👋🏼 Hello readers!
And welcome new readers! To get a sense for my art and writing, roll the dice with these popular past issues: [101] [91] [88] [81] [65]
This week I am giving away art, and sharing the experience of being in the Substack Fellowship Program. If you like what you read, share this publication with someone else who might enjoy it too!
☕️ Coffee on a cold morning
Early on a cold morning, I bundled up and walked to the nearby Breka Bakery for a coffee and croissant. Spring is around the corner, but this part of the world is suffering from a sudden, unexpected cold wave. Overnight, temperatures have dipped below freezing, the wind chill has become vicious, and there is fresh snow on the mountains on the northern horizon. The week’s forecast says rain is soon about to join the mix. Just great.
In the middle of all this, the city continues to function.
You might think this is nothing special. Cities are supposed to function. Indeed, most cities around the world function under much worse weather. But we should not let such thoughts kill our sense of wonder.
It is a wonder that people wrap themselves in multiple layers, stuff their hands inside coat pockets, breathe warm condensation into cold air, and walk to their places of work in the morning. It is a wonder that there are cars and buses and trains to take us from one place to another, and that we can rely on this system to work every day. It is a wonder to behold the city going about its business, and we must not get over such things.
I sat at the corner table, looking out, and felt the need to do something good for this world.
From the cafe counter I picked up an extra cardboard thingy (I am told it is called a coffee sleeve), and drew some of the people that crossed the street in front of me. On the other side of the sleeve, I wrote -
“Dear stranger. It is a beautiful world, all day, every day!”
I placed the sleeve on an empty table for someone to discover, and left.
I wonder who picked it up afterwards. Maybe a server? Or a patron? I wonder what they thought of it. I wonder if they kept it, and if they showed it to other people. I wonder if they looked at it, smiled, and left it for another person to find. This last would be the best thing to do. I wonder where it will end up, if anywhere at all.
I like wondering about these different scenarios and not knowing exactly what happened. I find comfort in the uncertainty, because it is already a good thing to have shared art for others to discover.
🎁 Giving Art to SneakyArt Insiders
Last week, I announced a SneakyArt Giveaway for paying subscribers of this publication.
The condition was for each entrant to write a comment explaining why they liked my work, and what they wanted out of the paid subscription experience.
Congratulations to the following Insiders!
🎉 Mellie, for appreciating the difficult job of being vulnerable. You win a copy of SneakyArt of 2019!
🎉 Tara, for helping me better appreciate the value of my ideas. You win a copy of SneakyArt of 2019!
🎉 Lisa, for sharing your story and allowing me to give you permission to make art, just as so many others have done for me. You win this month’s original art giveaway!
Winners, please reply to this email with your mailing address. I am excited to send you some SneakyArt!
In last week’s post to SneakyArt Insiders, I explained why I did this giveaway.
🚀 Lessons from being a Substack Fellow
Through December and January, I was part of the first Substack Writer’s Fellowship. We were a group of 11 writers, coming from diverse backgrounds and speaking on different topics, facing unique challenges in trying to become independent writers on the internet.
My first thoughts -
And here is a wonderful post from Substack compiling our testimonials about the Fellowship experience.
At the end of the program, I was secretly commissioned to draw portraits of each of the Fellows, which were later sent to them as a surprise gift!
The program involved weekly meetings, writing prompts, and sessions with Substack experts from different departments. They pushed us to reflect on our work, and the niches we sought to create and/or occupy.
As much as we learned from Substack experts, we also gained enormously as a group by brainstorming solutions to our individual obstacles. It is fascinating how much you can learn about your own situation by trying to solve another writer’s problems. This element of the program reinforced in me the importance of a writing community.
Being an independent creative on the internet is like walking alone through a forest in the dark. There are wolves who will harm you, undergrowth that will trip you, and often you will lose way to go round and round in circles. The fellowship has given me a sense of direction, and a guiding light to follow through the tangles.
To summarize, it is not easy to stay on top of all the things that matter in the career of an independent writer. Turning your unknown unknowns into known unknowns is but one task. You need to craft sustainable habits to address them without sacrificing the real magic of your publication - the writing itself.
I will share my best insights and essential takeaways from the program this Sunday in a post for paying subscribers. To receive it in your inbox, to become eligible for future giveaways, and to access my archive of ideas, original writing & bonus podcast segments, become an Insider!
Thank you, dear readers, for your time and attention. I appreciate having a space in your inbox every week. See you in the next one!
103 - A Good Thing on a Cold Morning