Even though I'm not the target audience, I enjoy the heck out of your Substack. Your honesty and way with words always give me a little zing that reminds me that working in publishing is kind of awesome. Thanks for making it part of your to-do list. I hope you have a surprisingly relaxing holiday! Dinah
Sally--Thank you so much for your advice and insights. Your Substack has been an inspiring read this year and I thank you very much for it. May your holidays be exactly as you like them with a little added something you weren't expecting but will be delighted with. ~Janet, The Simmering Chef
Great article and solid suggestion for the overwhelm. I always find myself saying, "Bird by bird, Renee"... you know it's how you need to approach it yet we still have the head-in-the-hands moment.
Sometimes, when everything goes into that top left box and they all need to be done to move forward, I find it necessary to play a round of full-deck solitaire on my computer before jumping in.
Whatever works!! It’s amazing to start to notice our patterns and examine what “works” and what may not be serving us anymore. Also nothing wrong with a little solitaire!
Your insight about the folly of chasing trends rather than excavating one's unique expertise reminds me of some of our most successful culinary voices—those who didn't follow the market but rather created their own. Take Martha Stewart, for instance: she's now at one hundred books. The way you've adapted this presidential framework for the modern cookbook landscape shows exactly why you're such a valuable shepherd in this industry.
I'm so excited to have found this blog! I'm writing a book now, and I'm keen to start learning about the world of literary agents. Thank you for giving us an inside look into the industry!
I love the idea of using the Eisenhower Matrix. My business coach has us use it for business projects. My cookbook project is a side gig that I'm working on, this will help me focus better. Thanks for sharing.
This was a great post Sally. I'm very familiar with the Eisenhower Matrix from my day job as a corporate lawyer but have never thought about applying it to my food writing but shall do so going forward! I also like your suggestion of not spreading yourself to thin but really focussing on key priorities - and of course not comparing yourself to others!
Will come back to this post many times no doubt as I work on my goals / OKRs for next year!
Thank you! Yea I honestly hadn’t thought about it directly related to proposals until I set out to write about how I use it working in my day to day. I’m toying with the idea of doing a 2.0 for once your book is out. There can be SO many competing priorities for authors when it’s promotion time.
I’m not there yet (currently trying to find an agent and then a publisher) but version 2.0 for when the book is out sounds great! And maybe even a version 1.b for that stage inbetween a cookbook deal and the book being out?
This is such a good reminder that not everything is urgent/do right now (v hard for someone like me, living with the constant guilt that there aren’t more than 24 hours in a day.) I’ll be referencing this post on a daily basis as a pep talk I think 😂
Yeah, my experience from the workplace reminds me that women more often than men need to learn to delegate...we seem to believe it's going to be easier to do it ourselves. Very valuable to get guidance from an expert...thanks for putting this out there!
Sally - thanks for this. I've used a variation of the Eisenhower Matrix for years (Easy-Hard, High Priority-Low Priority) but never knew what it was called until your email. I don't delete things in the bottom right because things in that quadrant may change priority in the future - that's literally where "write cookbook proposal" sits right now!
Even though I'm not the target audience, I enjoy the heck out of your Substack. Your honesty and way with words always give me a little zing that reminds me that working in publishing is kind of awesome. Thanks for making it part of your to-do list. I hope you have a surprisingly relaxing holiday! Dinah
Omg Dinah!! That means so much to me. Thank you! Happy and healthy relaxing holiday wishes right back to you!
Sally--Thank you so much for your advice and insights. Your Substack has been an inspiring read this year and I thank you very much for it. May your holidays be exactly as you like them with a little added something you weren't expecting but will be delighted with. ~Janet, The Simmering Chef
Thank you for reading, commenting, and being here. Wishing you the same!
Thanks for your insights: relevant and well organized, as usual. Wishing you and yours the best of holidays... and new year!
from Tokyo, with love,
Elizabeth
Wishing you a happy new year Elizabeth!! Thank you for reading and being here. It’s such a thrill!
Great article and solid suggestion for the overwhelm. I always find myself saying, "Bird by bird, Renee"... you know it's how you need to approach it yet we still have the head-in-the-hands moment.
Sometimes, when everything goes into that top left box and they all need to be done to move forward, I find it necessary to play a round of full-deck solitaire on my computer before jumping in.
Whatever works!! It’s amazing to start to notice our patterns and examine what “works” and what may not be serving us anymore. Also nothing wrong with a little solitaire!
Your insight about the folly of chasing trends rather than excavating one's unique expertise reminds me of some of our most successful culinary voices—those who didn't follow the market but rather created their own. Take Martha Stewart, for instance: she's now at one hundred books. The way you've adapted this presidential framework for the modern cookbook landscape shows exactly why you're such a valuable shepherd in this industry.
Wow thank you Glen! 😜 I am going to go set a tablescape of proposals and light the candelabracontracts
I'm so excited to have found this blog! I'm writing a book now, and I'm keen to start learning about the world of literary agents. Thank you for giving us an inside look into the industry!
Welcome! How did you find this corner of the internet?
A happy stumble 😊
I love the idea of using the Eisenhower Matrix. My business coach has us use it for business projects. My cookbook project is a side gig that I'm working on, this will help me focus better. Thanks for sharing.
awesome, so glad this framework is helpful!
Thank you! Great advice
Love all of this! Happy New Year! Thanks for pushing me into the unknown in 2024 :)
Thanks for taking the leap!
I love this and need to come back to it! Thank you.
This was a great post Sally. I'm very familiar with the Eisenhower Matrix from my day job as a corporate lawyer but have never thought about applying it to my food writing but shall do so going forward! I also like your suggestion of not spreading yourself to thin but really focussing on key priorities - and of course not comparing yourself to others!
Will come back to this post many times no doubt as I work on my goals / OKRs for next year!
Thank you! Yea I honestly hadn’t thought about it directly related to proposals until I set out to write about how I use it working in my day to day. I’m toying with the idea of doing a 2.0 for once your book is out. There can be SO many competing priorities for authors when it’s promotion time.
Thanks for being here! Reading. And sharing!
I’m not there yet (currently trying to find an agent and then a publisher) but version 2.0 for when the book is out sounds great! And maybe even a version 1.b for that stage inbetween a cookbook deal and the book being out?
That’s the right attitude! Good luck!
Thank you!
Yea there’s a bunch of cookbook creation versions I’m toying with. Do you have your query list of agents yet?
Yes, am currently waiting to hear back from an agent. With a small platform (which I’m working on) I’m settling in for what might be a longer road!
This is such a good reminder that not everything is urgent/do right now (v hard for someone like me, living with the constant guilt that there aren’t more than 24 hours in a day.) I’ll be referencing this post on a daily basis as a pep talk I think 😂
Wait, there’s only 24 hours in the day?!
Yeah, my experience from the workplace reminds me that women more often than men need to learn to delegate...we seem to believe it's going to be easier to do it ourselves. Very valuable to get guidance from an expert...thanks for putting this out there!
Thanks for being here! Delegating is so hard
What a great and resourceful post Sally - thank you for the Christmas gift!
Thanks for being here and reading!
Sally - thanks for this. I've used a variation of the Eisenhower Matrix for years (Easy-Hard, High Priority-Low Priority) but never knew what it was called until your email. I don't delete things in the bottom right because things in that quadrant may change priority in the future - that's literally where "write cookbook proposal" sits right now!
Oh I love that! And yeah, that bottom right isn’t necessarily to delete. It’s just to let go of for the immediate.
Good ideas about priorities. Thanks and may your holidays be happy ones, Sally!
Same to you Kate!