October Mini-Edition: Free Stuff + Small Comforts

Giveaways, free writing session, gratitude, and the small comforts of fall

Greetings readers & writers,

Autumn always makes me think of cycles. Tipping from hot summer weather into cool fall, with the hint of winter to come, it’s also the season of my birthday and the Jewish season of renewal, reflection, and mourning. For many, myself included, it’s always been a time for contemplation. But the truth is, what with parenting during a pandemic, the existential crisis of our political system, and trying to fall asleep at night without getting sucked into doom scrolling, time feels both potent and fragile.

With all this in mind, I’ve been trying to find comfort in small moments (see below) and otherwise focus my time on essentials — family; health; community; voting; my current clients; and maybe, possibly, finishing this damn book— which is why, you’ll note, I’m not really teaching much this fall.

Another essential for me is this newsletter. It’s been a year since I started Books, Marketing & More (dude, what a year it’s been) and there’s been months when working on this newsletter has given me purpose and structure, when an email or comment from one of you has made my day.

So as a thank you I’m giving away a free marketing or query consult to two (2) lucky subscribers; one exclusively to legacy subscribers and the other open to all. Scroll down to the bottom for details. And as a bonus, the next installment will include my marketing tips for starting and growing a newsletter.

And if you also need to get your mind off of the news cycle and get a writing kick-in-the-pants, TOMORROW I’m leading one of Grub Street’s free Brown Bag Lunch sessions. Take 45 minutes to focus on generating pressure-free words and creative ideas. Bring a friend and a sandwich and register to write with me.

The writing is what keeps us coming back, after all. That’s why we’re all still in this business. Take care of your creative self.

What are your essentials this season? What’s bringing you comfort? Share in the comments!

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Upcoming (Virtual!) Workshops:

Events are remote and require registration unless otherwise noted!

• October 14 (12:30PM): Brown Bag Lunch Writing Session- FREE!

• Nov 12 (10AM): Speculative Fiction Variety Hour* - FREE! (email me for link)
  *actually 90 minutes of exploring topics in speculative fiction, genre, and writing

Need some one-on-one marketing a/o writing attention? I can help!

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ICYMI: Recent Newsletters

• Marketing When You’re Burned Out - 5 Actions You Can Take Now

• Worldbuilding, Workshops, Writing in Hard Times

• Book Orders, Diversity in Publishing, & Industry News

• Resources for writers on racism, diversity, & inclusion in writing and publishing

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A few of my favorite things: Small Comforts

• The poem ‘Fall’ by Edward Hirsch

Fall, falling, fallen. That's the way the season
Changes its tense in the long-haired maples
That dot the road;

• This seagull bookshopping

• A birthday box of tea from Brooklyn Tea

• Building fairy houses

• The reading delight that is The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

• Re-reading A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

• A new season (and all the previous seasons!) of The Great British Baking Show

• Last taste of summer grilled veggie sandwiches with pesto & goat cheese

• This recipe for glazed sweet potatoes with lentils & scallions

• A full, chocolate-y tray of Cook’s Illustrated’s Chewy Brownies

• This blog post from KatyKatiKate that puts words to what it feels like to parent in a pandemic

• One Funny Mother’s parody of a school committee Zoom call #laughcrying #mostlycrying

• The cosmic wonder of NASA’s photo and video library

• Antique-rose colored hydrangeas in bloom

• A tablespoon of nutella spread on a slice of bread

  

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  GIVEAWAY TIME! Subscribe to Books, Marketing, and More by Friday, October 23rd to enter a giveaway for one of two (2) FREE 30-minute marketing or query consults! We can talk events, marketing, query letters, agents, tea, whatever will help you envision your marketing and writing goals right now.

  

  One consult is open to all subscribers, to other is open to legacy subscribers who joined prior to 10/13. If you’re a legacy subscriber, sit back, relax, and THANK YOU!

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  Keep reaching out and supporting each other and your communities. Register to vote. Support #BlackLivesMatter and BIPOC creators. Wear a mask (like one of these Read Think Vote ones!) Always happy to boost any projects, resources, or new books you’re working on!

  All the best,
  ~Allison

  Writer & Marketing Coach
  Keep Writing, Keep Connecting! Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Website

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  Allison has happily made books her life’s work. She spent four years marketing and publicizing academic titles at The MIT Press before she went to work for Wellesley Books as a children’s bookseller and event coordinator. She is now living her dream: putting her B.A. in Creative Writing to good use as a novelist and as a writing/marketing coach for authors. She enjoys science fiction, cupcakes, and a hot cup of tea.