Michelle Weber, Author at Pipe Wrench

That Friend of Yours, You Know the One

If you already know how a conversation ends, you’re giving a lecture or watching a rerun.

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When we say that reading an issue of Pipe Wrench should be like being at a great dinner party, that’s a deliberate description, not a glib tagline. Conversation isn’t planned, or linear. We carry our own experiences and sets of knowledge and opinions and moods into every conversation, and all of that influences what we respond to and how. Although every issue of Pipe Wrench centers on one core story, we’re not a thematic magazine.

What if we were just super honest?

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Catherine and I chatted last Thursday about this week’s newsletter and what we wanted to talk to y’all about; we ended up deciding to tell you more about Pipe Wrench’s approach to conversation pieces (spoilers: not just writing!) and asking you to introduce us to your most interesting friend.

We promise never to use the word “learnings.”

Also synergy, although, at least that one’s a real word.

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It’s been a full month since the website went live, and we’ve learned a few things. We call them “lessons,” aka the perfectly good, pre-existing word to describe things one has learned, and our monthiversary seems like the apt time to talk about them.

On Rejection, and Rejecting

Because something is better than nothing, and it’s not hard to be kind.

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Here’s a great thing about the Pipe Wrench model: we get to be picky, always selecting for the stories that are too specific or too off-kilter or too (insert adjective here) for other publications. The story doesn’t have to fit into a larger issue, because it IS the issue.

Here’s a hard thing about the Pipe Wrench model: we have one big story per issue and issues publish every two months, which means we can assign six stories a year (although we hope to be able to grow into a monthly).

Which means saying no. A lot.

“Where do you think that comes from?”

Miss the newsletter in email? You can find them here, too! Here’s the newsletter from Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

As Catherine and I were brainstorming what insights to shower you with this week, she suggested talking about fears and doubts. Which immediately supplanted any other ideas (long-term plans, why this project at this time), because hello, let me count the ways I fear and doubt.

If Someone’s Indispensable,Treat Them Like They Matter

Miss the newsletter in email? You can find them here, too! Here’s the newsletter from Tuesday, February 2, 2021.

One of the first things we agreed on for Pipe Wrench was that we wanted to respect our contributors as much as we respect our readers. A magazine where you’ll always find something fascinating to read? Yes. And a magazine that supports creators editorially and financially.

If you already know how a conversation ends, you’re giving a lecture or watching a rerun.

Is it a newsletter or isn’t it? WHO CAN SAY.

Also synergy, although, at least that one’s a real word.

Because something is better than nothing, and it’s not hard to be kind.