Charming Notes

“I guess this book is the 18-hour version of how to make a literary life. The 18-minute version, simplicity itself, is in this paragraph: a thousand words a day (or two hours of revision) five days a week, for the rest of your life, and—and!—one charming note (or a phone call that makes your hands sweat), five days a week, for the rest of your life.” – Carolyn See, Making a Literary Life

Carolyn See’s advice is simple; write a charming note to a novelist, editor, journalist, poet, sculptor, etc. every single day. In her book, Making a Literary Life, she devotes an entire chapter to this notion, even suggesting the size of the stationery.

I don’t do this every day. In fact, I do this about twice a year. I wrote to Barbara Kingsolver one year and got a reply back. It was thrilling. Even more thrilling is when I get a note or an email from a reader. A note is more exciting because it entails effort, but even a remark from one of my blog followers is worth more than a gold, frankincense or myrrh (although I am not sure how much myrrh is worth).