'Rain or shine' advice for embracing the process (the March REPORT)
plus, the podcast interview that’s led to my next Kindle obsession.
This is THE CONTENT BRIEF 💼 where you’ll find actionable strategies to help you simplify your content strategy and system (and stay sane as the editor in chief of your content)—delivered in brief, straight to your inbox.
Be honest: How many minutes have you lost to Kate Middleton scrolling this month and was it also too many? (Edited to add: Now we know why. Wishing her well. 🙏)
I present to you the monthly content REPORT. This is a long one so click on "view entire message" if it’s cut off in your email.
(This is my monthly series where I share a more casual, personal, off-the-cuff rundown of content I’m loving lately. ◡̈ A little bit of this, a little bit of that.)
Here’s what’s in store today—
🤓 How a newsletter with 2.5 million subs defines its voice.
💁♀️ This “Devil Wears Prada” reunion thrilled my late teen self.
📺 The podcast interview that’s led to my next Kindle obsession.
🤌 “Rain or shine” advice for embracing the process.
📣 74 people who want to be featured.
💌 What had me clicking “add to cart.”
I could never say it enough, but I am SO grateful for you. Thanks for being here. 🫶
With love,
🤓 Reading
Since we’re just about wrapped on the Master Your Message: Define & Document Your Writer's Voice challenge here on
, I loved this look at how The Hustle, an irreverent daily business and tech newsletter with 2.5 million subscribers, differentiates its voice. It’s worth a look if you’re defining your own voice and style.💁♀️ Enjoying
If you’re anything like my elder-millennial self (ie, you had stacks of magazines lining your childhood bedroom and visions of becoming that cool female journo lead), you will also enjoy this reuniting of Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt.
They really get into sharing “Devil Wears Prada” stories around minute 33.
📺 Playing
You might love
for her recipes (story of my kitchen-life 😆) but this latest episode of her So Into That podcast will probably be responsible for my face being glued to my Kindle for the foreseeable future.Caroline sits down with Jessa Hastings, author of the Magnolia Parks book series, which has become somewhat of a sensation of late (London high-society, fashion and glam, and a bad-boy heartbreaker…what’s not to love?).
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fac8dfd6e-5707-4926-84f9-c152e6c60bbc_1000x375.png)
And Jessa just seems so lovable. From her accidental author name to the solid faith she had in her own work despite not getting initial support, I liked hearing her story. She may have a bestselling series now, but she originally ignored the revisions of an editor and instead released book one herself on Kindle, paid for her own photo shoot and shared it with her Instagram following of some 2,000 people. Feels relatable.
If you’ve ever wanted to put something out into the world but hit speed bumps along the way, this interview is for you. Plus more on where she gets ideas, how she gets the story down on paper, and how she draws on personal experience.
🤌 Obsessing
“When all is lost, return to the work.”
Thanks to
for this validation that bringing a creative project to life is hard.Having just finished the draft of her third book, she acknowledges in this post how much the process asked of her.
“Not just because of the contents of it and the skill level I had to rise to in order to write it, but having to stare down the kind of doubt in myself that would have derailed me in the past. I actually think it’s a miracle I finished this draft. I was on the edge of giving up so many times. I had to overcome resistance, fear, doubt, and the worst of all—apathy. I spent many days staring down at my draft in various stages of doneness thinking, what’s the point?"
Jamie shares the “rain or shine” mentality she took on, writing no matter the resistance, embracing the process.
“I fully believe that each creative endeavor teaches you about yourself. When you return to the process of the art and not the result—you are given a ceaseless amount of gifts.
Even when the process was testing my every limit, each time I sat down and wrote through the doubt and resistance and fear—I felt that I grew more resilient than the day before.
Like I was replacing the fragility of external approval with the strength of inner conviction.”
And the point? That’s it.
“It’s a cliche for a reason. The process is the gold. It’s the meat. It’s the magic. It’s where all the growth happens. It’s where you meet yourself. And each time you engage with the process with an open, unstoppable heart—it’s going to change you.”
📣 Recommending
It’s no secret one of the best ways to get your work out there is by collaborating with others, which is why I love
’s incredibly helpful list of 74 people who want (and are willing!) to be featured.She’s done the research for you!
With over 20 years of communications experience and having written two bestselling books, “Hype Yourself” and “Brand Yourself,”
is a trove of tips and more to help build your brand and get it out there.💌 Treating
And now in “content that had me clicking add to cart” … I’m a big fan of all-things Ilia (see Limitless Lash Mascara, Color Haze Multi-Use Pigment, Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm) so naturally, I’m loving the newly released Skin Rewind Complexion Stick. Weightless coverage. I’m in. (This refer-a-friend link saves you $20!)