IN THIS ISSUE
- From the Editor’s Desk: What’s next for The Wordling?
- On The Wordling: A three-year freelance writing plan for growth
- News & Views: What lies beyond women’s magazines? Newsletters
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Happy Thursday, writer friends!
When I launched The Wordling in April 2022, the business model was very clear to me: advertising. We got rave reviews right away and within months, we were being offered sponsorship rates of $500 or more per issue from multiple sponsors. It was an easy decision to make and one that would have made this newsletter profitable immediately.
But when it came down to it, I couldn’t do it. I launched The Wordling with the goal to educate writers. To give you the unvarnished truth about what’s happening in the industry and the players involved.
It’s a problem, however, when a company I’m writing about in the newsletter is also sponsoring it. There are only two ways it can go—I either say what I want to say and have pissed off sponsors or I have to water down my message. Plus, I can’t really tell you how a publisher or retailer is shortchanging writers and still have them sponsor the issue because, no matter how many times I say it’s not an endorsement, an ad is still seen as a recommendation.
I saw this problem in the first month itself when, after I interviewed an author who was making his living writing on Substack, he got extremely pissed off at me for posting a story about how many in the industry were questioning Substack’s true commitment to supporting writers. He accused me of “creating an obstacle” to his success. I knew that if an author could be so unreasonable about a story I was sharing, sponsors would be even more.
I had to make a decision. It was an easy one. But it now left me without a primary business model.
It didn’t take me long to figure out that I what I needed to do was what I’d been doing all along: go directly to my readers. But this time, I didn’t want to do it through individual courses, scattered trainings, and infrequently updated resources.
I wanted to create a single hub where writers could get everything they need as they grow in their careers. And I wanted to make sure that the pricing was inclusive—that it was affordable for not only people in the developed world, but writers in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Enter: Wordling PLUS.
Wordling Plus is the vision I’ve had for this business before I even had a business. From the moment I launched my first course in 2013, I’ve known I wanted to do something like this. I just lacked the capability, the confidence, and most importantly, the content, to do it in the way I truly wanted.
But now I have all three, and it’s culminating in a product that I’m extremely proud of and cannot wait to share with you.
Wordling PLUS will not only help support this newsletter, but will be the most comprehensive training platform for multi-passionate writers that exists today. While there are a lot of resources available for writers (and many of them are excellent), none of them bring together personal experience in a variety of industries, with a focus on empowering writers in the way you’ve come to expect of me. Plus, most resources are country specific, and I’m truly committed to making this a global brand that serves writers in India and Ghana as much as it does those in the US and UK.
We’re officially launching in September, but we have a special pre-launch sale 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 August 31, 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, 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.
This is the next step in The Wordling’s journey and one I’ve been working on for months. I can’t wait to invite you in!
Enjoy the issue!
Natasha Khullar Relph
Editor, The Wordling
ON THE WORDLING
Freelance Writing: A Three-Year Plan for Growth
If you’re looking to grow quickly in your freelancing writing career, here’s a step-by-step three-year plan for success.
When you’re getting started as a freelancer—or if you’re returning to freelancing after a long gap—getting work will be your priority. However, without a long-term goal and a plan for achieving it, you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Every moment you’re in trial and error is a moment that you’re not making an income.
In my first year of freelancing, I remember subscribing to dozens of newsletters, reading thousands of tips, and feeling overwhelmed at the amount of information being thrown at me from many directions.
What I needed was a step-by-step plan. One that would not only keep me organized and accountable, but something that actually helped me focus on the most important aspects of my career for the stage I was in.
And so that’s exactly what I’ve created for you.
NEWS & VIEWS:
Interested in writing for women’s magazines? Don’t.
A decade ago, if a woman wanted to know the latest fashions, who the hottest designers were, or what kind of clothes would work best for her body type, she was likely to pick up a fashion or women’s magazine. Today, she’ll go online.
Facebook groups and Substack newsletters, many of them started by former journalists and editors of those same magazines, are the go-to resources for fashion and beauty tips now, and if you want to write in this space, there’s a massive opportunity in newsletters.
The New York Times talks about some of the women doing this:
Caroline Moss: Former editor at Business Insider and producer at BuzzFeed. Runs a consumer recommendation podcast, newsletter, and Instagram called “Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!” where she shares shopping recommendations and advice. She has a Facebook group with 18,000 members.
Becky Malinsky: Former fashion editor at The Wall Street Journal. Started a weekly newsletter called “5 Things You Should Buy,” which provides fashion and lifestyle recommendations.
Kim France: Founding editor of Lucky magazine. Has a Substack and co-hosts a podcast for women over 40, which has a corresponding Facebook group.
Elizabeth Holmes: Former retail reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Runs an Instagram and newsletter called “So Many Thoughts,” focusing on the British royal family and incorporates shopping links and recommendations into her content.
Some interesting takeaways from the article:
- The number of “women’s interest” print magazines has decreased significantly, with many ceasing regular print publications. Fashion and beauty newsletters on Substack, on the other hand, have grown by 80 percent in the last year.
- These newsletters and online platforms are generating full-time salaries for women, comparable to or exceeding their earnings in traditional journalism roles.
- While the majority of top fashion and beauty newsletters are run by white women catering to an audience with money to spend, Caroline Moss emphasizes that communities like hers bring together women from diverse backgrounds, including those who felt excluded from traditional women’s magazines.
ALSO SEE
While many authors are in fear of what AI will do to the industry, others are using it as fodder for fictional worlds. The Associated Press, which signed a deal with OpenAI to license AP’s archive of news stories, has put out a statement saying this is “not a replacement of journalists in any way.” Meanwhile, in non-AI news, “a group of booksellers, authors, and antitrust activists are urging the government to investigate Amazon’s domination of the book market.”
Also, in case you’ve been wondering, the LA Times explains what the sale of Simon & Schuster could mean for authors, readers, and the industry at large.
GLOBAL REPORT
INDIA: “The newly released Yellowbacks series by Hachette India is possibly the largest single reissue of a handpicked set of books. Thomas Abraham, the managing director of Hachette India, has personally curated the list of nearly 200 titles over a period of seven years. But why a revival? For one thing, 2023 is the hundredth year of the legendary Yellowbacks series first published by Hodder & Stoughton in yellow jackets in 1923. For another, the revival is aimed at what Abraham calls ‘nostalgia reading’.”
GUATEMALA: “For the past year, the case of Jose Rubén Zamora in Guatemala has been emblematic of this type of crackdown on journalists and newsrooms that has taken root globally. Arrested in July 2022 on bogus charges, Zamora has spent the past year behind bars in an effort by Guatemalan authorities to stifle his reporting. “The government – the Alejandro Giammattei administration – has held him hostage for 365 days this upcoming Saturday,” said Zamora’s son, José Zamora, at a press conference held by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to mark the anniversary of the arrest.”
NIGERIA: “In 2021, having recently obtained his first international byline with Vice, University of Ilorin student Olatunji Olaigbe created a WhatsApp group to help young journalists connect with established reporters. Called Journo-Geekology, Olaigbe’s WhatsApp group offers a forum where members can discuss journalism-related topics and share career opportunities.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
T“It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.”
– Virginia Woolf
SHARE THE WORDLING
Like most creatives, the Wordlings don’t particularly like planning too far ahead. Share The Wordling with a friend who likes to live in the moment.