And now, it's time to rest. And eat Rice Krispies.
Plus: The Pitching Power Hour has a new schedule in 2025!
Last night, I made Rice Krispie squares with browned butter, as opposed to regular ol’ melted butter. I’m fancy like that.
On October 26, all my laundry made it into the washing machine. No small feat since I had just got home from Hong Kong and I was so jetlagged that I cried about scrambled eggs. (Yeah, I’m not sure what happened there either).
On June 18, while I was in Labrador, I reminded Ryan that it was Clover’s first day of advanced doggy training (... what little good that did us. She ate puzzle pieces today. Plural).
On May 14, I spent a couple of hours doing a report for an AGM. On April 9, I apparently took care of something cryptically described in my day planner as “bundle”. On February 20, I had an online meeting with Sarah to plan a workshop. And on January 2, my day was filled with eight hours of a marketing project.
In short, I’ve done A LOT in 2024 and I know you have too.
My year has been FULL. Full of work, full of life, and full of the little things that are so easy to forget but that definitely add up to a whole lot of accomplishment. And every time I connect with one of my readers, I know your world is equally full. But now, for many of us, a quieter few weeks of rest approach. I hope you will love every moment of it and bask in the reflection of a year well lived. If you’re tempted to look back at your agenda and scold yourself for everything that didn’t quite turn out as planned, I hope instead you can pick three or seven random days and just look at all you did in that day alone and feel proud of it. I sure do.
2025 will bring a new day and time to the Pitching Power Hour. We will be meeting on the first* Wednesday of the month at 11:00 AM EST.
That’s January 8*, February 5, March 5, April 2, May 7, June 4, July 9*, August 6, September 3, October 1, November 5, and December 3.
*Yes, January 8 and July 9 are actually the second Wednesday of their months in order to accommodate holidays*
What is the Pitching Power Hour? It’s a virtual co-working session. If you are someone who thrives on external accountability, this is for you. We log on to Zoom, say quick hellos, and then get down to business, working in silence for the better part of the hour. Just before the time’s up, we turn our cameras and mics back on and report on how things went. Think of it like a homework group, and the homework in question is pitching. And we have a 100% success rate. For every single Pitching Power Hour in 2024, someone got a yes from an editor. Sometimes it was me. Sometimes it was you. Sometimes it was everybody!
This is a perk open to paid newsletter subscribers. If you’re on the fence about taking the leap from free to paid and what to try out the Pitching Power Hour, send me an email and I’ll hook you up so you can try our next session for free. (VanessaChiasson@gmail.com)
Paid members, you’ll get a reminder email with the link in early January.
Speaking of schedules, I’ve been a weekly newsletter writer for a while now. I wanted to give you a heads up that there’s about six weeks in 2025 where I won’t be sending a newsletter as they’re set around holiday long weekends. This is the last newsletter for 2024 and the first for 2025 will be the week of January 6 -11.
What I’m Reading Over The Holidays
London’s Hidden Rivers by David Fathers. I can’t wait to take the time and slowly absorb this delightful little book. Rivers have been making an appearance a lot in my work this year.
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson. I loved Stevenson’s first book, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and I read it over last year’s holiday break. Seems fitting to start the year with him again!
The Hollywood Spy by Susan Elia MacNeil. I’ve been devouring MacNeil’s “Maggie Hope” mystery series and I’ve been eagerly watching my name slowly rise to the top of the library’s waiting list.
Wishing all of you a joyful holiday season!
Vanessa
