Cody Cook-Parrott's Blog, page 4
November 29, 2024
Ask Me Anything
Dear Reader,
I am excited to try a new experiment today for paid subscribers of this newsletter. Think Friday threads meets AMA on social media except we can all support each other.
FRIDAY SMALL BIZ OFFICE HOURS🫧 GUIDELINES 🫧
YOU CAN NOW START YOUR OWN NEW THREAD IN THE CHAT ON FRIDAYS
Ask anything
Newsletter strategy
Want us to look at some copy?
Launching an online class
How to get more paid subscribers
Finessing you writing practice
How to build habits with ADHD
Bring whatever is on your mind to the chat every Friday and I’ll be in there answering questions and supporting you supporting each other. Most importantly : Have fun!
Monday Monday is having a 25% off forever sale that goes through Monday Dec 2 so now is a great time to jump in
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
November 27, 2024
Business Temp Check
Dear listener,
SEASON THREE OF COMMON SHAPES IS UPON USIt is my absolute pleasure to be back on the microphone and in your ears. Talking about all things business, art, values, deactivating social media, systems, rituals, and practices!
Links mentioned :
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
Creative Ideation Portal : Free three day guide to visioning your projects
Devon Price's essay about burnout
Writing The Personal : A three week class to bring the poetic, personal, and political together for essays of self discovery and service starting Dec 8
Taught by Cody Cook-Parrott with guest teachers and
CLASS IS RECORDED IF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT LIVE
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
November 25, 2024
The year of secure attachment
Photo by Lilian PitserThis has been the year of secure attachment. A year of an attuned nervous system. The year where my lover not texting me back for days does nothing to me other than give me the space to live my life alone.
I have found less ways to know how to weave my personal life into my writing, as it feels more private not only to the internet but also in my real life. Keeping things to myself for longer than normal. Learning about the long lead time. Making mistakes along the way about sharing things too early, before they are fully baked.
In two weeks I am teaching Writing The Personal with and for three Sundays in a row. I am looking forward to grappling with these quandaries with these two brilliant minds, talking about the business of writing, and navigating these big questions with the group. When is something ready for the public? Who is the public? What do we owe our readerships? Who are we writing to? To Substack or not to Substack? How do our values weave into or offerings?
I’d love to see you in class : two and three part payment plans available
As I continue to tend to these questions in my own writing I stay curious of how much to share. Do I share what the lover does, how his pants hit his waist, how to keep his secrets but also tell the fascinating story of our companionship.
If you are a paid subscriber you will carry on reading, if you are a free subscriber you are invited to upgrade to read the rest of this essay. Monday Monday is changing prices in a week and will now be behind the paywall. To lock in at the current price you can click the 25% off link. Common Shapes Podcast is always free and returns this Wednesday.
November 24, 2024
Beyond the veil
Photo by Lilian PitserDear reader,
I wanted to share today about some changes for the structure of Monday Monday that will affect paid and free subscribers and about the frequency and value this newsletter will have going forward.
On December 2 the monthly price of Monday Monday will go from $5/mo to $7/mo
Please note : this will not affect current paying subscribers - the rate that you signed up will remain.Monday Monday is on sale for the next week if you would like to lock in a lower price and join before the price increase. This price is not just for one year but for the rest of your time as a paying subscriber.
Monday Monday will no longer be free on Mondays. Weekly essays will be for paying subscribers with a free weekly podcast (when in season) and one free newsletter a month. The paid newsletters will be sent out with previews. If you do not like that I would suggest unsubscribing and downloading one of the following free guides. This gets you on my free marketing email list where you’ll always hear about new classes and offerings.
Note Taking Tools and Possibilities
I thought a lot about what I would need to feel like I wanted to put even more value into my newsletter, and it is for a different monthly exchange between myself and readers. I don’t think people talk about this enough - what is the exchange that makes us feel honored for our work and our job.
I promise to continue to put so much care and effort into these essays, to bring even more of the personal into the space, to write to a smaller and more engaged audience. I promise to be honest with my readers and bring quality and thoughtful work, deeper writing, and more transparency and behind the scenes of my business model.
To my free readers, especially those who have been reading along since 2012 - thank you for valuing this space. I will still send one free newsletter out a month and I hope you love Common Shapes (that returns this Wednesday!)
Again - if you are a free reader and worried you will miss out on important offerings and news, download a free guide and you won’t miss out on anything!
Thank you all for your support. I value transparency in business and art and this felt important to share today.
I did a smilier experiment at the beginning of last year that I wrote about below.
The following is from the above newsletter, and feels even more true today :
This newsletter, both the amount of subscribers and the income it brings in, has allowed me to leave all social media and I want it to continue to teach and be an example for others who hope to move away from digital platforms that no longer work for them. I have found more ways to be in alignment with my values, my politics, and my hopes since leaving social media and bringing so much of my focus here to Monday Monday.
I promise to keep this space full of my own truth telling, to shape it through the sight of radial ethics and transformative hope. I promise that once a month Monday Monday will be filled with free resources and my words and my thoughts and to touch base with you readers who have been here for years. Monday Monday will continue to redistribute a percentage of paid subscriptions every month to a mutual aid fund or organization dedicated to building a more just world.
I ended that experiment because at the time I really wanted MORE EYES on my work. I thought that would be the win. However today I am luxuriating in smaller groups, smaller audiences, smaller spaces, smaller containers for my writing, my teaching, my hosting, and my facilitating. I do not need to reach the masses, I want an exchange with fewer people for greater value. I do not want to this newsletter to get deluded and I feel as though it has a bit. I want it to be sharp and precise and offer deep value for the reader.
I have also taken the paywalls down off of two of my most personal essays if you want to take a look at what is in store.
Thank you for witnessing me in this decision. To stay, to dig deeper, and to commit to seeing what unfolds before you. Beyond the veil there is more!
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
Monday Monday is a reader-supported publication. To receive the Yes Yes Advice Column and essays behind the paywall - become a paid subscriber.
November 22, 2024
The plague of the platform
Dear reader,
I am writing from the early morning hours of Landscapes where I am having a professional existential crisis. I have these sometimes. We will be meeting 5:30am-7:30am EST every weekday next week as well.
HOUSEKEEPING 🧹Tomorrow I am teaching QUILT IN A WEEKEND and I would love for you to join me. Two trade spots remain and payment plans and scholarships are available. This is the last time I am teaching quilt class for the foreseeable future. It is also recorded if you cannot make it live.
My newsletter is currently hosted on a platform called Substack. Some of you have been reading for free since 2012 and may have never even noticed a change in service provider. Others are acutely aware of the platform and all its intricacies.
When Substack rolled out their Notes feature last year I immediately said, I have to leave. I can’t be another place with social media. Alas, I stayed.
After deactivating Instagram I am feeling allergic to all “platforms”. Today I am reconsidering staying, thinking about the difference between a newsletter and email marketing, the organization of my business model, and how I get paid to be a writer.
November 20, 2024
CODY TV EPISODE ONE
Today I come to you with my very own self published television program. Behold, episode one where I recorded it on zoom and the audio doesn’t always link perfectly to my lips.
An imperfect beginning! My first podcast was recorded on my phone for three years with no intro music or editing. Begin before you’re ready! Begin with the tools you have. Really envisioning Alice a la The L Word going from radio show to full production television program as my archetype here.
CODY TV : HOW TO THREAD YOUR SEWING MACHINEI don’t know if there will ever be an episode two of Cody TV but this was a very fun simple video to make to show you how to thread a sewing machine :)
It is my hope that no matter what you do with your life you have this very basic knowledge of how to thread your machine, wind your bobbin, and prepare the threads to sew two pieces of fabric together.
YOU GOT THIS!
I’d love to see you in quilt class this weekend. Especially because now you are so empowered to use this piece of mystical machinery.
Thank you for tuning in. Am I a YouTuber now?
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
November 19, 2024
BOOK LAUNCH DAY
Photo by Lilian PitserDear reader,
It is my new book Look About You : A Book of Ordinary Prayer’s debut day. Its birthday. My third scorpio book. The official day out in the world.
Monday Monday is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Publication days are so strange because literally nothing happens. The books have all been shipped. Most of you have it in your hands today. And I am alone in my house watching the wood stove rumble just like any other early morning. And yet, it is momentous, worth celebrating.
I wrote this book with the generous support of the readers who paid to witness me test out many forms on a separate paid newsletter of the same name. Those same readers helped me name it, complete it, and encouraged me throughout with their stories and tales of how the prayers touched them. For this I am so grateful.
There is a prayer for every day, even leap day, a mysterious day that arrives every four years. The prayers tie in with the seasons, with some of my own milestones, and the tides of the year.
A few days ago I celebrated 13.5 years without a drink and this book is a reflection of that sober devotion. I am grateful for my recovery and all those who came before me. Today I think of Marty Mann, the first woman and lesbian in AA. I think of my friend John R. and my first sponsor Mary who are both in the big meeting in the sky. I think of how I touch in with myself each morning through prayer and ritual with my own higher power, starting with a blade of grass.
There is a Muslim prayer I first heard in Fanny Howe’s essay Bewilderment that reads : “Lord, increase my bewilderment.”
I hope this book brings you into that great mystery, the great unknown. Let it puzzle you and delight you and let you carve out your own pathway to prayer.
Cook-Parrott reminds us that service and abolition begins with a soft willingness to sit with the void and tend to the connection we have with ourselves. With a structured cadence, Look About You gives us permission to surrender to our shared mysteries — at our own pace — through daily meditations. We see that there is no right or wrong way to pray, to create, to wither or regenerate, to rest, to love, to pivot, or to tend.
These prayers beckon us towards non-linear dreaming and offer readers a daily practice of resisting ordinary realms. We find grace in knowing that whether we are falling in or climbing out, we reman tethered to our hearts. We are instruments of magic.
Anna Fusco, author of Unsupervised
Local friends can find the book at Farm Club and Slip Vintage - and if you own a shop or have a favorite shop I’d love to send you copies to have in store.
The best things you can do to support this book :Buy a Copy
Leave a review on Good Reads
Like this newsletter
Comment below your favorite prayer so far
Share it in Substack Notes or Instagram or hell even TikTok
Let me know what you loved about it
Text it to a friend
Thank you for celebrating with me today! Another thank you to for designing and for editing. Writing a book is a wild thing, on to the next one!
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
Monday Monday is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
November 18, 2024
Quilting as Service
Photo by Cody SellsDear reader,
This week I got not one but TWO emails from quilt class alumni who are using their new skills as quilters to create raffle quilts for families and relief efforts in Gaza. Nothing delights me more than seeing artists use their skills and practice to bring awareness and resources to the most vulnerable and marginalized people of the world.
Raffles and group quilts have a long and varied history - from Civil War raffle quilts to the AIDS Memorial Quilt, to the trans and queer group quilts of today, there is no shortage of examples of quilts bringing people together.
I want to share more about these two quilts in today’s newsletter and also invite you to join me this weekend for QUILT IN A WEEKEND - A two day zoom workshop where we make a whole quilt in a weekend! Especially if you are looking for a place to put your post election grief, your everyday grief, your joy, your curiosity, this is the place for you. Sat Nov 23 + Sun Nov 24 12-4pm EST :)
I am also curious : Would a video of me teaching you to thread your sewing machine help you be able to take class? This often seems like the block for most people.
Bound Together: a Palestine Solidarity QuiltThis one comes from Blair Newman and fellows from the Bay Area JVP group who raised funds for MECA's Gaza Emergency Fund. They stitched together over 40(!!!) squares from community members (I love group quilts!)
From Blair on how this experience was transformative :
This quilt has morphed into something so much bigger than anything I could have imagined when we started this project 5 months ago. I have met so many people, neighbors, community members, Palestinians, Jews, and allies, who I never would have met otherwise. Through the quilt, I got connected to the owner of my fav local Palestinian owned coffee shop. He has been getting harassed by zionists, and accepted support from me, and by extension JVP. I just got home from the community event we organized at his cafe in solidarity. The quilt was there, but the event was so much more than just a chance to see the quilt. And, it wouldn't have happened without the quilt facilitating that connection. I continue to be blown away by all this quilt magic!
They are so close to their $10,000 goal - consider sharing or redistributing here
Quilt Raffle for Gazan FamiliesThis one was sent to me from Meghan Bohardt
From Meghan :
I've been active with a group called @be.the.change_vie that does cute things like giving away free food in front of McDonalds and free coffee in front of Starbucks. We are raising money for two families in Gaza who have relatives in Vienna. We are trying to use the quilt I made to do a raffle (I've called it a donation-based contest for legal reasons) to direct more attention to the families' Gofundme pages.
You can enter this raffle and read more about where the funds are going here
In these times of continued political and personal struggle we must remain steadfast with art making, with generosity, with telling the truth and telling our stories. By using our work to story tell we are saying to the world : We want a different way.
Our art and activism do not need to be separate - we can integrate them seamlessly in a way that brings light to what is so often hidden away.
If you want to work in a new medium, or you are a seasoned quilter looking to weave activism into your sewing practice, I would really love to see you at quilt class this weekend. I am open to trades for services as well if you want to suggest a trade just respond to this email. Payment plans for all and BIPOC scholarships available.
My dear friend, residency alumni, and magic creature of darkness and light Nicole France Coe is stepping out on her own and needs our financial support. Nicole trusted me in the early days of Have Company, selling her handmade clothes in the shop. Their work continues to impact me and I had the pleasure of hosting them here in Cedar this summer. Lets lift her up in this time of great transition.
In amazing workshop in Landscapes on Saturday I discovered the Lesbian Peoples : Material for a Dictionary which you can find and read with a free account at archive.org, which I had also never heard of and am now obsessed with. Also it isn’t too late to join us for 5:30am EST writing time all week. We had a lovely morning!
Brandi’s workshop recording is also now up in the Landscapes digital headquarters!
Beautiful episode of Off The Grid with Podge Thomas
Absolutely loved hearing Beth Pickens talk about art and money with Paco de Leon
Really enjoying The Money with Katie show :)
Ok I am clearly deep in my money world. I also read Playing with Fire (Financial Independence Retire Early): How Far Would You Go for Financial Freedom?
The “FIRE movement” definitely requires many grains of salts, but as I tend to my spending ban and radically changing my money habits I am finding it really inspiring to dig in.
TOMORROW IS LOOK ABOUT YOU’S OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE
Another beautiful newsletter from who is one of the guest teachers for Writing the Personal starting December 8
UnsupervisedLet Feathers RuffleDear reader…Read morea month ago · 411 likes · 32 comments · Anna FuscoI am loving how many audiobooks are included in Spotify premium - huge! I loved this book. Truly amazed how many books I can read in a week without Instagram.
This beautiful essay from Maynard of on Resonance in Movement : Mutuality as Collective Power in Non-Hierarchical Communities in regards to organizing relief efforts after Hurricane Helene
H O M E B O D YResonance in MovementIt has taken me some time to even begin processing what October held for me. In many ways, it was a time when pieces of myself finally found a place to activate, becoming alive, effective, and connected in ways I hadn’t yet experienced. It was a strange feeling, finding this alignment against the backdrop of a full-blown climate disaster…Read more8 days ago · 2 likes · 1 comment · Anna
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
Monday Monday is a reader-supported publication. To receive the Yes Yes Advice Column and essays behind the paywall - become a paid subscriber.
FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS :I go over my new money containers and how they are changing my life as well as talk about my spending ban :)
November 15, 2024
Artist as Treasurer
Dear reader,
It is a bit gloomy and rainy today in the north, yesterday was sunny. The weather seems to change so often. The wood stove is back in session and June lives in front of its sweet glow. I feel happy working on school work, reading, and eating meals I got from a discount code for Factor before I deactivated Instagram. The gunshots are loud across the street as Don and Terry find their deer for the season on this here opening day. Blessed be the food that wanders through the forest.
Today I am writing about money.
HOUSEKEEPING 🧹Tomorrow Saturday November 16 in Landscapes, the writing group I facilitate, guest teacher is bringing us a workshop at 12pm EST you don’t want to miss.
Thread Dictionary: gather the words and their definitions binding your stories together🪡 In this workshop, we'll build a language for a world you are imagining into being.
Through a series of list making exercises and writing prompts, we'll identify the threads connecting the various themes we explore within our own creative ecosystems.
Brandi will share examples of how to use threads to support a larger body of work or interdisciplinary project like a newsletter, memoir, how-to zine, or book.
For the past week I have had the euphoric experience of when you study something and try to figure it out for years and it finally clicks.
This something is : The world of personal finance.I have been knitting a lot lately, needing to use my hands as much as possible while I listen to a finance podcast or an audiobook. I find that my mood is better and I am more attuned to the world when I have a knitting project going, preferably one that doesn’t need a pattern so I can completely tune out while I knit one purl one.
I got a Kindle and discovered the amazing resource of Libby and Hoopla. I can’t believe it. Library books delivered right to my hands in an instant. I had no idea how pleasurable it would be to read with this lightweight object in my hands. I also got the free trial of Kindle Unlimited so I could eat up everything in my one month. I made sure to cancel it already so I wouldn’t accidentally be charged.
The last week I have been in what I might call a personal finance hyper focus portal. Consuming as much as I can, and in many examples its books I read years ago but wouldn’t click like I Will Teach You to Be Rich. I devoured Financial Feminist and have now turned to The Money with Katie show. It took everything in me not to buy her 2025 Wealth Planner spreadsheet, but I am on a spending ban through the end of the year. More on that later. Alas has been helping me build out my own ultimate spreadsheet dashboard in google sheets and that has been great.
On the business side of things I finally got a new LLC that doesn’t say Marlee Grace but says Cody Cook-Parrott. I will then open a proper business account which I have never done in twelve years of being self employed. I guess having a checking account that you name “Operating Expenses” doesn’t count to the IRS.
The biggest thing I did for myself that has perhaps completely changed my life was got an account with Betterment and signed up to make high yield savings accounts, a separate account for my taxes, and … wait for it … a SEP IRA.
Now let me be clear. I have multiple six figures of debt (this includes my mortgage, grad school loans, and seven years of back taxes) and I am currently behind with some payments for things. This brings me great shame and this shame has stopped me from doing the most important step I have ever done, until now!
MAKE THE CONTAINERS : A HOW TOI teach this all the time in creative practice - in order to stick to our disciplines we need containers to put our work in. I shape all of this up for free in the Creative Ideation Portal if you haven’t downloaded it.
November 11, 2024
Deactivation mania
Photo by Cody SellsDear reader,
For the past week I have been glued to my phone. The tiny computer device in my hand that tethers me to the world and distracts me from what is right in front of me. The connection portal and the fractured attention cave.
I have tried everything. We know this. We have read my experiments, my frustrations, my quitting, then returning, going back to social media and walking away from it.
I am behind on school, behind on book writing, behind on correspondence with loved ones, behind on making money, falling behind any way I slice the pie of right now.
I tried to be gentle with myself, what a wild week to be a person. Especially if you have that bone in your body that says “I don’t want to mess up this moment”. So we consume beyond measure to see what the others are saying. To make sure we post the right inspirational quote, fundraiser, meme, book to read to get us through the news of another Trump presidency, continued genocide, and yet another great reveal of the systems that aren’t built for us to thrive.
And then there is my life in front of me. The life I have meticulously carved out to be abundant and beautiful. Slipping through my fingers because of the phone addiction. Or is it social media addiction? I couldn’t tell. So I drove to Best Buy and bought a flip phone then drove to Verizon where Tom helped me switch my phone over and then I made my way home which I was impressed I knew how to do without maps.
I immediately panicked. This was the end of texting. This was the end of voice notes and videos and all the ways I communicate with the outside world. Sure I would be able to survive without apps but without texting my beloveds? I had never felt so alone. Alas, I slept on it and woke up with utter clarity that this would not work for me.
I drove back to the Verizon store where Tom admitted he knew I would be back but had bet on at least a week. We turned my iPhone back on, immediately turned it to greyscale, and out the door I went.
Relieved and a bit embarrassed at my manic choices I spent the day tidying the house, catching up on school work, and taking care of myself in the ways I know how. By the end of the day it was clear that Instagram was bumming me out again. It always feels just like how they describe alcoholism in twelve step rooms. A progressive illness that never gets better. I always return from a break and feel like - yes! This is not so bad. And after a few months of use I feel the same darkness again.
This time though I knew I had to deactivate. Not a permanent deletion though believe me my hand hovered. But a deactivation. I have to not exist there to not exist there, it’s really the only thing that has ever worked.
I don’t feel “anti” social media these days as much as that specific app doesn’t work for me. I’d love for you to follow my Are.na page and connect with me there or on Sublime. I also love using Pinterest for mood boarding. But the constant barrage of reels and videos and information on Instagram has never made me feel more stupid. I can no longer comprehend even the most basic of readings. Attention split beyond measure. I am dedicated to healing this part of myself, even if it means having to try a hundred different things a hundred different ways.
As I write this my phone is on Brick mode from using the Brick App which has helped my phone use tremendously. Having it be able to block texts is so important to being able to write undistracted in the morning.
I need to communicate with my people, but I also need to be free. I want to believe that I can do both with my phone and today I feel like I can. With any addiction it is one day at a time, feels extremely uncool to talk about, and gets better when we tell on ourselves and share our stories.
The flip phone sits in the crazy room and I wonder if I’ll find my way back to it. I know there are other dumb phones that exist or are in the world that are a little better than a true flip phone - but I truly love my voice notes and my emojis and the way iMessage is set up, I don’t feel willing to give up that tool.
What I also know is that friendship, reading, and companionship heal this wound in me. This desire for connection, I am always just searching to feel less alone. Whether it is with compulsive spending, social media use, reaching reaching reaching for something. Prayer, hope, and nourishing relationships bring me back.
I am learning to stay with what is, to not believe the myth that my business can’t survive without social media, and to listen to my own truth, not the advice of others. More and more this past week has shown me how much I have to follow my own path and not wait for others to approve of it, understand it, or even support it.
I will keep making my own small moves, mighty as they may be. In service to myself, the collective, and as a wish back to god.
LET’S MAKE SOME QUILTS! Next weekend I am teaching THE POETICS OF SQUARES : A Quilt in a Weekend Sat Nov 23 + Sun Nov 24 12-4pm EST on zoom
This class is so special to me and an amazing way to connect with others who want to rely on creative practice in this moment. To make a whole quilt! Or to even start one. This is a space we shape together through learning, resource sharing, and conversation while co working on our quilts.
All you have to know how to do is sew a line on your sewing machine, I’ll show you the rest. Let me know if you have any questions :)
This very cool project in upstate New York needs our attention and support
Jos Charles’ A Year and other Poems blew me away
Yes I did read All Fours yes I listened to it as an audiobook yes my life is different now
Probably one of my favorite interviews I have ever done on the etymology and meaning of the word Landscape
This very simple podcast episode helped me as I am in some big financial healing right now! Would love to know your favorite money podcasts :)
A classic video but this week listening to James Baldwin talk about America calmed my nervous system. To listen to those who came before us point out what continues to be upon us, and how to pivot.
Part of the practice is returning to the practice by helped me a lot this week with my phone addiction and finding my way back to staying hydrated, meditating, and eating greens.
Wild LettersPart of the practice is returning to the practiceWild Letters is a newsletter about self-exploration and building a right-fit life…Read more13 days ago · 102 likes · 22 comments · Nic AntoinetteLook About You officially comes out ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW! But pre orders are already being shipped out! Order your copy here
Just picked this beautiful book up at Brilliant Books
info@codycookparrott.com
PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621
Landscapes : A writing group for all genres
Monday Monday is a reader-supported publication. To receive the Yes Yes Advice Column and essays behind the paywall - become a paid subscriber.
FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS :An opportunity to share big wins, what is giving you hope, and connect with other readers of Monday Monday. This is an inspiring collection of ideas.
