Short articles, my shorter attention span, and some podcasts
Hi ,
Alright friends, first thing first - a big thanks for the response from the last bookmark. I had several emails and messages from people about the act of slow gift giving, especially handwritten cards. And a very special thanks to the friend who decided that my email was a clearly a cry for help from lockdown and sent me some flowers 😂
As we're SOMEHOW nearly half way through the year (ridiculous), the next bookmark (28th June) will be a bit of a round up of the last six months of reading and listening. I might do something special to celebrate. Who knows. It'll be a surprise for all of us.
In the meantime, this week I've got something a little different - a few articles I've been enjoying recently. I seem to be going through an 'article reading' stage at the moment. Maybe it's my need for a holiday that means my attention span is waning, or the fact that I'm just taking in so much content as I try and stuff my brain with creative inspiration (a sure fire way to not create anything) on a learning binge, that I can only handle short spurts of reading. Either way, I'm ok with it. Hopefully you'll enjoy these little pieces too.
Finally, if you want to WRITE a book, make sure you keep scrolling to find out more about a free workshop my friend Kelly Irving is running this week.
In search of attention spans,
Steph
PS. To borrow from Austin Kleon (and everyone else who borrows this from Austin Kleon), this newsletter and the podcast are 'free but not cheap'. You can support their creation by purchasing your next book through my affiliate stores with Book Depository (global) or Bookshop (US), buying me a coffee or leaving a podcast review on the website. Thanks!
Reading round up: some articles
1) This New Yorker article containing a pep talk from the wall you feel like hitting. Very relevant for the wild-eyed Victorians I'm speaking to at the moment.
2) And this article by one of my favourites, Austin Kleon, riffing on the often-used phrase that everyone has a book 'in them'... and maybe it's the other way around.
3) There is an article in the latest Frankie Magazine (#102) by writer Emily Naismith lamenting the fact that everything fun happens in the evenings. She asks why everything can't be wrapped up by say 7pm, for those of us who like to go to bed early? She calls for more parties, concerts, and clubs that start at 11am, kick on until the afternoon, and wind down at a sensible time. Sadly the article doesn't exist online yet, so you'll have to just enjoy my small summary of it.
(True story: I contacted Emily afterwards and suggested that we should be friends... I'm still waiting for an invite to her next 11am party, but I live in hope).
PS. if you'd like to take better book notes this year, you can enjoy a 15% discount on your very own copy of the Archley's Book of Books book journal, here^.
So, you want to write a book?
Free workshop for writing a readable book with Kelly Irving
I know that several of you (yes, I'm looking at you) have aspirations to not just read books, or read about books, but to write your own book.
If adding 'author' to your bio is on your bucket list but you don't know where to start, you might want to make that happen with the help of a best-selling book coach.
Kelly Irving (who you might remember from her interview of me for episode 99 of the podcast) has been in the author-coaching business for over 10 years and has NEVER had a book pitch rejected by a publisher.
(Ever)
Everything she shares is proven, very practical and gets both writers and readers results. I've talked about several of the books she worked on, including Magnetic Stories by Gabrielle Dolan, and It's Who You Know and Be Brilliant by Janine Garner.
This week Kelly is running a free live workshop: 5 Secrets to Your Successful Book: What Every Expert Author Must Know and Action.
Kelly will coach you through:
How to nail the one book idea that will fly off the book shelf, which has got *nothing* to do with marketing or Amazon algorithm hacking
5 surefire strategies that guarantee consistent progress on your book in an accelerated time frame
Must-avoid mistakes that sabotage so many authors, and what you should be focusing on instead
The #1 go-to strategy to stand out in a sea of “same-same”, (and, more importantly, understanding why this is so you can leverage it)
This is the first time she’s run this updated workshop in 2021 and she won’t run it for another six months, so sign up to secure your spot (as it will be popular).
SIGN UP HERE
(And yes, it will be recorded if you can’t make the live session)
Ear food
🎙Podcast: Not Overthinking Podcast with Austin Kleon - this long form conversation between Austin and Ali, will have you reaching for your notes app/notepad to capture the nuggets of wisdom. Covering everything from creativity, writing, life, and work, it's a joy to listen to. (Listen)
🎙Podcast: Unmistakable Creative with Andre Norman - Andre Norman went from serving a 100-year prison sentence, for a string of violent crimes, to turning his life around and gaining a fellowship to Harvard. A seriously thought-provoking conversation covering racism, trust, systems, change, relationships, and transformation. (Listen)
🎙Podcast: Chat 10 Looks 3 - This instalment of Crabb-and-Sales-filled-fun covers a conversation about author Rachel Cusk and the fascinating relationship she has with literary genres. She fell out of love with fiction, feeling it was all too fake, but was lambasted for her very personal memoirs. So she's moved onto a fiction/non-fiction genre, basing her latest novel on a true story that's not well known. (Listen)
Meanwhile, on the bookshelf
Recent Steph's Business Bookshelf podcast episodes, in case you missed them...
Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide by John Cleese
(Listen)
Rare Breed by Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger
(Listen)