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Hey Reader,

Hitting publish on your book is a bit like walking through a wasp convention covered in jam holding a sign that says “please don’t hurt me!”

They say writing a book is brave, and it is…

But SHARING it is the real hero move when it FEELS like 90% of the internet is screaming abuse into the void like it’s an Olympic sport.

Just because something’s loud, doesn’t mean it’s true.

I read today that only around 7% of comments on social media are negative.

That sent me down a rabbit hole and I found this study that discovered the following:

• Only 3 % of active accounts are toxic but they produce 33 % of all content
• 74 % of all online conflicts are started in just 1 % of communities
• 0.1 % of users shared 80 % of fake news

There’s SO little negativity and meanness out there but it’s so loud, it feels like that’s the norm.

No wonder sticking your neck out feels terrifying.

And writing and publishing a book is definitely sticking your neck out.

In fact, I reckon it’s probably one of the biggest reasons books don’t get finished and released — because that last step, when you hit publish, is when you bare your soul to the world and ask the world to love you.

And the world might not love you back.

Rejection hurts and rejection on the scale of the internet leaves scars, man.

So I see you.

I hear you.

I understand, deeply, why it feels so terrifying to write something and publish it, whether it’s a book or a LinkedIn post or an email or a talk.

If I see dozens of notifications on a post, my first thought isn’t ooh how exciting, something’s resonated!

My first thought is shit, how many of them hate me?

Our brains want to protect us; we’re geared to look for danger, so we find it.

The secret is to accept that, take a beat, and do the thing anyway.

If we truly believe and stand by the opinions we hold — AND we’re open to learning something new and maybe changing — we shouldn’t be afraid to share in public.

By doing that, we’ll build a community who’ll stand by us and be there when the trolls come.

And as for the trolls: if they’re attacking YOU, that’s about them and you don’t have to do anything more than block and delete.

If they’re questioning what you’ve written, that’s an opportunity for a conversation — and you never know what might happen after that.

And now for the Friday Goodie Bag. Strap in!

Everything explained by your mum doing the washing

Thanks to Marc Thomas for sending me this piece of musical and philosophical genius and introducing me to the work of Joshua Idehen.

Mr Idehen explains various political and social systems through the simple lens of mum doing the laundry. It’s 3 minutes and 52 seconds of absolute genius and what I want you to take away from it is this: there are so many incredibly creative ways to explain your concepts and ideas, but first we have to let go of should and allow ourselves to play.

This gymnast with ALL the seasoning

Kyrstin Johnson is an elite gymnast who shared her most recent 9.9 floor routine. Now, in case you don’t know much about elite gymnastics, it’s historically very… beige. As in: the judges and governing bodies tend to have very fixed ideas about what’s acceptable and what isn’t. Deviations from the norm are side-eyed at best and barely tolerated at worst.

That is changing slowly… thanks to young women like Kyrstin Johnson who took all the moves gymnasts HAVE to incorporate into a routine, then seasoned the shizzle out of them.

This visual representation of AI-generated creativity

I laughed so hard at this because it was like watching a car ad or a perfume ad.

Naively, Joe and I thought that subscribing to channels like Netflix and paying for them meant we’d no longer have to suffer ads like the old days of watching ITV and Channel 4. OH HOW PRECIOUS. Because now we pay AND we have to suffer through ads or pay more.

And the ads we’re seeing for cars and perfume and stuff really do feel like this generic, entirely created using stock footage creation.

This plant shop Instagram account that’ll make you howl

My favourite localish shop is Löv Leaf, owned by a friend of mine. She employs two extremely funny women to serve customers and run her social media accounts and I need you to follow them right now and then I’m sorry for the rabbit hole of cackling you’re going to fall into. I’m currently studying their feed to see how I can recreate some of these ideas for my business. Maybe you can do that too?

3 years of therapy in 1 minute

Personal coach Devin Linder shares a 1 minute video in which he breaks down everything you’ll learn in 3 years of therapy and honestly it’s low-key genius. “You don’t FIND yourself, you BUILD yourself.” Amen. And, you’re welcome, just saved you a bunch of therapy. (J/K)

What I’m reading

I’ve just finished Nona the Ninth (LOVING THE LOCKED TOMB SERIES) and now I’m bereft.

So I’m back into Get Started In Stand Up Comedy by Logan Murray, which is a brilliant creative primer as well as being a crash course in stand-up comedy.

What I’m writing

I’m currently writing a one-minute bit for my Monday night stand-up comedy class. My theme is: tiny horror stories. I’ll report back next week.

Word of the week

Shambolic

I really love this word, partly because of how it feels in my mouth, but also because it’s such a funny way to describe someone or something without being too mean or insulting.

Its derivatives are great too.

“You’re an absolute shambles, Keith, get it together.”

Quote of the week

KV said this at the Commencement Address to Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1974 but it’s even more relevant now.

I feel like the work I do is part of this. I help people to write books, yes — but I truly believe books can help to create and strengthen communities.

Can you join or create a real-life community this week? How many are you already part of? How can you be more active in them?

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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