go forth and brag!
Funny funny me. I talked last week all about the danger of sending the newsletter late and what a big deal it is to get it out on time, and now this week I’ve done just exactly that.
In my defense, today’s my “Sunday” because of the President’s Day holiday (sidenote: ugh I’ll take the day off because we’re all so overworked, but why are we still celebrating those dudes??), but also maybe I don’t actually want to defend myself. Maybe I want to say, “I forgive you your lateness and hypocrisy, self.” Or, better yet, “this is nothing to apologize for, self! I release you from that Catholic guilt, self!” We’re here, we’re human, and time is a construct, so there. I have patience for me and I have patience for you!
But I also wanted to mention that I spent hours yesterday editing and posting my podcast. I’m shy about publicly marketing the projects I do (which I realize is silly and also BAD MARKETING), so I’m practicing here. My bestie Olivia and I have a podcast about books, called Drunk of the Book Club. We’ve actually been making it for five years, which is fairly unbelievable to me. We’ve gone through VERY productive periods (every two weeks at the start) and also incredibly dormant periods (six months of silence), but we’re now back to a realistic regularity of monthly episodes—with the hope of eventually putting them out a bit more frequently. If you want a time capsule, go back to the beginning to hear about 2015. It’s kind of wild. Also, quite cringey; for me, at least. I’m the sole editor and it’s not exactly my gift. Also, we’ve only recently both begun using professional mics, so audio people, do know that it may be unbearable for you.
And, wow, I realize that I’m still doing a poor job of self-publicizing. Okay, let’s try again. Olivia and I read books mostly by women of color, talk a lot about feminism and racism, and also include quite a hefty dose of pop culture and our own lives. We also drink alcoholic beverages as we record, so it can sometimes get a little goofy. Think of Drunk of the Book Club as joining your pals for a drink and a chat about books and more—a podcast for lonely, drunk bookcasters.
So there, that’s my self-promotion (I wish I could call it “shameless,” but in reality, it was quite bashful…). For some of us (women? Anxious people? Ex-Catholics? I don’t know what I’m getting at here.), bragging about ourselves and our projects is hard. It’s awkward. It takes a great swallowing down of second-guesses and insecurity. If you know what I’m talking about, consider this week’s prompt your opportunity to push yourself and flex that muscle. If you already promote yourself with ease, then what are you doing reading this over-thinker’s newsletter? Just kidding. If you’re already skilled at self-promotion without fear, I think this prompt is still good practice! Enjoy, my friends.
prompt #30
Toot your own horn! What do you do well? What accomplishments (large and small) have you checked off recently or in the past? What projects do you have in the works?
And, if you don’t often share all that you do and have done, maybe take a moment to ask yourself why. What’s holding you back from sharing your gifts? What fears have kept you hostage? What’s the worst case? Better yet, what’ s the best?
Set that timer and take five minutes to reflect on these questions and ideas. If you like, turn this into a writing piece. But also, you may wish to take this week’s prompt as a challenge to share your work or promote yourself to somebody (or somebodies) new. Go forth and brag about yourself!
ashley's piece
What’s the best that could happen?
You make a new world for yourself and others.
You smash the bad, the greedy, the unjust, all that grounds us down into little shells of ourselves.
You mix the mulch, the shit, the trash, into something new,
something beautiful,
something fresh and ancient all at once.
What’s the best that could happen?
God, I don’t think about that question enough.