New Year, Refilling the Cup
Happy New Year!
How is your 2023? Mine is off to a slow start. And you know what, that’s okay.
Some people make big resolutions and leap into the New Year. If that’s you, that’s fabulous. And if you’re like me and roll a little more slowly into the New Year, how wonderful is that, too.
I also know that this may be the 100th “New Year” email you’ve gotten, and you may have a little email fatigue already in 2023. So for those of you looking for the short and sweet, here it is.
tl;dr
new VIP-Day book coaching, limited spots available, email me.
Book Club. Starting Feb 1. Here on Substack. Stay tuned.
If you’re looking for a little more detail and updates, read on…
Sad(ish) confession: I coasted through the end of 2022.
After a lovely, busy and family-filled Thanksgiving, I turned 45. I don’t like to celebrate my birthday on a good year, but this year was just… extra-uninspiring. It hit me like a train and absolutely took all the energy out of my December. I coasted into the New Year on fumes.
I’d like to say that I am fully recharged and raring to go for 2023, but in fact, I’m only just starting to fill back up. I’ve accepted that my January is like a Brita pitcher - slowly filtering out everything I don’t need or want. Patient. Calm. Effective. Don’t rush it.
And that’s okay.
In fact, I think it’s kind of great.
Slow means taking the time to plan for a calm and steady start to the year. It means making careful, thoughtful choices about where I spend my time and energy. It means prioritizing the projects I love and not rushing into too many things just because it’s the New Year.
So what are some of those projects and priorities, you might be wondering?
New Book Coaching Options
I’m prioritizing you, incredible writers, in two new and important ways this year.
While I’ll continue to offer developmental editing to writers with full manuscripts looking for a plan forward for the next draft, my book coaching options will change in 2023.
I’m introducing a new 1-day, VIP Writer option for those of you who need a jumpstart on your writing. You pick the day that your story begins.
Your day will start with a 30-minute kickoff call. We’ll talk about what you want for your book and the best way to kickstart it. I’ll give you prompts and ideas if you need them. And then you’re off to write, knowing I’m there for you all day long.
You’ll take the morning to write and check in with me any time via text or video message. I’ll check in on you, too, and cheer you on. After lunch, we’ll have another quick check-in call to talk about how it’s going. I’ll even take a look at your pages, if you want.
In the afternoon, it’s round #2 of writing. You’re going to hit your goal today, you just know it! And I’m still here, your accountability partner and motivator and any time you need me.
At the end of the day, we circle back one more time and talk about how awesome your work was today, how you can keep writing forward, what works for you, what your goals can be, and how you will achieve them.
Congratulations on your amazing day!
Your commitment: One, glorious day to kickstart your book or revisions. 5+ hours of writing; three 1:1 calls with me, your coach; accountability and support via text and video all day long; a plan forward for your story & revisions.
Special startup rate for Jan/Feb:
$199 Monday/Tuesday or $299 Sunday(Rates after March 1: $250 Monday/Tuesday or $350 Sunday)
Limited spaces available in the first quarter. Email me today if you are interested in kickstarting your story or revisions this year!I’ll no longer be offering a 1-month coaching option in 2023. We simply can’t be as successful together with short-term goals. I want you to write your best book, set your best plan, lay the foundations of your best process, and one month is just not enough time for that.
When you choose to work with me as your book coach, I am committing to you that your book and your writing life are now a priority in my life. And it’s a commitment you are making to yourself as well. So I am booking new clients in 3-month and 6-month coaching windows only. Your book is worth your time.Hit reply or email me if you want to get your book done in 2023!
A New Book Club
Believe it or not, I sometimes feel guilty for reading. I know it’s counterintuitive, but sometimes enjoying a good book feels like something I shouldn’t do too much of because I should “get back to work.”
I also know that nothing - nothing - makes a writer better than reading more. In my humble opinion (and that of many much more famous people), reading books - good and bad - in and outside of your genre - is the best way to become a better writer. Craft books can have their place, but reading words in order on a page, doing the work of making a story happen, is the #1 best way to improve your writing.
So in the spirit of reading more, reading without guilt, and reading to write better, I’m launching a “read more, write better” book club this year. We’ll read one book a month starting on Feb. 1 and we’ll use the chat here on Substack to talk about what we can learn and love from it. I’ll post questions and prompts each week and we’ll do a group chat at the end of the month to share our ideas and feedback.
If you have any suggestions for books that you think would be great for a conversation on writing, reply to this email or leave a comment on this post. I have some ideas of great nonfiction and memoir that I want to dig into (and a little fiction, too), but I’m definitely looking for a few more suggestions! Let me know!
I hope you join us. And bring a friend
Writing to writers
I just put the finishing touches on a chapter for an upcoming book on academic editing and coaching. I’m so excited about this project and so proud to be a part of it. I became a freelance coach and editor to support good writing both within and outside of academia. I’m thrilled to get the chance to connect with scholar-writers where they are through this book, and to let them know about all the professional support options available outside of their fields and departments. There is nothing more radical and necessary when you’re neck-deep in your academic writing than discovering someone who sincerely cares about your success as a writer and nothing else.
Publication: later this year.
Podcast Resolutions
I was so pleased to be a guest on David Berner’s Writer’s Shed podcast this month (he actually has a writer’s shed - how awesome is that!). We talked about New Year’s Resolutions for writers, and it’s worth a quick listen wherever you listen to your podcasts. Short, inspiring, and maybe you’ll get an idea or two to help you ease into 2023. Let me know what you think!
I guess that’s it for my slow roll into 2023. Keep an eye out for the “read more, write better” book club in February and make sure to follow me on Instagram for more ideas, tips & inspiration.
I wish you a wonderful and happy New Year and know that this will be a great year for your book.
Never forget: you are a writer!