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Hey Reader,

I have a Shelf of Shame.

It’s filled with the dusty carcasses of courses I’ve bought and abandoned over the years.

Need to write an about page? There’ll be a course for that. Lemme at it.

Want to create a newsletter in InDesign? I spy a course called “InDesign for Beginners” take my money.

Gonna learn the guitar? That online course looks spiffing I shall partake.

Do I get past the first module or two? I do not.

I am a serial course-buyer. I have a problem.

Occasionally I abandon the courses because they’re crap. But most of the time, honestly, the course is fine.

It’s me. I’m the problem.

Or so I thought.

I just do not have the kind of brain that learns well without supervision. And actually, what I needed most of the time wasn’t more knowledge, it was implementation.

I needed, like so many others, a real person on the other side to share their expertise, yes, and teach me what I needed to know. But more than that, I needed someone who would help me DO the thing.

Which is why I abandoned my about page, taught myself how to create a newsletter in InDesign, and got myself a real-life flesh-and-blood guitar teacher.

Because of all this, I shut down my bestselling course “Published in 90 Days” a few years ago.

Way back in the day, I’d been asked by so many people how to write a book, and I didn’t have time to work with them all one-on-one. So I created a course, launched it to great acclaim, and noticed something.

A goodly propotion of people did indeed complete the course AND write and publish their books (and my old friend Dom has since written loads more books too).

But a worrying proportion of people did not publish their books.

They told me the course was great. They loved it.

As far as I was concerned, though, if they weren’t publishing their books at the end of it, it wasn’t good enough.

I know there’s only so much I can do to get a grown adult to do the thing they say they want to do, but I also realised the problem: not everyone’s brains work well with a DIY course.

What I wanted to do was going to require something different.

So I mothballed my course and built something else.

​MicroBook Magic.

It’s in its EIGHTH season now, or will be at the end of April when we kick off, and I’m massively proud of it.

A far higher proportion of people come out of that programme then actually finish and publish their books than those who did “Published in 90 Days” and I’m dead chuffed with that.

Sometimes it takes them a while. Sometimes they have a few false starts. Sometimes they come back to me for more support.

But they mostly get it done.

Anyway, I just wanted to say: if you have a Shelf of Shame, too, there’s no shame in that. It might be that the course was crap. Or not built for people like you with brains like yours.

There are other ways to get things done and honestly I think there’s enough knowledge and information out there now (and DISinformation, jeezzzzz) so my focus is on getting you to DO the thing you want to do.

Find groups. Find real teachers and coaches and mentors. Find the people who’ll cajole and encourage and gently bully you to GET IT DONE.

And if writing a book is on your agenda and you’ve tried a bunch of other stuff including courses that you abandoned, keep your eyes open next week when I open the doors to MicroBook Magic Season 8.

Okay, it’s Friday AND it’s my birthday today woo hoo! Happy birthday to me!

I’ve got a tasty Goodie Bag for you right here.

Good news bears

Looking at the news, it’s easy to think reality is collapsing and HEY MAYBE IT IS but there’s also a LOT of good stuff going on in the world. I remember once reading about someone whose grandmother told them: when a disaster happens, don’t focus on the disaster — look at all the people running to help.

​Here are some people running to help: air quality is improving dramatically in some of the world’s biggest cities; SUVs are being pushed out of cities (they’re 77% more likely to kill a child); the war in Iran is accelerating the transition to renewable energy (it shouldn’t take this kind of manbaby temper tantrum moneygrab to make it happen but hey); and the UK government has backtracked on plans to let AI firms use copyright-protected work without artists’ permission — hurrah! Rhinos have returned to Uganda’s Kidepo Valley national park; the world’s longest coastal footpath opened aroudn the entire coast of England.

George Michael’s incredible generosity

It’s easy to look at the super-rich and think “what a bunch of psychopaths” but they are not all like that. What we’re shown online and in the media is what those who run the media think will make them richer: clicks.

There’s more than one model for wealth: just look at Dolly Parton, Mackenzie Scott, and — yes — George Michael. Most of us never knew about his quiet acts of generosity and kindness, but they were there.

As The Big Issue reported a few years ago: “Michael was revealed to have been a regular volunteer at a homeless shelter, swearing his co-workers to secrecy. And we heard about how, after overhearing a woman in a cafe having a fraught conversation about her debt levels, Michael left a £25,000 cheque with the waitress – on the condition that it was handed over after he’d left. A student nurse had a similar tale of receiving a £5,000 tip from Michael at the bar she worked at, to help pay off her student debts.” What a guy.

Ryan Coogler’s Oscars ASL

If you saw any of the Oscars coverage, you might have seen Ryan Coogler using sign language throughout the evening. His wife is an ASL interpreter, and he’s been an active ally in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community for a long time, and he wanted to make showbiz more inclusive. So he did. And I love him for that.

Louise Blackburn’s online SPARKS sessions

Every month, Louise runs a brainstorming session that is absolutely magical. She picks a topic — this time it was client onboarding — and a small group (5 of us this time) help each other create a system or solve a problem. Then we ask for help with something, and we fire ideas at each other. The room is carefully curated by Louise and the participants are always absolutely bangin’ so go find her on LinkedIn and keep your eyes open for the next session and join us to get a massive boost of joy and progress in a small but powerful area.

Paper Airplane magazine

As you may know if you’ve been in my world for a while, I love paper-based media. You may have received a postcard or letter or newsletter or my zine. A little envelope of joy through the post is a delight, right? Well, check this one out. It’s lush.

What I’m reading

I’ve just started reading The Life Impossible by Matt Haig and I am very much enjoying it so far. A library find. I’m also reading my way through various email newsletters (Austin Kleon, Sharon Hurley-Hall, Ash Ambirge, Sean of the South, and more) and Slightly Foxed a quarterly literary magazine that introduces me to books I would never otherwise pick up.

What I’m writing

Oh god so many things. A new course, a new stand-up set, my zine, and a lot of birthday cards.

Word of the week

Numinous

Something that is spiritual, mysterious, or awe-inspiring. You, dear reader, are numinous.

Quote of the week

Go and turn your face to the sun (close your eyes please, don’t nuke your retinas) and soak up the rays. Find a flower and look at it for a few minutes. Cuddle someone or something you love. Remember life is beautiful.

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

p.s. Know someone who might enjoy this email? Please forward it to them and get them to sign up here.