In this episode, Mike and AJ bring you into the workroom. They talk about their must-have gear that makes it possible for them to write their must-reads. From chairs, standing desks, to all the tech Mike uses when writing on the go, you’ll hear about everything these two feel is essential to authors.
Be sure to visit https://dwtbpodcast.com for more information and add your name to start receiving their newsletter. If you’d like to support this show, rate, subscribe and leave a review on your podcast app.
Conquering Carpal Tunnel, by Sharon Butler
The 3.3 Rule, by John Briggs
AJ Harper, website
AJ’s Socials:
Mike Michalowicz, website
Episode 71: “Author Gear”
Mike Michalowicz: Welcome back to the don't write that book podcast, where you can learn
how to write your bestseller and own your authorship. Follow along with us. As we give you
an insider's view of the book industry. Now here are your hosts. Myself, Mike Michalowicz
and AJ Harper.
AJ Harper: I can't believe those words just came out of your mouth. Why did you just say
that?
Mike Michalowicz: I'm recording this. Just listen to AJ laughing.
AJ Harper: Oh no.
Mike Michalowicz: I asked AJ right before we hit record it. I said, can we talk about nudity
a little bit?
AJ Harper: Well, yeah. Why would you say that?
Mike Michalowicz: I had a story. So there's a Michalowicz cousin's reunion every year.
And we went to Whitefish, Montana a few years ago, and we stayed at this beautiful little
lodge, the lodge owner, uh, woman, came out. Um, there was just the Michalowicz family
sitting there and I was in my, uh, bourbon serving. I don't drink really, but I do like to make
cocktails for other people. So I was making old fashioneds for everybody.
And so the owner comes out and I say to the owner, Hey, if you'd like, gladly make you one.
And she said, yeah, I like one. I said, no problem. So I make it, I'm a little heavy handed on
the servings. It tastes great, but it's filling. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So she, she
goes and she leaves her work and she comes back maybe a few minutes later.
She's like, this is pretty good. She goes, may I have another one? I'm like, Yeah, if you want.
She takes it, comes back the third time.
AJ Harper: Oh, no.
Mike Michalowicz: Her blouse on one side had slipped down. I don't know how.
AJ Harper: Wait, hang on. You know kids listen.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah, I'm just saying.
AJ Harper: Okay.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. The part of her chest was exposed.
Totally. I'm with my cousin.
AJ Harper: While you're standing there in front of her?
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, the whole family, the whole Michalowicz clan. And she goes, can I
have another one?
AJ Harper: I don’t think so! I don’t think so!
Mike Michalowicz: I don't think so. That's exactly what happened. So, everyone looks at
her. The men, I look at my cousin John and go, John, look at me. He looks at me, all the men,
we all just lock eyes, we're staring at each other, all the women run to her, and they go, hey, I
think we're done, and we want to show you, and they walk her out, and so, she leaves,
everything's done, the family comes back together. We laugh about it.
AJ Harper: The men are like, we're all looking at each other. All we're doing is looking at
each other.
Mike Michalowicz: They left for 10 minutes. They came back. We're still staring at each
other. Like, just silence. We come back. You know, there's a little laughter about it and stuff.
And we all, like, she must feel so embarrassed, so ashamed.
An hour later. Hey!
AJ Harper: No.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. Comes back in. Hey, is there one more round going around like,
no, we're we're done. We're out. We're done. So, very funny. It's now in Michalowicz lore. Of
course, lore. The last reunion there was discussions that we have a name for the whole
situation, which I won't mention 'cause there's kids listening.
Today we're gonna talk about author gear. Was that a good transition?
AJ Harper: No. I mean, no, it wasn't. But what can you, how, how do you transition?
Mike Michalowicz: Um, yeah.
AJ Harper: I mean, except to say, wear clothing.
Mike Michalowicz: We wear clothing. I'm in studio with AJ Harper, my writing partner, the
cohost of our show here. Don't write this book. Don't write that book. Don't write this book
either. And, um, there's two things I, I want to point out about you. When you get the giggles
like you do now. You don't stop, and it's infectious. The second thing is when you say
something’s hot.
AJ Harper: Oh, God.
Mike Michalowicz: You're on fire. Like, when, you, you have two tells that you really are
engaged. When, when you say, that is hot. I know we've written something extraordinary.
And secondly, when you started to get the giggles. It's something that hits, hits a, there's a,
there's a funny bone in you. It just hits.
AJ Harper: It's just that you said, can we talk about nudity a little bit? I can't even open my
eyes right now because I’m going to start laughing.
Mike Michalowicz: You know,
AJ Harper: I just realized is when I say this is hot. It sounds like Paris Hilton. Do you
remember that?
Mike Michalowicz: Did she say that?
AJ Harper: Yeah, she used to have a, she used to say, that's hot.
Mike Michalowicz: She's wildly successful. Someone's telling me wildly successful.
AJ Harper: On her own accord. On her own accord. Good for her. She just plays into the
whole mythology around her.
Mike Michalowicz: Freaking smart.
AJ Harper: Did you also know that Marilyn Monroe was a super genius?
Mike Michalowicz: You mean like Mensa?
AJ Harper: Like, her IQ.
Mike Michalowicz: Ha! No, I did not know that. It's just she's played into it.
AJ Harper: Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: The smartest people.
AJ Harper: All right, so. None of this is anything remotely to do with our topic today.
Mike Michalowicz: Author gear.
AJ Harper: Author gear. Stuff. Stuff you carry around. Stuff you have. Stuff you need.
Mike Michalowicz: I, uh, I found that most of my writing is on airplanes because it's the
longest consecutive time where I can stay focused and concentrated on something.
When I write somewhere else, I gotta do it in shorter sprints. The longest I can write
consistently is about three hours straight before my head just starts hurting. I'm like, I got to
take a break or an airplane. The biggest marathon I've pulled, I think it was like nine hours
straight. I remember getting off an airplane once and the passenger next to me looks at me
and goes, you just wrote the entire time, because I just sit there clicking, clicking, clicking,
clicking and I'm like, That's a good point. I did. I don't know. There's this kind of time warp.
Plus, when you're in an airplane, I don't want to talk to the person next to me. They don't
want to talk to me. You're confined to this space. There's no distraction. I turned the little TV
off in front of me. I hate that thing. It's playing the same stupid, you know, message,
whatever, over and over again.
And you just, you're, you can't look to your right. There's a person there. You can't look to
your left. There's a person there. You just look forward. It's the best writing time for me.
We're gonna talk about the gear. That we use to write. Do you mind starting us off and just
kind of give me your breakdown of some of the stuff your must haves?
AJ Harper: To be clear, my gear is going to be almost nothing like your gear.
Mike Michalowicz: Where do you do the majority of your writing?
AJ Harper: So, on my desktop computer or my dining room table. And if I really need to
just write and get away, the Nyack Public Library.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay, so that's your three primary spots.
AJ Harper: Yeah, well it's because for years I didn't have a home office. And we had a little
one at home. I had to get the heck out. Oh, you know my favorite place I used to write? You
can't go there anymore. They just stopped being open. But, in Nyack, there is this like Super
8 motel that had an offshoot restaurant that I used to call the Copacabana because they had all
these fake palm trees in there. And next to it, Is a club where they would have like salsa and
latin dancing at night where people get so dressed up But you had to walk through this diner
where it's just like pancakes, burgers.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, that's so funny.
AJ Harper: right? You had to walk through in your salsa finery Through past bouncers that
are standing at the door and I would go there almost every night because they would be open
to like Two, three in the morning, because then the dancers would, people who were dancing
would come in and get a, you know, stack of pancakes.
And they didn't care. It was virtually empty. If I sat in my booth for hours till one o'clock in
the morning, they knew me. I wrote so many books at that place with the Latin dancing going
on one side and a bunch of folks, you know, choking down French fries on the other side.
That was heaven. That was heaven. I like to go to a place that's open late. Now that I'm in my
fifties, that is not going to happen anymore.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: That's just, I need to be done at a certain hour. But I like to be away. I like a
coffee shop. I like a, I used to also, there was a Irish bar. Actually, Nyack has about four Irish
bars and I will talk to the, uh, owner and say, can I come in here just in the late afternoon?
I'm actually, is it okay? I'm not going to drink. I just,
Mike Michalowicz: that's so great. “Is it okay if I don't drink?”
AJ Harper: I just want to diet Coke and I want to sit at the bar with my laptop and I'm kind
of going to stay here for a little while. So I don't want to take up too much space. Oh yeah, it's
fine. So I would go all around to my little locations and I, it's really effective to just get up
and I like being in a public space where there's the din of things happening around me, but
I'm not engaged with it at all.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. And maybe we're gonna talk about that as part of our gear is that
background, perhaps white noise, maybe. So your number one writing place is your... What
most frequent
AJ Harper: Well it right now, it's my home office because I'm always doing I'm almost
doing other things. So it would be inconvenient to leave or it's four o'clock, five o'clock in the
morning, six o'clock.
Mike Michalowicz: Give me the breakdown on the gear that you have for your home office
AJ Harper: Uh, I like a desktop computer with a very big screen.
Mike Michalowicz: PC or Mac?
AJ Harper: Always Mac.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh! Okay. And I'm like, always PC.
AJ Harper: No. Oh, heck no. Oh my gosh. Except for an iPhone. I don't, I don't even want to
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: Open, I don't even want to turn a PC on.
Mike Michalowicz: What's the reason for Mac over PC?
AJ Harper: Mac is just much more intuitive. I just, I just like the way it rolls and then also
like how it integrates with everything else I own, including everything else my family owns.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: So you have a PC. What kind of keyboard do you have?
AJ Harper: I have two. I have a regular and then I have, actually I have three. I have a
regular, I have an aerodynamic, so that it's rounded. So if I'm experiencing any carpal tunnel,
Mike Michalowicz: Okay, so ergonomic.
AJ Harper: Sorry, aerodynamic.
Mike Michalowicz: It's live!
AJ Harper: No, I have an ergonomic, not aerodynamic. It could become aerodynamic if I
tried. And then I have the one that I love that I haven't used that much yet, which I should
probably get out, is, it sounds like a typewriter. My wife gave it to me. It's what I asked for
for Christmas.
Mike Michalowicz: Does the keyboard itself make the audio?
AJ Harper: Yeah, so it has the look of typewriter keys. It's a regular keyboard It looks like
typewriter keys and it goes click click click click click click click click. So it gives you that
satisfying sound which if you grew up when we grew up we still use typewriters
Mike Michalowicz: That’s interesting. Yeah.
AJ Harper: My favorite gift ever was my electric Smith Corona that my mom gave me. So I
have three.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay. Let me, uh, I'm just going to run my points through it for these
two, these devices. So your office, your primary writing, mine's an airplane, but when I'm
writing in the office, PC dual monitor, one is my writing monitor. One's my research monitor.
And those two run in parallel, so I can just jump back and forth.
AJ Harper: It's so interesting how you do that because I, I get so stressed out when there's
two monitors. I don't know what I'm doing, where's the mouse going?
Mike Michalowicz: Well, the mouse is fluid, it goes right across.
AJ Harper: I know, it's just, it's disconcerting.
Mike Michalowicz: I do enlarge the mouse, I have a very, like, the guy is blind is a bat sized
mouse.
Uh huh. I just find it easy because I can locate it very quickly. Um, the Keyboard I use is a
very specific one. It's called a Kinesis or Kinesis Advantage 2. It's an ergonomic keyboard,
but it is bizarre. It looks space alien. The, the hands are almost like they're sideways.
AJ Harper: Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: And they're so far separated you can't cross one hand to the other. So
your right hand can only do one half the keyboard and your left hand. It took me about three
months to get used to it, but it's so natural. Um, I did get carpal tunnel syndrome once, and
this is actually another tip. There's a book, I'm going to pull it up on Amazon while we're
talking, that transformed my life.
It did small, what's called Fascia Movement, very micro movements. It restored, I'm a
hundred percent free of carpal tunnel syndrome, which was excruciating.
AJ Harper: It is excruciating. I don't have it anymore either, but it's very bad. But listen,
Mike, if you learned proper, did you ever learn proper typing?
Mike Michalowicz: No.
AJ Harper: So. It would have taken you less time to do the ergonomic because you are not
supposed to your right hand is supposed to do certain keys and your left hand is supposed to
do certain keys. And so when you learn proper finger placement as a typist. Then your hands
don't go. You don't go.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. So this kinesis keyboard forces that I never went over either way.
I knew I took typing in high school. Like they actually taught us to type. So your, your left
finger, it's hard to visualize it. It was on the a, the right on the S. I can't remember, but it sits
there. There's a little nubs there in the keyboard is your finger placement.
And so I don't cross over. It twists your hands in a way or moves your hands in a way that's
very comfortable. The book is called Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other
Repetitive Strain Injuries, um, written in 1996, a self-care program. This book was the best
15 bucks I spent in my life. It's on, it, it solved carpal tunnel.
Okay. So we got your.
AJ Harper: That's some of my gear.
Mike Michalowicz: Some of your gear. Yeah, so we got your monitor. We got your
keyboard.
AJ Harper: Mm hmm.
Mike Michalowicz: Do you still handwrite? What do you recommend for that?
AJ Harper: On my desk I have probably four different journals of different size and in
notebooks. So I have a yellow legal pad, which I always have. That's old school because I
used to borrow them from my dad.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah,
AJ Harper: So I just like having them I have a spiral bound, big, like, sketchpad level. Cause
sometimes I need that where I can fold it over. And then I have several that are journal-
journals that are, the binding is different and I have to have all those ‘cause it kind of depends
on how, if I want to feel constrained or not.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: And so I will do a lot of free writing, list making, idea generating, but writing by
hand.
Mike Michalowicz: So, and what, what's your go to pen?
AJ Harper: Um...
Mike Michalowicz: Or pencil?
AJ Harper: Oh, not, not a pen. No pencils.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay. Pens.
AJ Harper: I'm not that picky about it. So, so I'll take whatever it doesn't, I'll just use
whatever.
Mike Michalowicz: So I use a mechanical pencil or a regular pen. I don't care. One trick I
found for myself is I will use a Sharpie pen, you know, like a marker to draw out, um, charts
and stuff like that. I'm going to put in the book because it, because it's a thicker line, it forces
you to bring about simplicity. Words have to be short because it'll bleed in and over.
So, I also use a yellow pad. It's just easier on the eyes. Sometimes a white pad with a sharpie.
And so I actually, this morning, I was just coming over thinking about this episode. I was
like, oh yeah, there's all this stuff I did just yesterday on thinking out concepts for the new
book. And it forces simplification.
Um, what about audio? Do you, do you do anything for that when you're writing?
AJ Harper: Yeah, I mean I have the different, well first let me also say that what else is on
my desk? Oh yeah,
Mike Michalowicz: yeah. Let's keep going.
AJ Harper: Probably about 15 packs of Post-it Notes in all different colors.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah, me too!
AJ Harper: Plus, uh, if, flags. So, I'll often use the post it flags. Just to remember what pages
that I need to look at. But I also have my index cards. And a little box where I store them.
Cause I'll put index card ideas for things on index cards.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, I don’t use index cards. That's pretty cool.
AJ Harper: Yeah, and I keep a little system for that. Okay. And, uh, so those things are all I
need all that stuff.
And then I also, I don't have it up right now, but I typically have also a little cork board with
visual images of something that for something I'm going to work on next. And then behind
me, I have a board. It's a glass, write board.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh yeah.
AJ Harper: And I put my outline for my book and post its up on it.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, that's great.
AJ Harper: So, Those are things that I use that are really helpful and important to me. And if
I'm walking, if I'm taking, if I'm out and about, it's a Mac laptop. And then I will bring also
one of the journals, pens, and probably post its with me in my bag.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay. Yeah. I want to talk about your travel gear and depth in a second.
So let's finish the office. My office, I also have, I originally had a cork board you put against
the wall. And it was like a stuck to the wall with whatever sticky adhesive horrible. It was
peeled off. I found this buying a pre-assembled framed cork board and mounting that to the
wall permanently with, you know, by screwing it in so much better, I will have up their
deadline, some tracking deadlines right in there and I'll have some key ideas.
So we just talked about a new idea. I'll put that on the cork board with a sticky note and put a
pin into it with, Oh, not a dreams and wants account. We should have what is your big dream
account or whatever. So I'll put up there as my reminder. Uh, music is important to me. I
have tinnitus and uh, if there's silence, I'll just hear ringing.
If there’s people talking in the background, it becomes distracting. Classical music has been a
great tool. The only problem is I am so familiar with classical music now, I know it melody
by melody, and I noticed I'm tracking. So when Vivaldi comes on, Four Seasons, I can do it
note for note, and that's why I stop listening to Vivaldi when I'm writing.
I do it as my end of book celebration. The last words I'll write and I'll play Four Seasons
Vivaldi. Um, so now I've moved to instrumental. Like, there's tons of instrumental stuff out
there. So I'll do, uh, jazz instrumental or acoustic instrumental. Melodies I don't know. And
that is a nice background noise.
I have a, uh, Bose headset, um, which is the sound silencer, which is really ideal for traveling,
but sometimes I'll use that when I'm at home and there's other noise, but the poor man's lapser
is you can buy earplugs for 10 cents, stick them in your ear and just deadens the noise and
you have just the music in the background.
Um, on my desk, um, I also have a Pomodoro sprint. I don't use the tomato, but I'll put a
sprint timer, and I learned this basically from the sprint groups, moving in short sprints is
very helpful. If I don't do it, um, I'll just keep going until I hit exhaustion. Now in the most
recent kind of marathon, I was going to three hours, but I was cognizant that once I hit a
three-hour mark, I started feeling the exhaustion. I, I better stop.
AJ Harper: Like the 3.3 rule from John Briggs. Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, amazing. That's right. So there's a recovery period, but I'll use that.
Um, the application we didn't talk about use word. Don't use Google docs. Microsoft word.
And I had one situation. My computer's giving me problems. I went to Google docs and effed
up everything.
I sent it over to you and you're like, what the hell's going on? Yeah. Work in Word. It is the
platform. Editors. Word is the standard.
AJ Harper: There's no point in avoiding it. You might as well, so I always set up, if I'm,
when I'm starting a manuscript, I set up the whole manuscript. In one doc, and I use, I work
in that, and I don't, I might send you a different chapter that I copy paste into another doc, but
I'm working on that one doc, and it's formatted correctly, set up properly from the get, so that
there's no messing around, and I keep it clean like that the whole time. And I'm particular
granted, I do have legit OCD. So that might be part of what's happening, but I also tell my
students, you have to submit it in the standard format using Microsoft Word. This is not an
option. It's not optional. It's not preferred. It's actually what you need to do. So just do it.
Don't, you know, you're going to make yourself crazy. If you have to convert everything
later.
Mike Michalowicz: I have a sure S H U R E microphone. Um, you can use a Yeti.
AJ Harper: I have a Yeti.
Mike Michalowicz: I get, there's lots of, yeah, I do a lot of dictation. So just to get ideas out
for me, just to, just to talk. It's easier than typing out because the speed of it and then I used to
script and I'm sure it'll be better tools out there soon.
I just put the audio in there and it transcribes the whole thing. When we do interviews of
people, we record it on, um, zoom, we can upload the zoom photo video into the script and it
gives you the entire transcript. And so I do this with my, uh, audio for myself. I'll just say, oh,
there's an idea about, um.
The dust bowl and I would say, and I have the whole thing captured in five minutes where
typing the equivalent reply. Take me 20 minutes, I think.
AJ Harper: Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: So—
AJ Harper: For me, typing is part of thinking so everybody's different.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
AJ Harper: So I would, I have a technique that I came up with when I still thought writer's
block was a thing and it isn't, but it's as, it's a silliest little hack, but it used to get me going.
So what I would do with my, that electric Smith Corona, I would take a magazine. I
remember when we used to read magazines and I would put it, prop it up and choose an
article and I would start typing the article that someone else wrote and within about 10
minutes. Now, I was ready to do my own work because the simple act of typing put me into
writing mode.
And so then I would start to get my own ideas and I would keep typing. So there's something
for me about the muscle memory.
Mike Michalowicz: Sure.
AJ Harper: So I like doing my own typing.
Mike Michalowicz: I gotta share a story with our audience. I remember looking at a
keyboard once. I'm pretty sure it was yours. And I'm like, there's no letters on this. Like
you've used it. And if I remember correctly and tell me this with someone else, some of the
keys didn't even work anymore. Like you push I and it come out like six and you're like, Oh,
I, and you started adjusting your writing to accommodate this keyboard.
AJ Harper: Yeah. I mean, you know, recently, uh, I, you know, my friend Sam. He was over
at our house a lot helping us. And he said, I was away. Um, and he was, he said, I'm at your
house. Can I, can I use the, your computer, your desktop? I said, sure. And then when I came
home, he said, I don't understand. Your whole profession is writing,
Mike Michalowicz: Right?
AJ Harper: And that computer is so ancient. I don't understand what you're doing. What are
you doing? Why don't you have the latest things? ‘Cause it works fine. It works fine for what
I needed to do. And I don't want to mess around, and I'm going to run that thing to the
ground, you know?
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. I like that with cars, with technology, that would drive me crazy.
AJ Harper: I think the getting the latest and greatest can be a real distraction. We need to
just get our work done.
Mike Michalowicz: That's true.
AJ Harper: And if it's, if it's working, who cares? And I always, whenever I go into the
Apple store, I say, okay, I'm on Zoom a lot. And then I use Word every day. All day.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: And that's kinda it. So don't sell me the big whatever, whatever. You know what
I mean? I, I don't need this super whatever, all your bells and whistles. I'm on Word and I'm
on Zoom.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: And that's kinda it.
Mike Michalowicz: That's all I need.
AJ Harper: So, I don't need to update until it be, but I will actually, I probably wrote for like
six months with missing keys on that keyboard.
Mike Michalowicz: Do you have any thoughts? For someone that's on a super tight budget,
like Open Office, it's free.
AJ Harper: Yeah. I'm, there are some limitations in terms of once you get into transferring
back and forth,
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: You know, but I, I just want people to know that Microsoft 365, you can get an
account, I think it's like 8 a month. So you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars up front
like we used to when we had to get the software and then it came in the CD ROM and then
you had to update it in the next year.
You can just get Microsoft 365 and I realize it's 8 a month, which maybe is pricey for some
folks, but it comes with more storage than you could possibly ever use. And most people
don't realize it does.
Mike Michalowicz: Stores online.
AJ Harper: Yeah. So. There's so many perks to it that I think it's a no brainer to get it if
you're an author.
Mike Michalowicz: What's your hydration kind of eating systems. Do you have anything
available? Because when, when you're cranking, I ain't leaving that area. I'm just going,
going, going, but.
AJ Harper: Well, you have to get up. I mean, first of all, I take dance breaks.
Mike Michalowicz: So I actually write standing. I forgot to mention this. I have a standing
desk.
AJ Harper: So I don't, I, I sit, but, um, I'm such a cheapo. I go into YouTube during my
dance breaks and I find like, I'll just Google like hip hop dance break or whatever dance
break. And then there's this bajillion free videos to watch. And I get up and try and follow the
dumb dance lately. I've been trying to learn TikTok dances just for my own enjoyment.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, that's fun.That’s cool.
Mike Michalowicz: Just you gotta, you gotta move around a little bit. Um, but I will tell you
my hydration technique is 20 years old.
Mike Michalowicz: What is it?
AJ Harper: I have a big ugly, you've seen me drink out of it. I have a big ugly holds 36
ounces of water. Um, Like almost like Rubbermaid or like this the that like you could run
over and it probably wouldn't break hospital cup. It has like the aspergum handle color.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: It's so ugly The writing used to say st Joseph's Hospital and it no longer has that
and that was from when my son was born and I was in the hospital and I let the nurses let me
to have it.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: So I call it my Jack cup because that's my Jack cup.
Mike Michalowicz: I've seen you with it.
AJ Harper: It's bigger than my head.
Mike Michalowicz: It's huge.
AJ Harper: Yeah. And I just fill that up. I make sure I do like two or three of those a day.
Mike Michalowicz: I, uh, I like to have a hot tea, um, with me. So one thing I used for a long
time until it broke was an ember mug I don't know if you've seen these it's a mug that has a
heating element in it.
AJ Harper: Oh, yeah
Mike Michalowicz: So it keeps your tea or whatever your warm drink warm. I think it has a
cooling type thing alternatively I'll keep a big thing of water next to me to just Sipping away
at it and nuts. So almonds or something like that, like raw almonds or something like that,
just to keep a little bit of food available, but it's easy. Uh, it doesn't mess up your fingers. It's
dry and you pop in your mouth, and you can keep on typing.
AJ Harper: Yeah, I don't, I don't usually eat till I'm done working.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, this guy, I just got to keep on something. Um, so, okay. So we
talked about that. We have, uh, lighting. What, what do you do for lighting? Is that important
to you?
AJ Harper: I like natural light or really low light.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay. Yeah, I'll do the same. That's interesting. Exact same thing. I want
the window open. So I have some light coming in. Um, so I get some natural light, but
otherwise I'll, I'll dim the room.
AJ Harper: Mhm.
Mike Michalowicz: My office is my primary, my secondary, which actually I enjoy to just to
change up the space is right outside my office. We have a small, uh, seated sitting area.
It's really dim and dark in there and there's a little fireplace and I'll sit there. And just be
cranking away when you're not at your desk. And now we're mobile, you ain't carrying that
Mac with you. What do you use to type and work?
AJ Harper: No, I do. I do. If I have to, I'll take the laptop with me.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, I'm sorry. When you're at your desk, it's the laptop too.
AJ Harper: No, I have a desktop.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. Desktop. Okay. So you go into the laptop. Okay.
AJ Harper: So yeah, my laptop, but then I also can edit. I'm holding my iPhone up right
now.
Mike Michalowicz: You edit on your iPhone?
AJ Harper: I have done this. So if I have a number of apps, I have the dock app and, uh,
Dropbox and some different things. And so I will, there's stuff I've edited that you didn't
know I was editing. I was sitting on my phone doing it.
Mike Michalowicz: Wow.
AJ Harper: Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: I found for mobility. Having a keyboard is extraordinarily important to
me, especially ergonomic. I found this has been a game changer for me. There's, there's three
elements. One is it's called iClever. It's an iClever. Uh, that's one word, ergonomic foldable
keyboard. It folds down to an oversized wallet. It pops open, but in an ergonomic style, so it's
a bent keyboard and it Bluetooth's to your device.
AJ Harper: Hmm.
Mike Michalowicz: Now I use an iPad. Now, I've had, I also have an iPad that has a, uh, an
attachable keyboard, which is great. I do. You can use it in my lap, but when I'm flying, I will
mount the. Um, iPad on the seat in front of me now, the air, I fly United all the time. United
does not have many of these mounts, more modern airplanes. It seems has a mount for your
iPad or iPhone so you can watch movies. I have a thing, this is the next product you should
check out.
It's called the, uh, Flight Flap. And, um. It's an airplane tablet holder. What you do, it's, it's,
um, it's just some kind of metal material wrapped in a foam and it can, you can fold it any
way you want and snake into the seat in front of you. Um, so you'll find a way to Mount it.
And then the bottom of it, you bend it and it holds your monitor.
So now my monitor is at ergonomically at my eye level that I can pull down the seat. Um,
tray for my flight and instead of having anything packed on there, we're trying to type. I just
put my little foldable keyboard there. There's enough room for my tea and my water and
snacks and sitting there and I'm typing away.
It is the best setup in the world. So that's the two things I use when I go mobile all the time.
AJ Harper: I'm gonna print out my stuff and throw it in my messenger bag. So, one of the
key author gear is to make sure that you have a bag that you can slide in a laptop, but also a
full manuscript.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: So whenever I'm purchasing anything that I'm gonna bring with me on the plane
or just around, it has to hold a laptop, but also a couple manuscripts.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: Full manuscripts. And otherwise, I'm not getting it.
Mike Michalowicz: Wow. So, okay, so you're, you're going old school.
AJ Harper: I, I, so I'm, you're not gonna ever see me writing on the plane, but you might see
me editing on the plane.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: If I'm writing on the plane, it's on my iPhone, but mostly I'm gonna print stuff
out and I'm gonna bring my pens and highlighters and my little Post its and then I sit and I
hold it in my lap. The actual paper. This is very gratifying to me.
Mike Michalowicz: I bring the third thing I bring when it comes to mobility as a monitor
stand for my iPad so when I... This is not far for the airplane. But once I go to between
flights and I'm sitting now in in the chairs there, have my lap, my next crunch. I don't want to
do that.
I will find they often have standing areas. I'll find a standing area and then I'll have a mount
for my keyboard that brings it up to eye level again. So I don't have it sitting on the table. I
put my full dock keyboard and I'm going again. I can't remember the exact brand I have, but
if you look for like tablet floor stand, you'll find these versions.
They make mobile versions so you can fold it up, put it in your backpack. And I have a big
backpack, but this way I'm there. I've had people come up to me like, dude, that's so smart.
What is that? Why? You know, And, and I give them that tip. So use that. What about power
on the road? You need the, all the cables and stuff.
I found out a little secret. They have these USB, uh, hubs, I guess, where you plug into an
outlet and there's like four ports you can plug in. What I noticed is when you plug it in, I
would be charging my iPhone. And then on the next one, I charge my watch and the next one
I'd be connected to my iPad. I look over my phone and like, it's not charging anymore.
Designed that when there's different load variances on it, they can't adapt and they just pick
the most recent one plugged in So I was like, oh my god I think I'm charging my laptop or my
iPad to buy use and it's draining while I'm working away and panics ensues There's different
adapters And make sure you look at it on on the web that usually have a outlet plug in Like a
traditional extension cord kind of plugs into the wall and then it goes to a multi hub and
they're designed for changing the power frequency based on what's plugged in and those
devices. It's a little bulkier and bigger. Everything's being charged simultaneously. I learned
that the hard way when my iPad was just burned out and I couldn't use it anymore because I
wasn't actually charging. So just note that I have redundancy, every cable I've backed up. So I
think I don't even know the ports anymore. Lightning. Is that what it's called? I got two
lightning cables. I got a USB C or something. I got two of those.
I cannot afford to be on the road and I lose a cable and I got to go on hunt on the hunt for a
cable.
AJ Harper: You know, I mean, I think the difference between us is that I'm not traveling like
you travel. And so when I travel, I just want to bring my print out. I don't want to actually be
on my computer. I don't actually want to be on it. I really am only bringing the laptop
because if I have to do a zoom call or a meeting.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: And I just want a break. I'm on my desktop computer so much. I'm writing so
much. I'm reading so much.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: There's, I need, I need that tactile experience. It's too much digital world.
Mike Michalowicz: Okay.
AJ Harper: But I'm also not traveling like you travel.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. I need that. And I need it to be fluid, and I just found it to work
extremely well. The next item you need to have is if you're using a laptop, um, or iPad or
anything when traveling and there's among other people get a screen. Um, it's not a screen
protector, but it's a, uh, It does not allow people to see your screen if they're not sitting right
in front of it. Um, a screen filter, I guess, is what it's called. They're relatively, quote unquote,
inexpensive. I think I paid 25 for it. But what's interesting is someone can't lean over and see
what you're working on.
And this is not just for writing. This is for anything you're doing. You don't want other people
looking at your screen. So, definitely get that. Um, I'm just going through my bag real quick.
If there's anything else I have in there. Oh, and get a great backpack itself.
AJ Harper: Like you need a good bag.
Mike Michalowicz: You need a good bag. My wife got me one. I can't remember what was
called the E something. And, uh, it was cool. It was nice. It was such a great gift of hers, but
it was too small for what I needed. So I went on and there's, there's a million backpacks out
there and they're like, You know, these fancy ones, hundreds of dollars, I found one for 30
bucks.
It's a dream. It's a no name brand, AKA it's not a brand. It works perfectly. It attaches to my
suitcase like that. So when I'm walking through the airport, I don't have to. Um, carry two
pieces. They just connect together. Um, it has adequate storage. The feature I like the most is
the backpack folds open like a clamshell fully and you can extract your stuff out very
quickly.
The other one's open partially and you're kind of wedging things in and out. That was
frustrating. I always have those legal pads with me too. So, so I can do some writing, uh, on
the plane and Oh, the one thing I found for noise cancellation, I had the. The earbud ones.
Cause I was like, Oh, that's smaller.
It's more mobile. They'd fall out of my ear. They get uncomfortable. I went back to just using
a full headset and it's just comfortable and it works the distance carry magnifying glasses
with me. Um, so as opposed to prescription glasses, just the ones that one and a half exit so I
can read what I'm writing.
Um, that's another piece of gear I have.
AJ Harper: I'm going to throw something out there that might surprise you.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: I think, uh, if you're an author and you start to talk with people about how you're
an author, instead of having a business card, have a postcard book. So when I had my
publishing company, we did a ton of postcards and it was actually really effective.
So traditional postcard size, one side is the front cover of your book. The backside is a
traditional postcard and the left-hand side might have information about the book or, um, uh,
just something really simple, but there's still an opportunity for you to write on it if you want
to. So people are less likely to throw those out.
Nobody's using business cards anymore. Having the cover helps people remember what it is.
So when we used to do Book Expo or American Library Association, any of those places, we
would have postcards for every book, but then authors, we'd have them carry around their
postcards as well.
Mike Michalowicz: That's brilliant.
AJ Harper: And just have, throw a few in your bag.
Mike Michalowicz: I've, I, we did an interview. Remember the cup stacking guys? I met
them on an airplane. I was on a flight. They looked over. I was typing and I go, Oh, what are
you typing? You're typing so much. I'm like, I'm an author. Like, what do you do? They say,
Oh, we own a business.
I'm like, my God. And, uh, interviewed them a little bit on the plane and then got their
information. Um, so yeah, have a way to collect and give information is a great idea. There
was a pilot, um, when it came to customer service, the coolest pilot I've ever seen came out,
explained the journey, but he went and he shook hands with every single passenger.
I've never seen a pilot do that before we took off. He said, I just want to welcome you on
board. I'm your captain. I want to welcome you on board. Everyone. Um, and then when he
got to the, some of the rows, he's like, I just wanted to say hi to this row. I'm your captain. So
it wasn't like it took forever. Um, I'm like, I'm going to interview this guy.
So I, on the way back, I said, Hey, I'm an author, by the way, just by saying you're an author.
People are like, my God,
AJ Harper: I know I'm an author because it's such a, it seems so mysterious to most people.
Mike Michalowicz: It is. I'm an author. And I would love to, uh, perhaps interview and give
me his card. So his name was solid. He then landed a plane on, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm
kidding. Um, yeah. Any other gear we need to talk about? We covered a lot.
AJ Harper: No, I mean, uh, don't get caught up in the gear is all I would say.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: Like, do whatever is working for you.
Mike Michalowicz: Totally.
AJ Harper: And don't feel like you have to have something special or expensive or the latest
anything.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: Is what I would say.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. I just find that as long as there's comfort, so it's even how I dress,
I'll make sure that I'm dressing comfortably. Um, I will also, uh, have, Resting pads or
something for my, my wrists and stuff like that. They make some pads. It's just whatever
brings that comfort about
AJ Harper: A good chair, man. We forgot to say that.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah. Good chair,
AJ Harper: A good chair.
Mike Michalowicz: That's good. What chair do you use? Anything special?
AJ Harper: So I had this crazy expensive, which is not like me chair. that I, um, much love
and research had been put into it by my wonderful, wonderful, wonderful right-hand Laura
Stone. Unfortunately, when it arrived, I really hated it. It was no, she did exactly what I
wanted. It should have been fine.
Mike Michalowicz: It just didn't work.
AJ Harper: And so, you know, I just finally decided I would go on Wayfair and I just found
one on Wayfair that. I can't remember the name of, but it's interesting because I got the same
chair in a different color for my studio up on Madeline Island.
And Zoë Bird was up there for about 11 days working on her poetry manuscript. And she's
like, can I go to your studio and stay in your apartment and lay out all my, my whole
manuscript on your table?
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: It's like, yes. And send me pictures. It just thrills me to see artists going up there
to use the studio. I love it. But she texted me. She said, where'd you get this chair?
Mike Michalowicz: She loved it.
AJ Harper: She loved the chair, which surprised me because it's kind of like a executive,
like girly executive chair. And, um, no, she said, I have to have this chair. So, but my chair is
not better than any, you know, it's just whatever you, I needed specific things.
I need, I need one that can, um, that's very sturdy. I need one that the arms can go up and
down so that I can have arms or not have arms. I need a high back so I can lean back and, you
know, there's just, but that's me. So when I—
Mike Michalowicz: It's gotta be for you.
AJ Harper: Yeah.
Mike Michalowicz: I remind me, I have a, even here, I have vertical mouse, um, ‘cause it's
ergonomic.
It's been superior. I moved when I had carpal tunnel syndrome to left-handed. So this is the
only right-handed mouse I have is right here. I use left-handed mouse. Um, the brand to get is
Logitech is the meaty full one. There's lots of like knockoff ones. They're just so light. It's
actually harder to navigate the screen.
So Logitech has a type, in Logitech vertical mouse. You'll find it somewhere. And I do the
wireless as much as possible.
AJ Harper: The thing I want to also say to everyone is always look for the library to go
work.
Mike Michalowicz: Why is that?
AJ Harper: It's quiet.
Mike Michalowicz: Yeah.
AJ Harper: The research librarians will help you find anything. And, uh, just being in
around the books is a good, is a good place to be probably one of the best places to write in
the entire world is the New York public library. The one right adjacent to Bryant Park.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, I should do it
AJ Harper: You should go. I used to go all the time because when I would come into the
city for whatever to see clients or something, Grand Central Station is not far from that
library and that's my station. And so before I would get on the train, I would go work in the
library.
And there's a, what is it called? I think it's called the Rose Room. I'm gonna get it wrong. I'm
gonna But it's the most magical place with wooden, long wooden tables and then the little,
um, library lamps, um, on every single table. And it's a full, it's a huge, massive room and
everybody's writing.
Mike Michalowicz: Oh, that's cool. I love that. Um, all right, we got to wrap up. Um, I hope
our listeners, you got tons of stuff out of this. Some ideas, maybe you're Googling right now
what you should buy or not. Uh, next week we're a lot of stuff is accurate and you've nailed
it. If you don't own A. J. 's book, get a copy now. I gotta make sure I insert this in the
beginning.
My fear right now, A. J. 's people are like, I'm gonna skip this part. This is like the most
important part. Get A. J. 's book, Write a Must-Read. Check out ajharper. com. You've got to
go to Madeline Island, a personal work experience with A. J. It is nothing short of
extraordinary. Um, okay. Next week, we're gonna talk about due diligence.
And if you want to get more information about our show here, go to dwtbpodcast. com.
That's our domain. We've got free resources for you. You can email us at hello at
dwtbpodcast. com. Hey, just cheer us along. I would just love for you to say. AJ, Mike, I love
the show, or I hate it, but just tell us you're listening in, that gets us excited.
Share your story, any questions you have, stuff you want to hear us talk about. And as a
reminder, gosh darn it, don't write that book. Write the greatest book you can.