Skip to content

CJ Chilvers

Members Public

Daily Lunch Notes Update

This may be the last two weeks of my punny, daily lunch [https://www.cjchilvers.com/my-most-important-daily-writing-assignment/] notes [https://www.cjchilvers.com/daily-lunch-notes/] to my son. He says the other kids at lunch enjoy them more than he does now. After a few years, the joke is starting get old.

Members Public

The Problem with Newsletter Advice

I started following a bunch of new newsletter publishers recently to see what advice they were giving out to young people. I don’t disagree with the things they say, but I usually disagree with the context. Personal newsletters should have no rules. They are where you find your audience,

Members Public

Generosity Comes from People

Fom Josh Spector [https://twitter.com/jspector/status/1386759740772999176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]: > “No one wants a newsletter from a company, but lots of people would like a newsletter from a smart person who works for that company.” This is where everything is going, especially as data from email

Members Public

Algorithm vs. Audience

From Rene Ritchie [https://twitter.com/reneritchie/status/1387781270344699905] (who recently went from employee to independent publisher): > “Replace ‘algorithm’ with ‘audience’ and it’s 900x better for your mental health. From powerless to empowered. You’re the one at bat, picking the swings. You won’t connect every time.

Members Public

My Holy Grail Pen and Paper

Writers spend way too much time and money seeking out their “grail” pen and paper combo — the tools that will make their work so much “smoother.” It’s a pattern we’ve seen repeated in all creative pursuits. I did that for a while, many years ago, but it faded

Members Public

A Punch in the Gut

Life has a funny way of reinforcing lessons you’ve already learned with a punch in the gut. This may be a function of middle age. I spent the last few weeks comforting my mom as she slowly passed away from cancer. We had a few long talks towards the

Members Public

Put relationships first.

This has been the conclusion I’ve reached at middle age as well — about marketing, publishing, business, parenting, everything. We’re hardwired for this. That’s why it’s so prominent in my personal publishing principles [https://www.cjchilvers.com/personal-publishing-principles/]. From Cal Newport via Lex Fridman [https://youtu.be/

Members Public

Ghost Resurrects, Haunts Substack

Ghost has doubled its revenue this year, by focusing on reader/creator experience. From founder John O'Nolan [https://www.indiehackers.com/post/whats-new-nonprofit-blogging-platform-ghost-hits-3-3m-arr-48787565ad] : > “Nobody needs to know what Ghost is. I want people to know the creators that we power, instead.” This is what platforms like Substack

Members Public

For the Best Ideas, Go Without

I just returned from a walk on the beach, jumping in the water, searching for shells with my son. I had nothing on me that couldn’t be underwater in the ocean — pretty much just the clothes on my back. That’s when all the ideas hit me. * The best

Members Public

How does it make you feel?

Carlo from The DO Lecture series [https://thedolectures.com]: > “It’s not how it looks, it’s how it makes you feel.” Even though he’s talking about work spaces here, I think this is a sentence we could use to describe anything we create and market — or just