Hey Reader!

I’m logging my most recently completed book in Goodreads, and checking out my stats.

I’ve read 70 books so far this year. Last year I read 96, in 2023 it was 106.

So yeah, that’s pretty much how I spend my free time. No judgment, please!

To be fair, I come by this particular obsession honestly; I'm not even the biggest reader in my family. It's a Williamson thing; we're all gluttons for the written word.

Here's what family vacations looked like: My mother is doing the Sunday Times crossword puzzle or searching out a museum. My father and sisters and I are scattered about with our noses in our books.

My parents may have engineered this; there's a lot less arguing when everyone is deep in a novel.

😂😂😂

Some people would say that I don’t actually read much, since at this point in my life I’m mostly ingesting books through my ears rather than my eyes, but I’m not a hair-splitter like that.

I’ve got broad taste in books, ranging from Capital L Literature to low-brow bestsellers. And I love it all. I mean, I love individual books in every category; I do have some discernment. 😆

And before you castigate me for using Goodreads, a Bezos-owned enterprise, I get it.

I’ve done my best to divest myself of this particular billionaire’s data and money collection traps, but I’ve got almost a decade of books logged there (1,054 since June of 2018) and it’s really too late to start over elsewhere.

And if you couldn’t care less whose pockets I line, then disregard my protestations. 🙃

The point is, and there is one, I promise: I like words and stories and they don’t have to be written by Pulitzer winners to gain my approval.

This is true of newsletters as well.

Full disclosure, I was an English major, I’m a writer, I love grammar and I know all kinds of annoying things about words.

➡️ That you should use less when discussing volume and fewer when talking about units (less time, fewer hours).

➡️ That to decimate is to reduce merely by a factor of ten.

➡️ That a discussion (or anything else) is between two people but among three or more.

But I will not fault you for using those terms incorrectly.

I will refuse to open your email for only one of two reasons: I’m bored by the contents or I don’t like what you stand for. Or I guess I’ll sometimes skip it if it’s clearly a bill or a money grab.

All of this to say that you do not have to be a wordsmith; you can use odd grammatical constructions, you can sound like someone who doesn't read a ridiculous number of books every year and still write a really great newsletter.

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

If you feel unsure of your language skills, turn on spelling and grammar checks in Google Docs or whatever program you’re using; that will keep you from making wildly egregious mistakes.

But as far as storytelling goes? Just go for it.

Here’s the thing - we want to be entertained. We want to FEEL something real, no matter how fleeting. That could be joy, amusement, sorrow, curiosity, indignation - anything.

And we want a glimpse into your life!

Your audience wants more of you, with fewer generic platitudes. So do your best to sound like yourself.

One way to do this is to record yourself speaking and then use the transcript as the basis of your email.

Imagine you’re telling your story to a friend; use the language you use in everyday life.

No need to fanicify. (See? I just made that word up and I’m sticking with it. To hell with rules!)

When you’ve got it on the page you can clean it up a bit, but please, for the love of originality, don’t sanitize.

Don’t make it sound like everyone else.

Don’t replace your favorite quirky words or phrases with commonly used expressions.

That way boredom lies.

Still feel unsure? Have a friend read it for you.

But make sure that friend knows that your goal isn’t to sound perfect, but rather to sound authentically YOU.

Tell me the story of the nutty neighbor doing ridiculous things. Tell me about the conversation you overheard at the DMV. Tell me about the most unexpected thing that ever happened to you, or the sweet chat you had with your kid on the way home from school.

Tell me about yourself, let me see who you are. That’s how you’ll convince me that you’re the one I want to work with, and buy from. That’s how you get me to open your next email.

(That and a really great subject line.)

If you need help finding your voice and speaking your truth, reach out! I’d love to help you get those words out. I can offer you one-on-one coaching and some fresh eyes on your work. Let’s talk!​

Yours in scrappy communication,

Julia

PS - Are you in the Portland area? Come join me at the Energy Exchange; networking for people who value connection over commerce. I’m sponsoring the event this month! And I’d love to see you there.

​Peter Gabriel just wants you to talk to him, and so does this email. Forward it to someone who wants to let their inner voice out.

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