On Day 4 of the migraine from hell. Please send chocolate, advice, home remedies, and hugs. Thank you muchly.
Enjoy the issue!
Natasha Khullar Relph
NEWS & VIEWS
Female exodus
Women are fed up, and women of color are done. At least 15 women of color left the BBC in the last year, Variety reports. Simone Byrne, a Black Scottish journalist, told the magazine she left in November 2021 after being told by her managers that she needed to be “sensitive about how I speak about race to white people.”
The problem is not limited to the BBC.
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The Washington Post Guild’s Pay, Diversity and Retention Study revealed that, as of 2021,
the median salary for Guild-covered women across the company was 13 percent lower
than that for Guild-covered men. The number of Black employees and journalists at the Post in the last five years has decreased.
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Half of the leadership team of NPR now comprises non-white executives, but “former and current employees say that while the nonprofit has pushed to hire and elevate people of color in recent years,
structural and cultural issues at NPR
prevent the nonprofit from being able to hold on to top talent.”
- Channel 4 put “gag orders” in place to prevent female employees from speaking out about equal pay, discrimination, and bullying.
Ofcam’s Five Year Review into Diversity in Broadcasting revealed that more women are leaving TV and radio than joining. And a report from the International Women’s Media Foundation shows that globally, 73% of the top management jobs are still occupied by men.
Women of color can no longer buy into the “inclusion delusion,” writes author Deepa Purushothaman. “When we arrive, we think our title and position of power will give us the opportunity to create change. Then the truth sets in: What’s being asked of us is to fit into an existing culture, not to evolve it.”
SEE ALSO:
Flaunt those flaws: What’s a hero’s journey without some bad decision-making on the hero’s part? Here’s how to use your protagonist’s flaws more effectively so they’re organic to the storytelling.
Find an agent after going indie: The traditional advice is to not mention your indie work to agents unless it’s sold tens of thousands of copies. But agents are a lot more open-minded, as Kate Seldman discovered when looking for representation for the next book in her indie series.
Self edit like a pro: Some big areas to look at in your manuscript as you finish your first draft and jump into the editing. The small ones can be left to editing tools, right?*
*This is a sponsored post.
WRITERS WANTED
Have pitches that are environment, climate or wildlife themed? Send them to the publications below.
- American Falconry (Pay starts at $100)
- Bay Nature (Pays $0.20-$1 a word)
- Earth Island Journal (Pays 25 cents a word for print, $150 for online)
- Hakai (Pays CAN $1.30 a word)
- National Geographic (Reportedly pays $1 a word)
- National Parks Conservation Association (Pay unspecified)
- Tennessee Wildlife Magazine (Pays $0.15 a word)
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac (Pay unspecified)
- Yes! (Pays $0.40 per word for online, $0.50 per word for print)
There are now 50+ publications on our How to Pitch page and we’re adding more weekly.
THE WORDLING INTERVIEW
Know someone who should be featured in this section? Hit reply and tell me (even if it’s you!)
THE WORDLING PICK
Should I go with traditional, indie, or hybrid publishing?*
How do I write a pitch? What kind of royalties should I expect? What the heck are beta readers and why do I need them? Publishing is an ever-changing business. As a result, these and many other questions are at the forefront of the modern-day writer’s brain. You’ve probably asked them yourself!
Publishing is changing. Get the knowledge you need!
*This is a sponsored post.
WORDLING INSIGHT
Your work will not please everyone. Your work will not sit well with everyone. Your work will not get universal praise from everyone.
That’s okay.
Because your work is not FOR everyone.
Your work is for a core group of readers, people who align with what you have to say.
Focus on these people. Ignore the rest.
GLOBAL REPORT
INDIA: In 2021, a WhatsApp message claiming that the editor-in-chief of The New York Times had called PM Narendra Modi one of the greatest leaders of the world went viral. This turned out to be fake, and not an isolated incident. In the last few years, misinformation has been spreading through the country with quotes and research that are attributed to realistic-sounding fictitious publications such as Boston Star, Hong Kong Herald, and Toronto Telegraph. (There were at least 750 of these fake publications at last count.)
THE BIG FOUR: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt dominate coverage of tech in Africa, but more African tech media outlets are coming into play in the region. This is important because while Western media still largely ignores the strides being made in this space, it is a booming industry with wide-ranging impact. African tech startups raised over $4 billion in 2021, twice the number from the year before, and in 2021 Google announced a $50 million fund to support African startups.
GERMANY: This week, one million schoolchildren in Germany will receive a copy of the comic novel Iva, Samo und derheime Hexensee by Bettina Obrecht and illustrated by Timo Grubing (Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe). The initiative is part of this year’s World Book Day observance, and the book was chosen specifically with the climate crisis in mind.
AS YOU GO
Did you hear the one about the freelancer who got ghosted by a client after asking for payment and so deleted all completed files from their servers?
He got his money, props from other freelancers, and some good advice.
SHARE THE WORDLING
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