IN THIS ISSUE
- From the Editor’s Desk: Alignment leads to speed
- On The Wordling: 21 ways to find new freelance clients
- News & Views: Lessons from the latest book blurb controversy
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Hey writer friends,
In the last couple of months, I’ve been offered two international trips, both of which I’d have been perfect for, not only because they were exactly the sort of things I’m interested in writing about, but because I actually had editors lined up for the stories.
The problem? I’ve applied for UK residency and can’t leave the country until it comes through. Oh, and no one can say when that will be. It could be three months, it could be six, and for many people, it’s taken over a year. Meanwhile, I’m dying to get back to India to see my parents, and I have no idea when that will happen. Blech.
In other, more positive news, this has probably been the most productive month of my entire career. Not only have I written and filed 18 stories, I’ve also worked on a new course, made progress on a book, and prepped for the launch of Wordling PLUS. All while managing to spend lots of time with my husband and son, read books, and watch far too much Netflix. It’s been the perfect month, in many ways, and it’s given me a template for how to be present in both work and life without one stealing from the other.
Speaking of Wordling PLUS, we pre-launch in one week!
ICYMI, Wordling PLUS is a comprehensive training platform for multi-passionate writers, with not just content (of which there is a lot), but actual practical ways to get out of your own way and chart your own course. If you’ve taken any of my courses or worked with me, you’ll know that my goal is not to show you what works, but to show you what works for you. To help you find your unique path to success in a way that feels aligned for you and makes you happy, because I believe doing things in the way that are right for you is the only way you can achieve sustainable growth.
Let’s be clear: I couldn’t write 18 stories, work on books and courses, prepare for a massive launch, and still have time for my kid, grab weekly coffee with colleagues, or go visit friends in another part of the country if I were struggling through my work. It would drain me, leave me exhausted at the end of the day, with no time for anything else. But because I’ve learned to channel my strengths and minimize my weaknesses in a way that is aligned for me, everything I do renews me. I feel energized after a day of work, not depleted. Alignment leads to speed.
I had to learn all this the hard way, but I don’t want anyone else to have to figure it all out on their own. Which is why I run this business, why I love working with writers, and why I’m now launching Wordling PLUS.
We officially launch on September 7, but there is a special pre-launch sale happening, with massive discounts that will be available to the first 100 people only.
In order to hear about it, you MUST be on the waiting list.
So hop on and come September 1, I will send you an email telling you all about Wordling PLUS and our special founder member pricing. Regardless of whether you decide to join Wordling PLUS, it’s still worth signing up to the waiting list, since that’s the only way to hear about the promotional offer. Click here to be added automatically.
Enjoy the issue!
Natasha Khullar Relph
Editor, The Wordling
NEW ON THE WORDLING
Find New Clients: 21 Small Things You Can Do Today
A six-figure freelancer on the top strategies she’s used to find new clients and how you can easily replicate her process in an hour a day.
NEWS & VIEWS:
The (un)truth about book blurbs
Blurbs are used to sell books. Every publisher, author, and reader knows that. But what readers and new authors may not know is that blurbs are often manipulated to sound better than they were intended to be. This came to light recently when a blurb for Jordan Peterson’s book Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life started making rounds online. The cover quote, from James Marriott, a columnist at the Times reads: “A philosophy of the meaning of life . . . the most lucid and touching prose Peterson has ever written.”
What Marriott actually wrote was, he says, the most negative thing he has even written in his entire career. His original review in the Times in 2021 called Peterson’s philosophy “bonkers” and describes one chapter as the most “sensitive and lucid prose” Peterson’s written, in comparison, we assume, with the rest of the book that he hated.
Why it matters
The Peterson affair has led to a lot of discussion among the publishing community about blurbs and how they’re used (or misused).
The Times’ literary editor Robbie Millen told the Bookseller, “Be suspicious of the quotes on the back of paperbacks. Know that the clever people in publishing have used all their skills to take someone’s words and bend them into new, more pleasing shapes.”
Writing for GQ, critic Barry Pierce notes, “The problem with taking book covers at face value extends beyond critics’ quotes and into blurbs in general, where authors proffer endorsements for those on their imprint, or for authors who are friends of theirs. There are some authors, who of course I shan’t name, who appear seemingly on the cover of every new book published in the UK. You really begin to question just how many of these books they actually read.”
Author and law professor Stephen L. Carter writes for Bloomberg, “Nowadays, blurbing involves plenty of back-scratching. Publishers always ask authors for connections who might pen a bit of buzz-generating praise.” It’s commonly known, in fact, that both publishers and agents will ask their more successful author clients to blurb books by their newer upcoming clients.
Why should you care?
If you’re an author, here’s what you need to remember:
- It’s likely the quality of your connections, and not the quality of your book, that will lead to juicy blurbs from well-known authors. (And why traditional publishers want to see names of well-known people in your book proposal.)
- Blurbs are a fantastic marketing tool, but be careful to stay in the spirit of the review you’re quoting. Publishers can get away with dishonest marketing, but an author who loses their reader’s trust will struggle to win it back.
ALSO SEE
Patty Lin, who worked on popular shows like Friends, Freaks and Geeks, Desperate Housewives, and Breaking Bad, talks about why she quit writing for television. Stephen King responds to news that his books are being used to train AI. And Press Gazette has this dire report on the state of freelance journalism.
GLOBAL REPORT
INDIA: “There are probably fewer Indian foreign correspondents today than two decades ago, notes Sanjaya Baru, a former editor of the Business Standard, a broadsheet. The new media focus on India’s role in the world tends to be hyperpartisan, nationalistic and often stunningly ill-informed.”
RUSSIA: “In the following essay, Kostyuchenko describes—for the first time—why she fled Ukraine and reveals that she was poisoned last fall in Munich. (The essay originally appeared in Russian on Meduza’s website and was translated by Bela Shayevich.)”
USA: “The future of public school libraries in Florida seems to be imperiled in the debate over book challenges. Last year, Julie Miller purchased chairs instead of new books. And she has not been cleared to make any acquisitions for the approaching school year either. DeSantis’s new law does away with earmark percentages of school district funding for specific departments, allowing school boards to curtail or redirect library funds to different categories if they so choose.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that is all important.”
– George R. R. Martin
SHARE THE WORDLING
The Wordlings have been demolishing deadlines all week and feel ready for some time off. Share The Wordling with a friend who loves crossing items off their to-do list but then gets stressed when they’ve all run out.