Hello! Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself
Plus, A Day In The Life
Hello,
Lots of new faces here after last month’s crowdsourced “Best Books of the 21st Century” project and this past weekend’s Substack Reads feature (thanks for including me,
! Caro is THE BEST and I’m so pumped for her new cookbook, which came out this week!).First of all, welcome. I’m so glad you’re here. Talking about books with other book lovers is legit my favorite thing.
I thought it would be helpful to reintroduce myself and take you through a day in my life. They say the best way to get to know someone is to walk a mile in their shoes, so let’s take a virtual swing at it.
Let’s see, what do you need to know? I’m Becca. I’m a new-ish author. My debut novel, The Christmas Orphans Club, came out last September. It follows a group of friends who are each alone on Christmas for different reasons and build a found family tradition, spending the holiday having fun NYC adventures. But it’s also about how friendships evolve over time. I’m calling it a friend-mance, but I don’t think the term is catching on.
I’m currently 19 months into working on my second novel, and it’s been… a challenge.
Prior to my author career, I spent a decade-plus working in marketing for e-comm startups, first in-house and then as a consultant. Now, I have a “portfolio career” split between writing books, this newsletter, and Bad on Paper, the books and lifestyle podcast I’ve co-hosted for the past 6 years (!!!), first with
and now with . The other day, someone introduced me as “a girl about the internet” and that’s not at all inaccurate.What else? I’m 37 (for 2 more weeks). I live in Brooklyn in a wonky old converted factory building with a wall full of bookshelves (my life’s dream). I’m a voracious reader (a lot of romance, some literary fiction, some fantasy, a little YA, a few non-scary thrillers a year—I’m a scardey cat!) Right now, my top 3 books of the year (so far) are: 1. Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, 2. The Wedding People by Alison Espach, and 3. One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin.
I love to travel and do a lot of it, though my travel schedule is relatively calm through the end of the year as I dive into edits on this book. I’m a virgo and an enneagram type 3 (both eerily fitting).
If this was a corporate retreat, my fun fact would be that my first concert was the Beach Boys and John Stamos was the guest drummer. He kissed my hand and gave me a drumstick! I refused to wash my hand for a week. I was 9.
If this was a MySpace personality profile I’d tell you:
Last beverage: Wegmans black cherry vanilla seltzer
Last text: To one of my group chats: “OK I decided I hate my Stanley and I just got an Owala this week and like it so much better.”
Last song you listened to: The King by Sarah Kinsley
Last time you cried: Saturday night at a really sad moment in the book I was reading (When The World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson - out 9/24)
Have you dated someone twice: Nope
Lost someone special: My mom died when I was 15; my uncle who I was really close to passed in 2018.
What are your three favorite colors: Lavender, warm goldeny yellow, majorelle blue
Met someone who changed you in the past month: Not sure yet, I’ve met a solid handful of new people this month… let’s see if they change me?
Kissed anyone on your friends list: I once competed in a “kissing contest” to see who could kiss the most people at a nightclub in Puerto Vallarta on spring break 2008. It’s safe to say I’ve kissed a solid amount of my friends.
How many kids do you want: None! I love being an honorary aunt, but I don’t want children of my own.
(I ripped these questions from the website for central Maine’s radio station, 92 Moose, which absolutely delights me because central Maine is one of my favorite places).
Maybe a better way to get to know me is to take a look at a day in my life (Tuesday August 13, to be exact). Heads up: it gets a little long, so you prob need to open in your browser to see the whole thing.
6:57 AM: Wake up. This is early for me, usually I set an alarm for somewhere between 7:30 and 8:15, but my body’s up. I use the extra time to scroll Instagram in bed. Whoops.
7:22 AM: I pull on a lounge-y shorts set (these and these from Cozy Earth, if you’re curious), do my bathroom things, and pour an iced coffee (I’m a year-round iced coffee person). I used to be really into Coffeemate creamer, but switched to Chobani last year (currently, hazelnut) and have convinced myself I’m a health goddess. I post up on the couch to catch up on newsletters. Here’s what’s in my inbox this AM:
Writers Writing About Being Writers by at Creative Confidence Clinic: Do I need to read the book about Didion and Babitz she’s talking about?
Hint #1 by Elle Griffin at The Elysian: I subscribed to this after her hot take that no one buys books. Ironically, this is a throwaway teaser for an upcoming book she’s publishing. *eyeroll*
Possible Over Probable by at Nedra Nuggets: Loved this little anecdote about dreaming big.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Cold Heterosexual Feet by at Shut Up Evan: A juicy backgrounder about drama surrounding Joaquin Phoenix dropping out of a film at the 11th hour because he allegedly did not want to do a gay sex scene.
If You Liked These Three Books, Read These by at Literary Learnings: Some read-alike recommendations for a few of this summer's popular books. Ugh, paywall! I’ve been thinking of upgrading, but haven’t bit the bullet. I have so many paid subscriptions (too many, probably), and need to audit them to make room for news ones.
What Sells A Book by at Publishing Confidential: A slightly depressing but pragmatic view of publishing. I’m saving this to share when people ask about building a platform/debuting. Though I do think it makes building a platform sound easier than it is in reality.
7:56 AM: Put on this week’s episode of Bad on Paper to QA before launch. It’s a fun one, this week’s guest is queen of romance authors, Emily Henry. While I listen, I make breakfast (a cinnamon raisin english muffin with peanut butter and a side of raspberries) and do house chores (change sheets, break down boxes and take out recycling, generally neaten).
9:16 AM: Do some research on online tools that allow people to submit questions and then upvote other people’s responses. I have this idea that it would be really fun to use for AMAs. I find something that feels promising and test it out with my IG audience.
9:54 AM: Oof, messed it up. I make a change and think I’ve got it. Success! OK your turn, if you want to submit a question or vote on what gets answered in next week’s Q&A post, have at it! (Of course, I reserve the right to not answer questions I’m uncomfortable with or pull up questions I particularly like… the weird bean one is calling my name). I’ll keep this live ongoing and delete Q’s as I answer them. Oh… also, I loaded these up from Substack Chat and an IG question box and now it looks like I’m the one submitting all of them. I swear I’m not!
10:01 AM: Text friends about plans for mahjong tonight. We’re getting takeout from Westville and the host wants everyone’s order. I decide on a Greek salad add shrimp.
10:23 AM: Mini panic spiral that I haven’t started writing yet, which my dumb brain is convinced is the only “real work” I do. I’m trying to convince it otherwise. One more sweep of emails/messages before I get into it. This is the hardest part: revving up to write. I assemble my triad of beverages (a second coffee, water, and a seltzer) and message the accountability thread in my writing group that I’m going in.
10:39 AM: I actually start writing. I started a new draft 2 weeks ago. It’s my 4th on this book, and definitely the largest edit yet. I have a lot of fear around it, and I’m not quite fully “into” this draft, which is an intangible feeling where everything starts to click, I have momentum, and working for longer stretches feels easier. I’m still in the yucky part before that.
10:54 AM: A friend is having a mini-freak-out that she embarrassed herself in a recent newsletter. Oh, great, a benevolent excuse to procrastinate! I jump into the group chat to talk it through. (Don’t worry, she didn’t embarrass herself. It’s just the fear of being perceived. Highly relatable.)
11:12 AM: I dive back into writing. All told, I get a pretty fragmented hour in, done in 15-minute sprints. I use this old-school timer that’s meant for children and when it’s on, I don’t allow myself to go off-task. It’s super effective for me, but I want to work back up to longer sprints.
12:20 PM: I change into workout clothes, then open a new doc for this week’s newsletter and dump in some notes from my notes app. I work on cleaning them up for 15 mins before walking to pilates.
1:00 PM: Oh crap, I’m late. I went to a different studio than usual and made a wrong turn. Once I settle in, I have a great class. In the past, I’ve been most productive writing-wise when I have some kind of movement in the afternoon—either a walk or a workout. Right now, I’m trying to put routines into place and hope productivity follows.
2:05 PM: Back home. I heat up leftover pasta and spinach from dinner last night (I went to The Smith with
and after a little party to celebrate ’ new cookbook! They are all excellent follows). Then, I rinse off and do some skincare. I’m in a French pharmacy phase right now and very into La Roche-Posay’s B5 Hyaluronic Acid Serum followed by Embryolisse moisturizer (it’s cheapish and works as well as anything else I’ve used).2:30 PM: I park it back at my laptop, determined to get in another 30 minutes of writing, maybe an hour if I get into it. I crack a black cherry vanilla seltzer.
3:04 PM: I ended with 1.5 total hours of writing today. My goal is to get to 3 hrs/weekday. But I did hit 10K words, which feels milestone-y. The last draft was 105K words and I want this one to be between 80-85K (the average adult fiction novel is 70-90K), so I’m 13% of the way there. I feel like I’m really close to “locking in” and having more of a flow state, but until then I’m just showing up and flexing the writing muscle. Now, I pivot to working on this week’s newsletter, which is somewhat of a lifeline right now. Being able to start and finish a new piece of writing and get feedback on it within a week is a good reminder that “yes, I am a writer!” even when the book feels hard.
4:41 PM: Popsicle break. This has become a very important part of my work life this summer. Currently obsessed with Mint Chocolate Chip Yasso bars.
5:11 PM: Close my laptop for the day. I’m 3/4 of the way done with this week’s newsletter (they usually take me 2 - 4 hours to write, more if it’s an essay) Why is it that I can sit and write the newsletter for 2 hours without moving, but working on the book is so much harder?
5:20 PM: Throw on a dress and some light makeup (Charlotte Tilbury flawless filter, Rare Beauty blush, eyebrow pencil, mascara) and head to meet my friend Jenna at the subway to make our way from Brooklyn to the UWS. On my walk I listen to I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNichol on audio.
6:00 PM: Jenna and I talk about Obama’s reading list, our recent reads (she just finished God of the Woods and the new Liz Tomforde spicy romance), and travels as we make the 30-ish min trek uptown.
6:35 PM: We arrive at Katelyn’s and she went above and beyond for mahjong. There are gift bags! We pour drinks, eat our takeout, and chat before getting down to playing. I learned how to play mahjong earlier this year and am obsessed. I also love that it’s a fun weeknight social plan that doesn’t involve going out to dinner or drinks. We’ve been a little spotty about playing this summer with travel schedules, but I’m excited to get into a more regular groove. There’s even talk of going on a mahjong cruise (it’s mostly joking, but I’m completely serious).
9:53 PM: We’ve played 5 games, we’ve eaten cake (Trader Joe’s mini-sheet cakes have become a mahjong tradition. This time’s was chocolate ganache.), but we agree it’s okay to play one more since it’s not 10 yet. I win my first of the night!!!!
10:43 PM: We split an Uber three ways going first downtown and then over the bridge to Brooklyn. We talk about food aversions (for me: cottage cheese, oatmeal [anything lumpy, really], and beets) and the weirdest foods we’ve tried while traveling.
11:30 PM: Home! I wash my face, brush my teeth, and get in bed. I scroll on Instagram to “come down” from such a fun social night (extroverts, you relate, right?).
12:00 AM: Lights out. Goodnight!
Steps: 6,820
Screen time: 3 hrs 24 mins
Was it honest? It was definitely honest. Was it representative? That depends. It’s somewhat atypical for me to have a wide open day with no calls, meetings, or podcast recordings. That usually only happens 1-2x/week.
My screen time is definitely lower than normal. It averages 4-5 hours a day, though one of my goals this year is to get it to something with a 3 in front of it.
Also I probably was a bit more tenacious than usual on the book writing front knowing I’d have to tell on myself here.
So, that was my day! Maybe some of you expected more glamour. And sometimes there is! Sometimes I get to interview a favorite author for the podcast or go to a fun event. Sometimes I take a random week off and go to Italy or London. But mostly it’s just me sitting at my computer trying not to be too mean to myself while I make up stories about fake people.
As I said at the top, I’m so happy you’re here. Look out for my weekly Sunday Sundries post later this week.
xo,
Becca
Wow, I now need everyone I know to post their DITL breakdown. Loved this!!
Becca!! I'm honored to see One-Star Romance in such amazing company (and also loved this DITL - popsicles are a VERY important part of the work day).