I'm fond of change. It isn't always the most helpful thing, though it has been especially useful these last few years. I feel like my willingness to change made adapting to a reality in flux a bit easier, maybe.

Recently, I dove headfirst into a series of changes that include new tools and new approaches to my writing and other artistic practices. I'll share those, a bit about my social media break up, a new Book-of-the-Week feature, and more in this issue of READINARY.

A New Tool

I used Trello for years. I organized my writing and other projects using Trello. I paid for a premium account to enable greater storage and automation options. I used it extensively while pursuing my MLIS degree. And I recently switched to using Notion instead.

Notion, if you don't know, is a tool designed to organize your information. Notes, lists, spreadsheets, databases—it provides a cross-platform tool to do all of that in a very flexible way, allowing you to mix it together and create relations between different elements. This makes Notion potentially complex, but I found it pretty easy to pick up. It also offers many options to import/export content. I imported spreadsheets and my Trello boards, then started transforming that information into a tool that helps me see what I need to work on at a glance, while being able to dig deeply into every aspect of my business.

Though it lacks the automation features available in Trello, the power Notion brings to organizing everything makes up for that lack. I'd still like to see automation features, but I haven't missed it as much as I thought I might.

Another big plus—Notion's price for the premium version is considerably less than Trello. With the initial credits Notion gives you to try out the features, an annual subscription cost about the same as two months of paying for Trello.

I'm not sponsored in any way by Notion. I don't have an affiliate relationship. I'd come across it watching Kelsey Rodriguez on YouTube and decided to give it a try. If you like that sort of thing, I recommend checking out her video.

New DRIVE-BY STORIES

If you caught my latest short short story—The First Ghost on the Moon—you might remember that I'm changing things up a bit with my DRIVE-BY STORIES.

• No longer publishing to Instagram. I'm pulling back on Instagram / Facebook right now, more on that a bit later.

• Publishing DRIVE-BY STORIES to Readinary subscribers. New stories will go out free to Readinary subscribers and then I'll post them each week on my site. I still need to go back and update many of the previous 25 stories already published. So basically, you'll see the stories weeks before the general public.

• You can be my hero by becoming a premium Readinary subscriber or purchasing my books, stories, and other items on my shop. Your support is very much appreciated.

I still plan to publish a collection of the stories when I get to 100 stories.

Social Media Break UP

I broke up with social media. Our relationship hasn't always been the healthiest. I think it was time.

I'm keeping my accounts. It's still a place where people can discover me and my work. I'll post sometimes, but I'm not going to be posting daily or anything like that. I don't think that was the greatest thing for me. I haven't missed scrolling through feeds since I deleted the apps from my phone.

Will I get back together with social media? No way. We'll stay casual friends, maybe chat once in a while, but I don't expect social media to be a major part of my life. We want very different things.

Book-of-the-Week

My librarian's book-of-the-week is MURDER BUYS A T-SHIRT by Christy Fifield. It's the first book in the Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery series. Set in Keyhole Bay, Florida, Glory Martine investigates the captain of the football team's unexpected death. Together with her friends and the parrot Bluebeard (inherited along with Southern Treasures, her souvenir shop), and possibly her Great Uncle Louis's ghost, Glory pokes around asking questions, building a list of suspects, and trying to understand what exactly is going on in her shop.

This is a fun cozy mystery with a bunch of Southern recipes inspired by the meals that Glory and her friends cook each Thursday. I recommend checking it out if you enjoy cozy mysteries with a hint of paranormal activity.

Upcoming

I plan to have a big announcement coming up soon about a project that I've started. I've got a lot to do before I say more. I'll share the news here as soon as I can. I'm very excited. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

I'm writing more DRIVE-BY STORIES, so you'll see those appearing as I write them.

I'm also writing a new novel. I'd taken a break for a while, but I'm getting back into it now and having fun. I expect I'll finish it soon—hopefully by the end of the month!

And I have a great many titles to get published still, so I'll be working on those.

Being a full-time librarian/IT person and running a writing and publishing business is sort of like trying to do a half-dozen full-time jobs.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm having fun with all of my various projects and I'm happy you're along to share in the journey. A special thank you for all of you that are premium subscribers or have picked up my books and stories from my shop—you're my heroes!

Best wishes, always—Ryan

READINARY

Turn Around and Other Musings