I hope you're having an excellent week so far!
I have some neat things to share with you today, including: a free book, a couple of really inspiring client stories, and an announcement/opportunity to hire me—if you're based in the UK!
Nothing in this email is time-sensitive (except for maybe the last part at the very bottom), so you can tuck this away in your "Read whenever I feel like it" folder. No pressure. ;)
Here we go...
— FREE BOOK FOR YOU! —
I wrote a new book!
It's called:
YOU’RE GOING TO SURVIVE: True stories of criticism, rejection, public humiliation, terrible Yelp reviews, and other experiences that basically make you want to die—and how to get through
it.
It's 83 pages long. It's a quick, uplifting read. And it's FREE. You can download it HERE.
I've gotten
some lovely feedback on this book. Here's what one reader wrote to me:
"I’m only half way through and am blown away. I just love the generosity of the stories, the healing, kind words. You are so right, nobody wants to be criticized yet we all will be. You’ve given us some tools to survive."
Another person said:
"YOU'RE GOING TO SURVIVE arrived in my inbox when I was in the throes of self-doubt and anxiety... I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. It gave me strength and hope and faith."
No matter what you do for a living—writing, singing, fundraising, legal work, consulting, or any other field—being criticized can hurt so much. It
never feels "nice" when a client picks apart your work, when you apply for a job and get rejected, when you get nasty blog comments, or when you feel like people are totally ignoring a project that's really important to you. Those experiences suck, but they are survivable. You will get through it.
I hope the stories in my new book provide some hope, comfort, and encouragement. Don't let criticism derail you. Stay
strong!
— CLIENT STORIES —
I rarely talk about my clients and their achievements... I really ought to do that more often!
Today, I want to publicly acknowledge and congratulate a couple of clients who are doing exceptional
work...
1 - Theresa Reed - Theresa got a publishing deal and her first book, The Tarot Coloring Book, will be released on November 1st. I got an advance copy in the mail and it's so lovely. I'm a Tarot fanatic, so
it was such a joy to be involved in this project. Yay, Theresa! (Side note: if you're looking for a Tarot card reader, Theresa is the best in the biz.)
2 - Susan Hyatt - Susan's new book, BARE, is finished and she's shopping it around to literary agents. This book holds such a powerful message
for women and girls: stop dieting, stop obsessing over your size, and start treating your body like a friend, not an enemy. I had the pleasure of helping Susan create her book proposal and manuscript, and it was one of the most exciting projects I've worked on all year. Susan also recently released the 71st episode of her
podcast AND an illustrated deck of body-positivity cards. Whoa! She's on fire!
4 - Ellen Fondiler - Earlier this year, Ellen had the opportunity to teach a job hunting/networking workshop for students at Stanford University. But that's just the beginning! She's been blogging up a storm, writing an advice column, and launching programs left and right. She also has a new book idea which I can't talk about yet, but I'm very excited about it. It might be some of her best work yet. :)
5 - Katie Hess - Katie hired me
for a website-related project a long time ago—
way back in 2013—
but she recently circled back to give me an exciting update: her book, Flowerevolution: Blooming into Your Full Potential with the Magic
of Flowers, is being released on November 15th. Katie studies how we can use flower essences to fight stress, fatigue, and imbalance. She's brilliant... and I'm so proud of her success!
I think it's important to note that Theresa, Susan, Melissa, Ellen, and Katie are not "celebrities" or "superhuman" creatures.
They're all real people with partners,
kids and/or pets, cars that break down, laptops that crash, busy schedules, bills to pay, moments of doubt and insecurity, low-energy days, and all of that messy human stuff. And yet... look at what they've created! It's so inspiring.
These people are living proof:
If there's a creative project that feels important to you, you can finish it. You
can bring it into the world.
It might take a lot longer that you originally planned. It might require a coach or a team effort. But it's not impossible. If you keep working persistently, your dream is doable.
— I'M COMING TO LONDON! —
OMG!
In just a few days, I am boarding the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship and sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. I'm teaching a writing workshop aboard the ship. WHAT. I can't quite believe this is happening... but it is!
After that, I'll be in London for a couple of days. I have a little
bit of free time while I'm there, and I thought this could be a neat opportunity to work with someone (maybe you?) in a face-to-face setting.
(I'm not "officially" accepting new clients right now, because my calendar is pretty full, but I can make room for a special quickie date like this one.)
So! If you're a UK person, and you'd like to hire me, here's what I'm
proposing:
- 1/2 day face-to-face meeting in London @ your office, your home, a cool cafe or co-working space, whatever location is most convenient for you.
During this meeting, we can: outline your next book, brainstorm a big list of blog post ideas, create a script for your next TEDx talk, review and spruce up your
website, or any other writing-related project that you want to focus on. We'll spend about 5 hours together, I'll treat you to lunch, and we'll have a delightful, productive time!
You also get:
- An 8-hour block of my time that you can use up in November, December, or January.
This is writing/editing time, working virtually via email. If there's a newsletter, blog post, video script, webpage, proposal, etc. that you want me to write for you—or a rough draft that you want me to clean up—that's what this extra time is for. My typing fingers... whipping up magical things for you to use!
- $1950 USD for the whole package.
- Available dates in London: Nov 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th.
If this sounds exciting to you... email me at alexandra@alexandrafranzen.com and please tell me:
- Which date you
want.
- Your preferred meeting location in London if you have one—otherwise, I'll propose a few ideas.
- How you'd like to pay: 1 installment or 2 installments.
- The top 3 things/projects that you'd like to focus on while we're working together.
OK!
That's everything for today's newsletter!
I need to finish packing for the boat! I might cry into my suitcase because I'm so wobbly with excitement. I've been exclaiming "Boat! Boat! Boat!" to my boyfriend Brandon pretty much all day, like a slightly deranged person.
Please have an excellent week. I hope it's happy, healthy, and very
productive.
-Alex
PS. I always wrap up each newsletter with a music recommendation! Because I basically can't function without music. I've been listening to Active Child recently. Mellow, dreamy music. I've also been obsessively listening to MUNA lately. I especially love this remix featuring Tiësto. Sooo good.