Category: reflection
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Spreadsheet season
I found myself embarking on an annual adventure that speaks to end-of-year traditions: spreadsheets! I designed an inventory spreadsheet over the weekend to track what I have in stock without going to my supplies and looking. By the end of 2026, according to the production schedule we have now, we…
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A holiday wish for our intern
This semester, I had the joy of working with intern Emily Lichius from Eastern University. Internships are a necessary evil in our society— with young people needing experience and not having opportunities like apprenticeships for tradespeople that offer it. We have a ridiculously expensive educational system that doesn’t really provide much in the way…
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Taxidermy cat?
I noticed what appeared to be a sleeping cat on the roof of a house. The way its hair looked, I wasn’t sure it was alive. And I wondered: Did someone put a taxidermy cat on the roof? I came home and told my daughter. When I told her I wasn’t…
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A Business of Writing curriculum?
The other day— it was Gayle’s birthday and a big one at that— I met Parisian Phoenix Art Director Gayle Hendricks for breakfast, primarily so we could walk through my syllabus for PUBL102 at Northampton Community College this winter. (You can still register!) PUBL102 is their self-publishing course, the second half of their former…
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The evolution of Parisian Phoenix
In my travels recently, I’ve heard a lot of things that make my heart happy. Even though words are clearly my passion, my business at Parisian Phoenix Publishing focuses on people— and my staff, authors and the artists who all contribute support one another and share a sense of community.…
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AI and the loss of critical thinking
I’m going to admit something I wouldn’t normally say as a matter of public record— as a journalist I often write what I wish I could say in my head as I type the acceptable article. I realize that what I want to say is what a lot of ordinary people type in their…
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Do you need to get your creativity moving?
I am currently in a race against time to make Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer my October writing craft book review. Time got away from me. But this serves as the main text for my class next semester at Northampton Community College so I thought now is a great time…
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Benefits of slow progress
My recent newsletters have included what I shall call “autumnal reflections.” I wondered if this was a “cop out” and a potential disappointment to my readers. But I have heard from several of you with each newsletter that I voiced either something you needed to hear or something you have…
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Fighting Imposter Syndrome
Approximately every other week, at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning, I meet with Laurel Olsen Wenson at our favorite Panera Bread (where we are both now members of The Sip Club). We drink iced coffee and for about three hours, we write. This week, I realized something. Sometimes what makes something special is…
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A belated Parisian Phoenix birthday
In a few days, it will be my dad’s birthday. Shortly before Christmas, it will be the fourth anniversary of his death. Two weeks ago, it was also the fourth anniversary of Parisian Phoenix Publishing. I missed it— because I was knee-deep in annual medical appointments and production schedules. I completely…
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