project. She gave me a wonderful edit and quick turnaround on that one. I was so happy, I Venmo’d about half of what I expected the next edit to cost me just to give myself the accountability to get it done by a week later.

So now my self-imposed deadline has been met. I expect I will also work with her on a second edit for line and copy editing and possibly a third for the proofread as well.

My relief is palpable. Nobody has read the entire thing, but I am confident that with her compassionate surgery on this project, it will turn out so much better.

Question to you: If you write books, do you work with an editor? Why or why not? And how did you find them?

Cheers,

Cristy

P.S. If you want to work with someone for an article or book edit, check out Kay Grey’s website. It may have been her amazing shot of her bookshelves that sold me… anyone that reads that much and has already improved my work is a great find. I just hope she doesn’t find the book-length project to be too scattered. I want to be worthy of the editor’s time!

On the joy of missing out

~ meximinnesotana ~ 1 Comment

Hi Friends,

I just returned from a few days of blissful off-grid time for my birthday over the weekend. I was in a tiny cabin near the north shore of Lake Superior without wifi, electricity and running water.

Full confession here: I charged my cell phone via my car charger when I went for visits to “town” or picked up groceries or had a spot of lunch in the places nearby. And I used the flashlight feature when I lost light in the evenings and still wanted to read.

But for the most part, I moved to the slower rhythms that all of the usual over-stimulation does not seem to allow in our post-modern life, even post-COVID-19. It was amazing and wonderful, highly restorative.

During the first day I struggled with not being able to “post and share” about my adventures. But after days 2 and 3 I relaxed into the rhythm of delightful simplicity, the way we do on a vacation where we have not planned much, besides the bliss of letting our minds wander.

If you have time this summer to spend a long weekend, or even an entire week off the usual “grid” of social responsibilities and obligations, I highly recommend it. I’ll be sharing via LinkedIn and my other web presence a few things I observed during that time. I’ll probably post some photos here once I get around to indexing them… but today I am embracing my slowness.

In the meantime, I wish you much off-grid time to daydream, write, read and be WITH YOURSELF during this summer season.

Much love,

Cristy

Starting the query journey

~ meximinnesotana ~ 4 Comments

Hi Friends,

I hope you are well and enjoying the glorious month of May! Last week I reached out to my networks to ask for a few people who are willing to read my query letter draft before I start reaching out to agents.

When I began researching agents via QueryTracker, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a few prospects that seem like a fit for my manuscript. I looked on Manuscript Wish List for more information and got very excited. So I set about researching how to write a query letter.

I am curious about the “hook” and wish I could read examples of others’ winning query letters. If any of you writers out there have advice, I am open to your advice!

Cheers & happy writing,

Cristy

P.S. I have received both of my vaccine shots! So excited to be able to get out and about again, though this introvert will be pacing herself. Wishing you health and wellbeing for the season ahead.