What I'm Into (March & April 2017)

Welcome to Spring, y'all! Storms are popping, pollen is invading (trust me, I can't breathe) and it's time for another edition of What I'm Into this month -- a special double issue since I lost the March version and found it again... March 31. Oops! Off we go! 

Roomba

Last year, after a terrible kitchen leak, we put hardwoods throughout our house. I soon had a crick in my back from trying to keep them clean. Did I mention we did *dark * hardwood? It’s absolutely gorgeous, but the upkeep is incredibly rigorous. My folks gave us a Roomba for Christmas, and I have never been so happy with a gadget in my life. A remarkably clever device, it has our floors looking just mopped all the time now.
 

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Happy Tales Humane

A little over three years ago, when we were looking for a kitten to adopt, we were divinely led to Happy Tales Humane in Franklin, Tennessee. They are a wonderful no-kill shelter, doing an amazing job of helping homeless animals in Middle Tennessee. When we lost both my brother’s cat Miraj, and my parents' cat Jamocha, in a four-day span last month, I had to do something, so I made donations in both of their memories to this great organization. I’ll tell you, when Jade passed, a reader of mine made a donation in her name to their shelter, and I can not begin to tell you how touched I was by the gesture. It opened the door to a beautiful friendship, too, so win-win for everyone.

I wish I could donate to every shelter, everywhere. Drop a few dollars at your local one this week—or even take them some old blankets, towels, newspapers. Anything helps.

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Mountains

I spent part of the month out west on a writing retreat. I was hoping for some major snow: the brisk air, snow-capped peaks, evergreens and frozen lakes are always a true balm for my soul. It was not to be, though. It was warm, really warm, like take a wander in the woods in shorts and hope the bears aren't waking up warm. Even my research trip to Viail was done in short sleeves. But, it didn't matter. It was gorgeous out, and I locked away, and just the mere thought of snow possibilities helped me write a TON––and the first draft of this book will be done next week!

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Grahams 20 Year Tawny Port

I’ve always used sworn that I don’t like anything but Vintage port, and boy, was I wrong. We had dinner at Flemings Steak House a few weeks ago and our server, who was exceptionally knowledgeable, even for a decent wine restaurant, talked me into it. I am so glad she did. It’s sheer perfection—and to be honest, I think I like it better than the Vintage. Old cat, new tricks…

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Reading Glasses from Zenni Optical

Don’t laugh. A few years ago I switched to progressive lenses for my full-time glasses, and I have to say, it’s been lovely not to have to remove my glasses every time I need to read a book or a label. The thing is, I still have a little trouble reading in them for prolonged periods, most especially print books, so I get straight readers from Zenni and use them if I’m settling in for a few hours reading.

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Nordstrom NYDJ Jeans

Soft. Stretchy. LONG ENOUGH (a problem I have with everyone’s jeans—hello, 34” inseam). Tons of colors and styles. I am in love with these jeans. I’m trying—trying—to get “dressed” to go to work each day, as part of my home streamlining. In order to empty my closet, my new rule is—if I can’t leave the house in it, it’s time for it to go. But… I refuse to sacrifice the comfort of my yoga pants for daily wear. These jeans fit the bill, and I don’t feel weird running around town in them. 

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Newton

I have a new email program. Part of my personal workflow is a commitment to digital minimalism, and that means I don’t introduce new apps unless they are going to solve a need I have, not one I might have in the future. Last year, Gmail suddenly started sending all my website email to trash, so I missed a bunch of fan letters. Not good. I moved everything to Outlook, which, while powerful, I hated, because it’s just so busy. So Apple Mail became the default, and it works great except for two things: the font on the sidebar is about 8, which is ridiculously small (see reading glasses above), and you can’t hit Undo once the message is sent. I have a tendency to write and hit Send, then proof as the message goes out, which means, yep, you guessed it, errors everywhere. In Gmail I could click undo and fix, but in Apple Mail, I can’t.

Welcome to Newton. It’s like the Sparrow of old looks-wise, but even more minimalist. It has Undo Send. It has Snooze. It’s integrated into everything I do, so it lessens my work time. It’s freaking brilliant. And so elegant, and easy. It’s a solution I’m happily PAYING for — yes, instead of a free email program, I actually forked out some cash for this puppy because it’s so powerful and clean. A big win for us zen minimalist emailers! 

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What are you guys into these days?

Sunday Smatterings (The Kerr Edition)

Hey, peeps! It's me, The Kerr. How's it going? Anybody play a good April Fool's joke on you yesterday? I have quite a few pranksters in my life, so I'm always on high alert on April 1. Nothing's happened . . . yet. There could be some aftershocks that I just don't know about. We'll see. 🤔

Anywho, let's get onto the links!
 

What I'm Eating

You guys. I got ridiculously good strawberries from Costco this week. Once again, all hail Costco. 🎉

I like mixing savory with sweet. Scratch that—I love it. I'm from West Tennessee, where we know our barbecue, and we make our sauce pretty sweet. I've carried this into adulthood, and on Monday, I accidentally threw together the best savory/sweet salad: spinach, sliced strawberries, goat cheese, avocado, pecans, and chicken breast—and it's topped off with balsamic vinegar and basil olive oil.

I have eaten this salad every day since. I'm not sorry about it.

PS: I've also been chugging Earl Grey like mad. Because if I drank coffee all day, I would never sleep.

What I'm Playing

While I've been working this week, I've tuned into Spotify's Your Favorite Coffeehouse station. Mellow and unobtrusive—that's what I like when I'm doing non-writing work. (confession: I can't listen to music with words and write at the same time. Cannot do it.)

If you like singer/songwriter or acoustic-y things, check that station out.
 

What I'm Reading

I'm a sucker for narrative nonfiction. I found STRANGERS TEND TO TELL ME THINGS by Amy Dickinson on a whim after I read fell down the bowels of the Internet and found an Ask Amy column that make me giggle something fierce. The book's on my Kindle, ready for me to dive into. I'll let you know how I feel about it soon.

Bonus read: this brought me to tears. 

What I'm Watching

You know those authors who, when they tease a new book cover, you drop everything you're doing, hop to your favorite retailer, and click Pre-order?

That's how I feel about Liane Moriarty. 

I. Love. Her.

So it's no surprise that I've watched her novel-turned-HBO-mini-series, BIG LITTLE LIES, faithfully on Sunday nights right when it comes on. (When's the last time you watched a scripted show on broadcast television right when it aired? Yeah, me too.) It's 90% faithful to the book, which I and the rest of America loved. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Laura Dern are remarkable in this, as is Alexander Skarsgård, who does not have the easiest role to pull off (just watch it—you'll see what I mean). And truly, between the luscious scenery of coastal Monterey, CA, the beautiful homes on the ocean, and the gorgeous clothes, it's a lifestyle junkie's dream. 

The plot also happens to be top-notch, full of twists and turns and psychological thrills. I bet you'll probably like it, too. If you haven't read the book, go get it.
 

Dog of the Week

This story is absolutely 100% true. I went to take the dogs for a drive today. Usually I open the trunk and they just jump in. Today Nellie BOLTED out of the door and ran to the car. She went to jump in, but realized too late that the trunk was shut. This is where she ended up. 6 feet into the air on my roof. My neighbor happened to be outside and we got her down safe. I'm pretty sure I've never laughed so hard in my life. Can't make this stuff up! Nellies racing name is "Wild High Jumper".. she is, in fact, the wildest and highest jumper Ive ever come across. #OnlyNellie

A post shared by Dibs and Nellie (@mrdibsandnelliebellie) on Feb 28, 2017 at 1:25pm PST

The story in the caption speaks for itself. Nellie the Jumping Greyhound, for the win! 😂

That's all I've got this week! You guys have a good one, enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and I'll be back again soon.

Warmly,
The Kerr

A WORD ON WORDS with Jacqueline Woodson

photo credit: Nashville Public Television

"I think what people need to realize is that not only do they have a story, but they have a right to tell that story. And the more specific that story is, the more it’s going to speak to a lot of people."
 

Wise words from brilliant National Book Award winner, Jacqueline Woodson. Watch her phenomenal interview—her "books as windows, not mirrors" metaphor is so powerful. We had a blast meeting her, and could've listened to her talk for hours! #keepreading

Author of BROWN GIRL DREAMING, Jacqueline Woodson, talks about her new book, ANOTHER BROOKLYN, with host J. T. Ellison. Watch all A WORD ON WORDS episodes here: http://awordonwords.org/ #KeepReading

Save Time and Be More Productive with Workflows

This post first appeared on RT Book Reviews. If you missed it there, today's your lucky day!
 

Workflow. It’s a common business term that describes how a project moves from inception to completion. It is a simple, powerful way to get things done. For writers, the concept of workflow is intrinsic—we start a novel, we finish a novel. We start a short story, blog post, interview, we finish and submit. But if you think in broader terms, workflows can be applied to all aspects of your writing business.

Business. That pesky word again. Writing is a business. Those who treat it as such reap the rewards and build their readership. We can’t escape it—marketing and PR falls partially (sometimes fully) on the authors now. If you find ways to automate the most mundane tasks, you free up time to write.  

This is probably old news to established writers, but for the ones who are getting their start, establishing this kind of organizational structure to your writing business now will save you so many headaches down the line.

Though we act in the art of creation, there are still hundreds of moving parts that can be wrestled into some semblance of order to make your life run easier and smoother. 

Do you blog? Find a service that will deliver your blog directly to your social media accounts so you don’t need to post directly. Dlvr.it is superb for this. Want to post to Twitter at regular times, but don’t want to log in four times a day? (because hello, time suck!) My team uses Buffer, which allows us to automate and schedule well in advance. Even Facebook now has scheduling in advance, so you can sit down once a week and populate your feed with great content. Set it and forget it, which allows you to spend the time doing what social media is supposed to do for you—engage. When you’re done writing for the day, talk to your readers. Chat with them. Get to know them. Build a community. Your content is only as good as your relationships with the people in your networks.

But workflow can be much more robust than simply automating your posting to social media. Let’s take a book, for example. For every book you write, you already know the actions that have to take place. Develop your idea, create a synopsis, outline the book (or pants it, like me, based on the general idea of what’s happening) finish the book, edit the book, edit it again, deliver to beta readers, edit again, deliver to agent/editor, line edit, copy edit, last pass pages. Meanwhile, the business side kicks in—cover art is developed, sales get underway, marketing plans are written, PR begins, then you have release day, promotional tours, etc. 

For those of you who are indie, the process is similar, but you’re the one doing the work, hiring the art and editing, establishing the marketing, setting up the PR, deciding on sale price and release time. Plus doing all of the backlist promotion you do, scheduling discount sales, etc. 

As I’m writing this, I’m thinking through our process.

When I hired my author assistant in 2015, one of the things we worked on first was automation and workflow. We try not to reinvent the wheel every time a new book comes out. Add in we’re self-publishing through our own press and juggling multiple houses on the traditional side, and believe me, the established workflows have saved our bacon more than once. 

Here’s a typical workflow we use when we’re looking at scheduling a book launch. It’s very top-line, because each project is slightly different, but you’ll get the gist.

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As you can see, the step-by-step process makes it easy on us both. We know once the book is listed on Amazon, we put the cover up on the website. We know when to change our Facebook, Twitter and website banners to announce on-sale dates. We plan what information goes into which newsletter. We break everything down across the board as such: 

Project → Tasks → Subtasks. 

Once you build the workflow, it’s there, and you don’t need to think about anything but content creation. 

We have to be flexible, of course, because every project is its own beast. New opportunities arise. A blog that normally features us goes defunct. Contacts move on. But in general, this flow takes us through, making it easier on both of us. We apply this basic structure to every project, putting in place a general workflow the moment a deal is done. 

Now to the other side of the coin. I believe very deeply in this concept: your art is your business. At the same time, you have to create your art in order to have a business. That means finding pockets of deep work time which allow you to focus on nothing but writing. 

For some of you, the business side comes naturally. For others, it doesn’t. And that’s perfectly okay. There’s an easy solution for both writing brains: help. There are amazing author assistants out there who are trained to help you manage the business side of things. I think it’s very important to find people to work with who are fun, flexible, and dedicated to helping you be your best.

For those who think the cost of hiring help is insurmountable, let me say this: words equal money. The more time you spend writing and creating, the faster your business will grow. An author assistant can help you automate, create workflows, and in general free up your precious time so you can write. They can do as much or as little as you need. Even in only an hour a week, they can draft a monthly newsletter and program your social media for the week, and you can spend that time writing. It adds up. Say you can write 1,000 words in an uninterrupted hour. That hour a week you offload some business on an author assistant can add up to 52,000 words in a year. I think that’s worth $25 a week, don’t you?

Even if you don’t have the extra money to spend, you can get help. Contact your local college English department. They are always looking to place interns. These incredible young adults are tech savvy, social media aware, and bring so much to the table. They get first-hand experience in writing and publishing, and you get that extra hour a week for your deep work.

We all want to be more productive. Proactive planning, comprehensive workflows, and finding deep work time will get you there.

Here are some tools to get you started:

Freedom – the gold standard for tuning out distractions by shutting down your internet

Dlvr.it – automating social media feed systems from your blog

Author Rx – Mel Jolly has a ton of resources on finding author assistants

Cal Newport – The author of DEEP WORK, a book you must read

Asana and Wunderlist – Workflow task managers

Buffer – The best service for scheduling and sending links out to the world

Sunday Smatterings (The Kerr Edition)

Hi, friends! It's me, The Kerr. Did you have a good week? It was a bit crazy in our neck of the woods. Between the RITA® nomination for FIELD OF GRAVES and THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE hitting #2 on both the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists, there was much hoopla here in Nashville! Top that off with warmer spring weather, and I'd have to give this week a 10.

Without further ado, here are your links for the week:

What I'm Eating

This week, I'm all about quick, flavorful proteins. Lately, I've been on a roasted chicken thighs kick (because you can get a big pack of boneless/skinless thighs at Costco for very little dough). I preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, sprinkle them with a spice rub, and roast for 40 minutes. Pair it with a salad or green vegetable and boom: instant healthy meal!

Variety is the spice of life, and I like use different spice rubs on my chicken. This week I used Primal Palate BBQ Rub. And whoa!!! Talk about a flavor explosion!

I wouldn't say this chicken tastes like BBQ. In fact, I noticed this rub has 11 herbs and spices . . . if you catch my drift. 

BTW, Primal Palate spices are the bomb. I use the Adobo Seasoning on everything—it's especially good on sautéed veggies (and bonus: these make great gifts for the cook in your life). 
 

What I'm Playing

I love Lady Gaga, and I don't care who knows it. When I need to motivate myself to get up and get moving, I play "Just Dance." Because who can't dance when listening to Lady Gaga!?
 

What I'm Reading

Confession: I'm not into "diet books," but I am trying to be more conscious about what I'm put in my body. This week I'm reading Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf, and I'm finding it pretty fascinating.

Robb talks about why we humans eat and crave food the way we do, and how we can become more conscious eaters who consume foods that our bodies can not only handle, but benefit from.

I've just started it, but I like it so far!
 

What I'm Watching

If, like blood types, we could be categorized with Humor Types, mine would be Tina Fey. On any given lunch break, I am probably watching 30 Rock. Because I am a sucker for smart and goofy physical comedy.

Please go watch it. The end.
 

Dog of the Week

This week's award goes to my greyhound, Crockett, who loves the bed so much that he refuses to leave it . . . even after the bed is made. He is a goofball. 

That's it from me! Go forth and cook some chicken, pat a dog, stop to smell the roses, and we'll chat again soon.

Warmly,
The Kerr