In praise of Melissa Febos' article on not dying of email

In a search for “apologizing for late response to email” or some such thing I searched for this weekend on Google, I came across the enlightened writing and article of Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart.


There were so many good nuggets of wisdom to the aspiring writer or the aspiring liver of life who finds it hard to say no, but, distilled and reinterpreted, these were my favorites:

-Choose being “a reliable source of literary art” over being a prompt responder to emails.
-Your work is what you owe your readers. No more, no less.
-Schedule time into your calendar for writing.
-Think not in terms of what you’re saying no to, but what you are saying yes to, when you set boundaries.

There were so many beautiful and imperative pieces of advice in this article and I’m feeling re-inspired to set boundaries so I can work on my current writing project.

some of my fav artists' work principles/ethics/learning moments

Seattle-raised, soul-bearing rapper Macklemore

Throw me a gold mine, and a co-sign

While you're riding a couple dope rides

Two women, both dimes

Not gonna lie, that shit sounds so nice

But I got creative control, and my soul's mine

-Macklemore, Victory Lap

Ten million sold, go and look at that

Ain't no middleman gonna get any of that

I suck at math, but I know how to add (1 + 1)

That's a whole lotta money

-Macklemore, Ten Million

Guitar-slaying Jack White on working inside the box and forcing yourself to work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH4NhlxSrOw

Maggie Rogers & Pharrell Williams Masterclass Clips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAM1N1APk80

A look into the art and business world of Jim Henson
Elizabeth Hyde Stevens: Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Art-Money-Lessons-Creative-ebook/dp/B00EVAAE6A
https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/09/19/make-art-make-money-jim-henson/