Hi, If you’re new here, I’m Claire - I’m an Engagement Consultant and Mentor and I teach creatives how to use Substack. In the Sparkle membership, we are bringing attention to Substack VIDEO for the whole month of June.
The video above is a slow mo of nothing much at all just to represent and inspire what you could do here. You insert this type of video from your writer dashboard. For our class with more detail on how to use video, head here and jump in for £11 or join us for the year for £95 or £250 if you want personalised strategic support.
Looking for something specific here at
- use the search bar inside my publication or head to my A-Z of resources.Hello Sparkly one,
How’s your day going?
I’ve written something different for today…
There’s a scene in (the original) Mary Poppins film released in 1964 in (set in 1910) that has stayed imprinted on my heart since childhood.
In the scene, Mary, Burt and the kids step into a painting on a London street. The painting catapults them into a technicolour world of fairgrounds and animated penguins. Supercalifragilistic the song follows soon after…
That’s EXACTLY what it felt a couple of weeks back stepping out of my ever green rural Northumberland bubble and landing in the centre of London for a Substack writers meet up.
I love London. It feels like a home from home. It also feels like another planet.
A glistening river walk and a rainbow of sparkly colour (thanks to Ruth and Amy), a market with all the food and drinks you could hope for (thanks Seven Dials) and a poignant moment in time to talk about Substack and self-expression (thanks Emma and Farrah)
I spent just over 24 hours in London and here’s what we did.
I took the tube to meet my writerly pal
at Waterloo Station. We met via Heart Leap writing group last year and at this year.The station is super familiar to me as it’s where I went when I first worked with the National Theatre YEARS ago.
We met under the clock and a kind promo girl gave us free ice cream. Emma helped with my suit case as I ate mine - a nutty caramel dream.
Then we headed to a members office with a view along the South Bank. We chatted for hours, drank iced water and Earl Grey tea and worked on Substack projects. As we sat locked on to our projects, an email dropped in to say I had a new paid subscriber to Sparkle on Substack. A year ago Sparkle on Substack didn’t exist. A year ago I definitely wouldn’t have gone to London on a whim. A year ago I didn’t know if there was much point in hoping I could leave Northumberland as my husband was so sick. 1
Time ran away with us and between pings on our temporary whatsapp group, snap chats from Emma’s daughters and words typed out on keyboards, it was time to go.
A quick change for me (just because “a night out”), a freshen up for us both and we were headed uptown . An early dinner in a vibrant market-style square.
Chance to meet a group of writers who said ‘yes please’ when we posted on Notes with an invite only a few days earlier.
Me, Emma, Amy B, Anna, Emma, Eva, Kate, Kate, Lauren, Natalie and Uma all met up and tried our best to connect up the dots with who writes what on Substack. Conversations were vibrant and snatched, supportive and open hearted. I’m always fascinated with London life and the impression folks have of ‘the north’.
From day to night…
Time sped up and it was time to head on to Conway Hall for pre podcast drinks. Two of the gals didn’t have tickets but we decided if the universe was on our side (which I suspected it was) they would get into the event anyway. And we made it so.
The event was lovely. The venue was stunning. A place for stories.
It was great to bump into Emma ahead of the recording and to meet Farrah in real life. The chat spanned a timeline of Emma and Farrah’s connection, of tech and connection, of self-expression and creativity. You can listen to it over at
. Here’s the link.It was super interesting to hear Farrah speak about her career, climbing the ladder and ‘the corner office’. She was the same age when she got her ‘big break promotion’ as I was when I had my first born.
L wasn’t planned, Dave (my now husband) and I had really only just met. 😵💫
10 years on, I can safely say giving up my ‘dream job’ at the time was an unexpected yellow brick road. It was my sliding doors moment truly.
I leant forward when Farrah spoke about gardening, flowers and creative flow.
Taming nature to forget the world. I know you’ll love this WATCH THIS SPACE nudge to lean into what’s possible here on Substack…
“We’re predicting a rise of gardening related publications and communities”.
I’m so here for it. ✨ 🧑🏼🌾 and I know
and will be OVER THE MOON.Emma shared more about her creative process and her pull to straddle the industry of both traditional and self-publishing. She’s since written about it in depth here.
Take this, leave that…
The more I Emma speak, the more I realise how brilliantly business savvy she is. She is also BRILLIANT at reminding us how important it is to make space for our own creative projects in and outside of our successful business models.
There was time for questions then we circled around the room and connected in with more writers and chatted about things that have evaporated from my mind now.
Soon the venue was locking down and it was time to make our way home. A quick refill of my water bottle (why am I always so thirsty in London?) and we walked to a tube station through the bright lights of central and hopped over to catch a train from Victoria.
My head swirled around at the part of the podcast chat about developing a thicker skin if you’re working online, building a “brand”…
Probably the biggest lesson of the last year here on Substack if I’m honest. I wanted to understand more but maybe I already do? 2
Back at Emma S’s house just before midnight, her wonderful teenage girls told us about their night of TV. We drank milky tea and chatted about the events of the evening and cute dogs. A late night for me, I could barely keep my eyes open.
I fell asleep with a full heart and a slightly sore head.
✨
We’re writers now…
The next day, we walked by a beautiful lake and talked more about personal brand and marketing, about energy ebb and flow and how long it takes to be happy to press publish on the work we do.
has a book coming out on pre-order after Summer - I can already see it’s WILD success. ✨I headed back into central London heart full, mind inspired and ready for salty hula hoops! Thanks to my pal
for helping me decide what was theOn the train home, I submitted a big project to a colleague. I hope it’s enough.
Wifi worked better than I remembered and I was glad of my M&S picnic for the three hour ride. A pesto pasta salad and some chocolate walnut whips with tea made in a flask at Emma’s house. Better than the food they serve now in first class!
A new Diamond Member popped into Sparkle on Substack and we chatted via Substack dms half the way home.
On the approach to Alnmouth (my home station), a lady gasped at the sight of the sweeping coastline, of pastel homes dotted with dog walkers. The space she said, there’s so much space.
She asked if I’d been before - it was a joy to say;
“Yes, actually I live here, it’s really lovely.”
Fancy organising a Substack writer’s meet up where you are?
Substack have a whole support package to support you to host free writerly meet ups wherever you are in the world.
Ours was organised quickly and impromptu via Notes but the one I organised in Alnwick for
was in collaboration with Substack. And so they supported the advertising and gave me branded templates.It’s really easy to do.
Here’s some more info from
-Thanks for reading and if you’re new to Substack I wanted to say; MAGIC lives in this platform, in this portal new friendships and kinships develop.
It’s a wonderful place to be. If you feel on the outside looking in or that everyone has their supportive pals in place or you’re not part of the party, please drop me a comment below or a dm and I’ll connect you up.
Sending sparkles,
Claire
✨
PS - LAST CALL for my NEW class - Turn your IG into a Substack publication - we are live Sunday at 5pm, replay available for all sign ups. This is a holistic approach to being online pulling on the thread of setting up a Substack as a digital magazine from content you have already! Stop creating for meta for free, bring it all to your Substack readers! COME!?
PPS - WONDERFUL
has offered you ALL a 30 day free trial of - such a wonderful community of writers, both pro and on their way. A mix of wellbeing enthusiasts, journalists and me. Here’s the link. Valid until the end of the month!My husband Dave has chronic fatigue/ long covid brought on by a perfect storm in 2020 but this is only one of the things that has been true for us.
My main lessons to protect your peace building a business online 1. Be cautious who you collaborate with. 2. block anyone who is unkind or mean, 3. Imagine your writing in a market square full of people, some of them are a little unhinged - still want to publish? Fine, go ahead. 4. Some of your friends won’t buy into your work or share it ever, they might not even ask about it but you will make new friends who love to talk about it and everything you are.
Jump via the internet into London town with me?