Don't sleep on Katherine's brilliant academic writing groups!

Today in easily confused words: spur (verb): to incite to action or accelerated growth or development* "I was spurred to action." spurn (verb): to reject with disdain or contempt* “I spurn the very idea of black tea without milk.” *Defs from Merriam-Webster #amediting #AcWri #writingtips

Registration just opened for the next session of Katherine's ever-popular writing groups (seriously, these things booked up quick last time)! An excellent opportunity to build community and get support for your summer writing goals.

7 years ago my beloved cousin almost lost her leg, now she's doing a half-mile outdoor swim to raise money for the London Air Ambulance (without whom we may have lost her). Consider sponsoring her here: 2025swimserpentine.enthuse.com/pf/jo-serpen...

Trying to find an academic press for your book? This post has some really valuable tips to help you feel confident about your sample chapter.

Don't buy shit, write your book

I have had way too many projects die because I burned through all my energy talking about them rather than working on them. On the flip side, I find that not talking about them at all leaves them feeling inert and less real. So, think I may have to steal this genius idea.

a piece from my calligraphy professor Carl Kurtz. September 1, 1939 "We Must Love One Another or Die"

📝A rare last-minute editing slot just opened up in my calendar! Reach out if you're looking for a second set of eyes on an academic or non-fiction writing project - we could be getting it off your desk before you know it. www.kateturnereditor.com/contact

I just got an email from a student who read my book for their research and wanted to let me know they really enjoyed it. This has brighten up my day, and I encourage you all to write to authors to tell them you enjoyed reading their book. We all need this extra boost right now.

It's more than a little difficult to hear yourself think right now. And if you can't do that, it's pretty much impossible to take meaningful action, show up thoughtfully for your community, or create your best work. Here's some gentle ways to create more space for your own ideas.

You are thirsty. Attempts to drink from the firehose of dread will do nothing for that. It'll bruise your face and hurt your neck. You know what WILL quench that thirst? Doing something.

Some valuable insider insight on starting a successful developmental editing business

Today's the last day to subscribe before I send out my next writing and seasonality newsletter. Featuring musings on: writing through The Darkness, making space in your mind for your own ideas (cc: The Darkness), and Toni Morrison's ideal writing space. www.kateturnereditor.com/newsletter

Been thinking a lot about the particular role that writers and editors can play in ~These Times~. Historically, we have been vital voices in countering misinformation and hopelessness, but things are looking a lot more complicated in this buck wild information ecosystem.

If you’re trying to de-Meta your life right now, just a reminder that Zuck also owns WhatsApp - which is a very heavily used app for many of us. Talking to lots of people recently who had forgotten or had never known this was the case. Highly recommend Signal as an alternative.

Timeless advice: act stupid

I have a little plea and it's this: please keep posting about things that aren't The Horrors. I am not saying to not look at or be informed about The Horrors. What I am saying—what I am genuinely kind of begging you to do—is keep posting about books and movies and sunsets and pets and joy. Please.

Anyone on Bluesky planning on partaking in Fun-A-Day this Feb (or doing it this month)? Thinking of posting my daily thing here. If you don’t know wtf I’m on about-it’s a cool daily art challenge. Info below from the Philly contingent (who do theirs in January) #funaday25 #capregionfunaday25

If you cant afford art, or cant draw or whatever yourself, USE PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGES NOT AI.

hello hello! are you in or near Bristol? would you like to come to a public event where I will try and make the case that the pandemic turned the world into a more introverted place but that's an urge we need to resist? are you free on March 3? then do come along: www.meetup.com/bristol-huma...

One thing before tomorrow: Use your local libraries. Get your card. Borrow books, manga, films, audios, ebooks. Recommend titles for purchase (usually online). Attend promoted activities. Fill out those "How are we doing?" questionnaires. Tell your kids that libraries are good. They are. 📚

Having lots of conversations about balancing the need to avoid familiar cycles of reactivity/news burnout with the ethical requirement to stay engaged. Today I’m leaning more into the former in the hopes it will build a better foundation for the latter. (1/?)

Oh yes, I love to be charged more for a service I very much do not want and did not ask for.

Periodic editor's reminder to use "TK" for your placeholder copy, because it's easier to catch at a glance than whatever your gentile social media producer might use instead

Since I've been here for a while… here are some useful features on Bluesky that you might not have discovered yet! 🧵

I see a lot of people talk about the environmental costs of AI. I don't see as much about the human exploitation behind it.

Soo I'm 2 issues in & already behind schedule on my newsletter. BUT it's coming soon-ish? If you'd enjoy some cosy thoughts on winter writing, including ideas for free and low-cost ways to build a writing practice in 2025, sign up for The Writing Nook:

libro.fm forever

If you've already started scheming about all the writing you're going to get done next year, get off on a good foot by joining one of Katherine's excellent scholarly writing groups, starting in January.

OK, folks. By popular demand I went ahead and created another starter pack for K-12 History and Social Studies teachers because you can never follow too many teachers. Thanks for sharing. Let me know if you would like to be added. 🗃️ go.bsky.app/4yrJKvt

The problem with pieces like this, which are countless, is the prevailing media assumption that left-of-center Americans need constant corrective instruction about how to be in and engage with the world, whereas right-of-center Americans are simply to be observed in awe, like rainbows or mountains.

Social Media must be overthrown and replaced by Social Persia, which will in turn be conquered by Social Macedonia.

More detail: When booksellers get pre-orders, it's a quantitative and qualitative signal that there is like *something here* about a book. The avalanche of new books out there is hard to communicate if you're not in the industry, and pre-orders are one of vanishingly few signals. It is a real thing!

What I love about this Officially Verified Bluesky Press Lists is it includes a real mix of people at major legacy media outlets, independent organizations, and freelancers. We can promote a diverse media when billionaires don't control what you see. Let's keep it growing! go.bsky.app/U9juDW4

A gif that comes up for my name… [Decided not to go for one of the dozens involving the Princess of Wales looking slightly “sassy.”]

Closes today! Open to all history peeps in the UK. ‘an important opportunity to better understand experiences of disabled, chronically ill, D/deaf, blind/partially sighted and neurodivergent historians and to explore the teaching and studying of disability history in UK Higher Education.’

for anyone trying to extricate yourself from the clutches of Amazon: bookstores make more than a third of their money between now & New Year’s, & most bookstores ship nationwide 💌

Pretty fucked up, NYT! The NYT Tech Guild is still on strike. Don't play the crossword!

one-fifth? holy shit! I love this so much.

I’m a public librarian in a degenerating democracy, and I am pleading: Care about your library. Use it. See what programs and events it offers. And pay attention to its governing body. See who the trustees are. Consider running yourself. Libraries will need all the community support they can get. 📚

Did you know that @nytguildtech.bsky.social created a few strike-related games that you can play guilt-free while respecting the picket line? For example, you can play Strikle! Or you can help Scabby cross 8th Avenue to the picket line guild-build.netlify.app

Thinking long term one thing we will need is archives, analog archives. The instability and malliability of digital media and digital culture means that we need to document queer, trans, black, indigenous, asian, latinx, & disabled lives in ways that leave a record for those that come after us.

Always 💖 Don't make me tap the sign

Know your rights Ohio!