Infectious Giggles Inside
26th September 2021
Dear Diary,
Naaaah. I'm kidding. I’m not gonna make you go through sappy journal entries here.
But tell me, how have you been?
And how has it already been a month since I last wrote to you?!
You know how sometimes you see a teenager on roller skates pulling all these crazy stunts at the rink, but to you, it’s all just a big blurry motion?
Life took the form of that stunt-pulling-roller-skating-teenager for me the last few weeks.
So I took some time out to make sense of a lot of things and hit pause for a while - which I highly recommend you do! Don't wait until all hell breaks loose to realise you need a break.
If you feel frustrated every time you sit down to read a book you were looking forward to, it's maybe a sign you need to pause for a while and relax. Think about it :)
Speaking of relaxing, you know how some people pour themselves a glass of wine to relax?
But for the person you're gonna be meeting today on the Newsletter Nerd Show, relaxing means bringing out her pencils and putting on her doodling hat.
A long lost relative of one Mrs Pepperpot, Amy Nolan—who writes the Doodle Digest newsletter—has been doodling since she was a kid.
"My dad would make sure that I always had plain papers to doodle on," she smiled.
From pillowcases and shoes to her dog Barry, Amy has experimented with a wide range of canvasses for her doodling. I mean, look at this:
Today, Amy also creates commissioned business illustrations that I highly encourage you to check out!
In this episode, Amy and I unpack a lot about baking disasters, creativity, flipping the narrative of your newsletter, taking your art seriously, not second-guessing yourself or your audience, handling unsubscriptions, and a whole lot more.
And consider yourself warned: there's a LOT of giggling as well. Hit the play button below to tune in:
Alternately, check out the episode on Anchor or Apple Podcasts.
For this segment of the show, I lovingly held Amy at virtual gunpoint and asked her to pick her favourite newsletter edition.
Kidding. You know I would never do it (: At least not like that. Let’s just say she voluntarily picked an edition of her choice and read an excerpt from the same.
The one she chose puts mystery clouds, a wolf in a night gown, optimism, and poo in the same equation. Yup, you read it right.
Also, please look at this terribly cute doodle she sent over after our conversation <3
Time Stamp: Head to 31:03 in the podcast to check out the reading
This is that critically acclaimed (who we kidding?) part of the show where I asked Amy questions relating to newsletters and she answered them with a Yes or No. Alright then, let’s go!
… before we go, this is what the GIF below means - if the llama accompanying the question turns red, it means Amy’s answer was No. And if it turns green, it means her answer was Yes.
Let’s GO!
Time Stamp: Head to 35:44 in the podcast if you’re a fan of the theatre and want the complete experience 🎭🥁
With those incredible answers, this conversation comes to a close. Don’t forget to check out Amy’s work here and say hi to her here!
And as always, please hit that reply button to let me if you want to see yourself or someone you know on the show.
Thank you for being here <3
Until the next episode,
Akshaya
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