I wrote about making mind maps in last Tuesday’s free bonus newsletter, “How to make a map of your mind.” I also recorded myself making one:
Newsletter 2.0
“Everything changes. Don’t be afraid.”
—Al Swearengen, Deadwood
My newsletter, which I’ve been mailing out since 2013, is now hosted on Substack.
Here’s the deal:
- The Friday “10 things worth sharing” newsletter will not change and it will always remain free to anyone who wants to sign up.
- On Tuesdays, I’ll send out a bonus email to paying subscribers. Sometimes it’ll be an illustrated essay, a tool I can’t live without, a technique I use, a favorite book from my collection, or another exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at my process. Paying subscribers will also get the ability to comment and join special discussion threads.
I want to note that I’m not taking any deal or any money from Substack. I picked them because I like their tool. It’s simple and clean and has what I need to keep doing the old thing but also do some new things.
The Friday newsletter means a lot to me and I love doing it and I want to keep doing it indefinitely. It’s my ritual, my way of looking back at the days and keeping track of the weeks. Lots of people tell me it’s become a ritual for them, too, which delights me.
I hope this new Tuesday email will be a fun place to experiment — to show my work — and we can maybe even build a little community and hopefully learn something from each other.
Thank you to everyone who’s read the newsletter over the years and shared it far and wide.
If you’re not signed up, you can subscribe now:
Free but not cheap
I’m enjoying this element of the Austin Chronicle redesign. Might steal it for my newsletter. (Reminder: if you’d like to support my work, buy some books or hire me to speak.)
The digestive system
A question I get asked a lot: “How do you manage to find all the stuff that you put in your weekly newsletter?”
I’ve gone over the how before, but the how might not be as interesting as the why.
The why is explained in my book, Show Your Work!:
Make stuff you love and talk about stuff you love and you’ll attract people who love that kind of stuff. It’s that simple.
The longer I write this blog and the newsletter, the more I try to focus on what I genuinely love. The stuff that really nourishes and feeds me.
I could probably grow a bigger “audience” with the most recent creativity tips and life hacks or whatever, but that’s not why I started doing this.
I started doing this to find my people. The people who care about the same things that I do.
In other words: You.
Thanks for being here.
How the magic happens
People often ask me how I manage to put together my weekly newsletter week after week, even on the road. Well, as you can see, sometimes I have help. (Ha!)