Why Should I Subscribe to Destroy Your Safe and Happy Lives?

Or: “What’s so great about your newsletter, Ron?”

As I wrote in my introductory post, “I’ve been working around books for my entire professional life. I’ve been a bookseller, a book reviewer, a journalist covering the publishing industry, a digital marketing director, a writer, and an acquiring editor… One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that there’s only so much you can read about writing itself—ultimately, the key to becoming a better writer is just to keep writing. But if there’s only so much any of us can say about the craft of writing, there’s also so much to be said about everything around it, whether it’s about the business side of publishing or about the psychological and emotional aspects of the writing life.”

And that’s what I’m hoping to share with you on a regular basis.

Why are some of the archives locked?

In the beginning, there was a premium subscription level, where you paid to get slightly more newsletters than the people who just signed up for free. I stopped doing that, but I wanted to honor the deal I made with people back then. (Or, perhaps, I didn’t want to spend an afternoon going back and unlocking all those articles.)

Can I forward the emails?

Sure, why not? I’m not going to get bent out of shape if you forward an article to somebody that you think might enjoy it or find it useful. Maybe they’ll decide to subscribe, too!

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Notes on starting (and sticking to) a successful writing practice, from the author of Our Endless and Proper Work.

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Ron Hogan is a freelance essayist and developmental editor who works with novelists and narrative non-fiction writers. Find him on Twitter at @RonHogan.