process of writing Archives

How to Turn Editing Into the Best Part of Writing

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. * * * Long before I wrote books and your favorite newsletter 😊, I wrote for a financial newspaper about Federal Reserve regs and housing prices. A high point of my career there was a headline I wrote for a story about NACHA (the National Automated Clearing House Association, a US electronic payment regulatory system). The headline: “NACHA Business.” My pun game was strong even then. The headline. I loved it. The editor did not. (Still salty about it TBH.) * * * Eventually I went on to work for the Boston Globe, among other pubs. And while I left journalism a long time ago, writing for newspapers gifted me the biggest lesson of my career. The lesson: No one is […]

What I Learned in 3 Years of Writing a 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. * * * Three years ago this week—in January 2018—I decided to start a newsletter. Why? I wanted connection—not one-to-many social media connection, but me-to-you direct connection. Three years ago, I also realized a fundamental truth: The most important part of the newsletter is the letter, not the news. There were other, secondary reasons I thought of later—some much later. I wanted the joy of making something that was 100% mine. I wanted to understand how to build momentum with an email list (and truly understand, from the inside-out, what works). I wanted to experiment, to play, to have fun. I wanted to feel a little more alive. Does that feel like a ridiculously tall order for an email ferpetesake? Especially

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