Hi everyone!
Thank you for joining the Tule blog series as I highlight the incredibly talented team that makes up Tule Publishing. We started with Meghan Farrell and are shifting to focus on Kelly Hunter, an Australian writer, editor, and publishing exec who also happens to be a very good friend and someone I love traveling with. I’ve been to Montana and numerous RWA conferences with Kelly, a special trip Scotland and Ireland, and then over to the Blue Mountains in Australia, as well as to Hawaii three times now for various Tule meetings. Kelly is so chill and undemanding, and yet razor sharp—nothing escapes her. I love being surrounded by brilliant, good women and now it’s time you hear from her yourself!
xo
Jane
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Hello from down under! I’m Kelly Hunter, Editorial Director of our Holiday Imprint, Production Manager and Senior Editor at Tule Publishing. I joined Tule eleven years ago and was on board for the release of the first four stories. What a ride! Today, I mainly handle the editorial input and production shuffle. Helping get a high quality and highly marketable story to the reader, while keeping it as friction free as possible for authors.
Questions:
1. What is your favorite part of working with Tule?
The people I work with are all hardworking, helpful, wonderful people—core team, copy editors and proofreaders, formatting folks, and our authors. It’s such a co-operative creative space. Love it. Love it to bits.
2. What are some of the challenges/difficulties in working with Tule?
Because I’m in Australia, my day starts toward the end of the day for the rest of the team. When I open my inbox at 7am there can be a LOT of actionable emails waiting. Monster Mondays are real.
3. What do you specifically like to read, if you have time to pleasure read?
Because I read so much romance for work, I often choose something else entirely when reading for pleasure. Dystopian fantasy, space opera, and sci-fi are my current faves. I have William Gibson & Alastair Reynolds on the bedside table at the moment.
4. What is an accomplishment you’re particularly proud of? (could be work related or not!)
There a Warren Buffett saying that goes, “Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.” I have people who still love me and I do my very best to be worthy. That’s my favorite accomplishment.
5. You are busy, and Tule isn’t your whole life. How do you juggle it all?
I work from home, so I save on travel-time. A lot of Tule time is so creative that it doesn’t feel like work, so that’s a blessing, too. I’m a lazy cook and don’t spend much effort there. When I’m on deadline, I know the housework will suffer. This, too, shall pass. I go out of my way for family, old friends and new experiences, and would rather meet out-and-about than entertain at home. I like a lot of sunshine (thank you, Aus) and I don’t need much sleep (thank you, age). Those are some of my juggling tips and tricks and I would definitely love to hear yours!
Giveaway! For a chance to win a Kelly Hunter “With Love from Down Under” Giveaway, share some of your best juggling tips and tricks in the comment section. The winner will be announced Thursday afternoon so do check back.
Also, keep an eye out for upcoming interviews with the Tule team. The next addition comes Friday when we chat with the wonderful Sinclair Sawhney who has been a close friend of Jane’s for 25+ years now!
Schedule short breaks
I 100% agree!
Congratulations! You won this giveaway. Please send Jane an email to [email protected] letting her know you won her “Kelly Hunter Blog Post Giveaway” and let her know where to mail your prize.
Thanks! Emailed her
I have a physical planner as well as my phone. I color coded stuff for everyone in the planner and phone.
I buy different brands of socks & undies for each kid. We know who they belong to.
I like to make 30 minute or less meals.
I could have used the different smalls brands for different kids tip twenty years ago. It would have worked for me!
One of my favorite things to do is set my timer for 25 minutes and work on whatever it is I am working on, and then I set it for five minutes to check my phone, scroll social media, etc. Helps me stay more focused!
My social media time is very lame. When the work is done, I’m away from the screen.
I’m a list maker, then I feel accomplished. I even always add reading to my list.
I do this one!
Working from home a few days a week allows me to “keep up” on things at home. When I take a break, I throw in a load of laundry
Yes. Definitely yes to this.
It’s tough some days but I love lists & prioritize.
Love keeping positive people in my life
Thank you!! You are awesome
❤️ K8
Kate, being surrounded by wonderful positve people is a game-changer. I so agree.
I like keeping a list and crossing things off.
Snap!
Waving hi to Kelly, it has been a while since we have caught up 🙂
I am at the age now that some things can wait, like housework LOL I always find time to read, because I love it so much and of course there are my family and friends, make time to be happy and I am sure life will follow 🙂
Have Fun
Helen
Our thoughts on housework align! It’s not as if it’s going anywhere! I look forward to catching up in person, Helen!
Hi Kelly! I am a big list maker but usually on my phone as an alarm or sending a text to myself, as I tend to lose my lists if written down lol I also will combine appointment days with stops to do something for family & friends or just to visit
I email myself a lot with reminders.
I write daily lists, must do lists, and dream lists. But, being retired is a thwart to doing things like housework and laundry. What do I feel like doing is always at the top of my lists so if something doesn’t get done, I don’t feel discouraged.
I don’t have a pleasure task list. And clearly I should.
I have certain days that I clean certain areas of my house. That keeps me organized. I keep a planner for everything else that needs to be done.
I don’t stick to certain days for certain areas, but I definitely do patches in batches and break it up that way.
Being retired I really don’t juggle much. During the school I pick up our great-grandson on Thursday & Friday every other week. Other than doctor appointments, I have 1 meeting a month.
i keep my calendar on my phone. Every few weeks hubby & I sync our calendars and make sure we have all the same things.
Housework can always wait another day
I have a little regional art gallery just up the road from where I live. Once every six weeks, when they change the displays, I wander in up and look at the new displays. Sometimes with friends, sometimes not. The game is to choose from the new lot of art which two bits we’d each take home (in our imaginations).
I make lists and they help quite a bit. I’ve also learned over the years, housework can always wait an extra day. Sometimes you have up put yourself first.
it’s important to make time for ourselves. Refill the well.
I use a physical and a phone planner, make lists, have a wall calendar to see everyone’s month. That said, housework always takes second place to more interesting and important things…
Exactly.
I make lists, typically on Sunday
This is a list lover’s blog. I’m sure of it.
Making a list the night before of the things I want to accomplish the next day.
Or early in the morning, for me.
I’m a fan of combining a couple of my favorite things—I often read while I walk, LOL! It doesn’t work all the time but it’s fun when it’s an easy path and I’ve got something I can enjoy along the way. Other friends swear by audio books, which also sound like a terrific choice. Thanks for sharing your tips, Kelly!
A lot of my friends and family do housework and gardening and exercise to audio books or podcasts. Not me. That’s when the music goes on.
I like to look ahead at my week and see what appointments I have and see if I can combine my time out with other errands.
Yes. Efficient.
I am pretty organized and live by the principle of “a place for everything and everything in its place.”
All I can say to that is that I’m not there yet but “Goals”. It’s the ‘everything’ part of that equation that I have the most trouble with.
I try and fit in as much as I can in a day but getting older I know I have to slowdown a bit. Thanks for this amazingly generous giveaway.
Juggling tip? Don’t sleep.
I’m a list maker too and set a reward for getting through a certain number of tasks. Sometimes it’s only one or two, but it helps.
Always prepare as much as you can the night before so you can hit the ground running when the day begins…BUT make sure you have your peaceful minutes before you put it into gear…
Gidday Kelly.
The age old art of juggling is an essential part of life and I believe we gals are wired to be pretty good at it!
I come from a long line of list makers and the tradition continues.. However as I get older, the pressure of finishing the tasks becomes much less important.
Friends and family and fun are the priorities for me.
Honestly, I struggle with being a full time student, work and everything else in between. I’ve realized I can’t sleep at night without making a list for the next day. I also love to meal prep a couple times during the week! It’s super convenient to just grab the food and go!
Meal prep in batches saves a lot of time, I agree.
When I was working full-time and writing as well, getting up at 5am really worked. You get so much done when most other people are asleep.
I second this!
Now kids all grown up my time is my own. Well mostly. Housework, what’s that. Most of my time is spent on writing.
I’m retired now, but when I was working, I had a planner that kept me on track. I would rank the tasks according to importance and deadlines. I also used post it notes a lot! Luckily my husband was self employed during that time and he handled many of the household duties including the kids and cooking. He was a very good cook and it’s one of the many things I miss since losing him.
Take short breaks.
Kelly’s book was the first Tule book I read.
Hence I lovecher writing.
I go by the 5 minute theory.
If it takes less than 5 minutes do it straight away.
On line grocery shopping saves money and time. Your not tempted to pit things you don’t need in the trolley. How many mascaras do I need?
A hilight of the Sydney RWA conference was meeting Kelly in person and pitching to her at the same conference.
I have so much respect for her.
The Other Jane
Hi Kelly,
I do meditation and yoga each morning for 15 minutes. This keeps my mind clear and focused and my body limber. I keep a grateful journal at night. This helps me to reflect on the joys I’ve experienced in each moment. I have a mind map for my book to keep me on track while writing which is pure bliss. I stretch every half an hour and always do a little bit of housework to keep the household running and give my dog some attention. She is an admirable companion. Writing can be a lonely profession, so it’s important to keep social. Kind regards, Natalie Edler