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From Parrots to Prose

A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * I was in a planning meeting last week with a client—with the CEO (we’ll call her Jack Sparrow) and a VP (we’ll call him Paulie). Everything that Jack Sparrow said, Paulie would repeat… slightly rephrased. “We should probably ask the Sales Team to weigh in,” Jack Sparrow said at one point. “We should run it up the flagpole,” echoed Paulie. A bit later: “Then again, no one actually makes rational decisions,” Jack Sparrow said. “We are ruled by our emotions,” Paulie added. Paulie didn’t add anything new to the conversation. It was like being on a Zoom with a parrot. Perched on Jack’s shoulder, Paulie restated what had already entered our earholes. He squawked away. The meeting dragged.

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A gratitude inventory (even without Taylor Swift tickets)

A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Hi, bezzie. A close friend had a birthday this week. In gratitude for the texts and messages that modern birthdays serve up… she wrote on Instagram: “I have… a wonderful husband, sparkling kids, cherished friends, fulfilling career, Taylor Swift tics….” (LOL on that last one. But also… I’m a little salty. Because I do not have Taylor Swift tickets.) My friend ended with “I matter to the world I have created for myself.” I loved that subtle reframing. What do we have in the world we’ve created for ourselves? It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., a time of gratitude and reflection. I suppose that’s why this issue is a little more introspective than most. This issue is also less

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7 of the Best Book Gifts for Writers, Marketers, Creators

A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Hi! Annta Claus here with an important message: Books make the best presents. Let’s check the list for reasons why… A book is personal. It’s chosen with someone specifically, squarely in your mind. A book has no expiration date. A book can be used/reused as many times as you want. (You can’t ever use it up!) And each time, it’s a slightly different experience. You can write in it. (You should write in it!) Books don’t require double-A batteries or USB chargers or adapters. You can mail books in the US mail at the lower “book rate” (AKA Media Mail).* * Trivia to toss out at the holiday table: In the 1930s, President Roosevelt created that preferred rate as a way to encourage literacy. Books are a

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10 Tools to Help You Avoid Procrasti-straction

A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Hello, Pumpkin Spice! I’m on my way to the Tiny House Studio to write this letter. Somewhere during the 372 steps across the lawn I get a notification from FedEx: A package I need has been delivered to the mailbox uptown. So I google: What time does the UPS store close? (6:30 pm) Should I combine that with the trip to pick up takeout—it’s Friday, takeout would be nice. (Or does that Italian place deliver?) (Do they still have the lobster mac and cheese?) Lobster. Did my brother try the lobster roll kit I sent him for his birthday? I text him. He did. He loved it. He sends me a series of high-fiving gifs. Or jifs. Wait didn’t the

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Should You Publish a LinkedIn Newsletter or a Traditional Newsletter?

A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Hello, Sweet Potato. Every week I get a half-dozen invitations to subscribe to various LinkedIn newsletters. Published by my LinkedIn connections, the newsletters have names like Shrek’s MarTech Update or Princess Fiona’s Marketing Trendz. You probably get them, too. The invitations arrive in the same spot we receive connection requests, which makes it one-click-simple to opt in. Many have massive subscriber numbers, in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Which makes me wonder… as the self-appointed Captain of Team Newsletter: Am I missing out? Are you? Should we all join Shrek, wade into the swamp, and also publish newsletters via LinkedIn? Wait wait wait: What about that age-old content marketing wisdom of… Never build a house on rented land? Usually, yes. But

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