IN THIS ISSUE
- From the Editor’s Desk: Being a multipassionate writer is a superpower
- On The Wordling: The $100k blueprint
- News & Views: Highlights from the London Book Fair
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Hey everyone,
One of the most common emails I receive every day is from writers who want to freelance, write books, publish newsletters, and build creative businesses. They worry—or have been told by well-meaning mentors—that they have to pick one thing to be successful.
Yet, look around and you’ll notice that some of the most successful writers today have multiple streams of income. They’re writing books, publishing columns in newspapers, launching Substacks, and teaching workshops.
How can they be doing all of this, while you’re struggling to maintain a single source of income?
See, what most people don’t understand is that being a multipassionate writer is a superpower. But like most superpowers, you need to learn how to harness it.
Because when you mismanage a superpower, you can wreak havoc.
In your writing life, this can manifest as unfinished manuscripts, projects that fizzle out halfway, articles and essays that get written but not sold, a little knowledge about a lot of things, a lack of any real progress, shiny object syndrome, a stalled writing career, and confidence that has dipped so low you worry you may never get it back again.
When you haven’t been taught how to harness your talents, it can lead you to question everything—your writing, your pricing, your very abilities.
I’ve been there. I’m the founder of The Wordling, but I’m also a widely published freelance journalist with bylines in The New York Times, TIME, CNN, BBC, and more.
I’ve written for every women’s magazine you’ve ever heard of, including Marie Claire, Vogue, Elle, and Glamour.
I’ve been a content writer or strategist for organizations such as Facebook, HP, Chase, Prudential, The Institute of Food Technologists, and Helen Keller International.
And I’m also an author with eight published books, many of them Amazon bestsellers.
Which is to say, I’m a multipassionate writer.
And before I had multiple streams of income, I had stress, overwhelm, and a lack of any clear direction.
I was flailing. I knew I was doing something wrong, but I had no idea how to fix it.
Perhaps like you?
Figuring out how to use my multipassionate superpower changed my career. And I want to help you change yours.
I’ve made a free masterclass to show you why you’re not getting the momentum you need in your writing career.
I’ll show you what you have to do to fix it.
And I’ll help you feel clear about your next steps and confident that you’re on the right track.
I will give you a step-by-step strategy to build multiple sources of income with your creative work in less than a year.
(Even if you’re currently struggling to make ends meet.)
I know your time is valuable, so I’ve recorded the masterclass. You can watch it at a time that is convenient for you.
When you spend 45 minutes with me in the workshop, you’ll walk away knowing exactly what’s keeping you from getting the writing career you want.
If you enjoy writing articles, but also dream about writing books, publishing fiction, or launching a creative or content business, I’m going to show you how to do all those things and make a six-figure income from embracing, not denying, your passions, in less time than you thought was possible.
It’s the first step to building a business you love that also pays exceptionally well.
You CAN do this. Let me show you how.
Enjoy the issue!
Natasha Khullar Relph
Editor, The Wordling
NEW ON THE WORDLING
Free Masterclass: The $100K Blueprint for Multipassionate Writers
In this 45-minute masterclass, I will show you…
- How to turn your multiple and unique passions into a superpower
- How to get to a six-figure income in less than a year
- A new way of thinking about your writing career, one that is profitable and expansive
UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS
WRITE MORE IN 2024
with Natasha Khullar Relph
When: Friday, March 22
10am New York | 2pm London | 7:30pm New Delhi
If you want to make money as an author, you have to write more books. One book a year (or fewer!) does not a publishing career make. You need to write more faster. I can help.
In this live 1-hour masterclass, I’ll spend 20 minutes walking you through how to write fast effortlessly. And then, in the remaining 40, I’ll actually help you put it in action right there on the call!
APRIL GROUP COACHING
with Natasha Khullar Relph
When: Wednesday, April 2
10am New York | 3pm London | 7:30pm New Delhi
Our monthly group coaching call! Sessions typically run 60-90 minutes and in these live calls, we’ll help you work through mindset challenges, brainstorm story ideas, come up with ideas for publications to pitch, critique your work, and give personal guidance on the next steps in your career.
NEWS & VIEWS:
Why Hollywood came to the London Book Fair
It’s time for our annual round-up of the London Book Fair, which was declared a massive triumph this year. Caroline Michel, the CEO of Peter Fraser + Dunlop (PFD) said she “cannot remember a busier first day.” Penguin Random House US CEO Nihar Malaviya noted, “I think it’s been the most exciting London Book Fair at least since Covid, if not before that. The number of people here, the amount of energy here, is absolutely amazing.”
Here’s what went down:
AI continues to dominate discussions
Publishers Weekly reports: Italy’s Ricardo Franco Levi, president of the FEP, said that he believes that Europe is leading the way in terms of combating some of the most troubling issues surrounding AI and copyright. In newly adopting the AI Act, on March 13, Levi said, Europe is ensuring that “all AI users and producers will have to respect the European Copyright Directive”—a sweeping and controversial copyright reform bill passed in 2019—”wherever they train AI, so European copyright rules will be in place for everyone.
Foreign language audiobooks on the rise
In a panel titled “The Future of Audio in Publishing: Global Trends and the Impact of AI,” speakers emphasized the growing interest in non-English language audiobooks, particularly Spanish. Michele Cobb, executive director of the Audio Publishers Association, noted: “We know that the majority of those non-English language titles that are being produced by our publishers are in Spanish, and we’re starting to see that other languages are coming, you know, forward in, in all of this.” The next two languages to focus on are French and Hindi.
The genres that prevailed
Lucy Hale, m.d. of Pan noted high demand for romantasy, while Emily Krump, editorial director at William Morrow, highlighted a spiking interest in horror. Rebecca Wearmouth, head of international rights at PFD, said international interest in popular science remains strong, while Grace Paul, editorial director at Bloomsbury, noted an interest in influencer books and psychology titles about “internal family systems” and “polyvagal theory,” according to The Bookseller.
Hollywood comes knocking
Many Hollywood partygoers in L.A. flew to the London Book Fair, seeking potential Oscar-worthy projects. TV’s increasing interest in book adaptations, evident in recent hits like “Shōgun,” “One Day,” “Fool Me Once,” and “Slow Horses,” has propelled the London Book Fair to a key market for the screen industry. LBF director Gareth Rapley emphasizes books’ significance as a foundation for content creation, citing their proven track record, built-in audience, and publisher investment as key factors driving their appeal to filmmakers. “It feels like there’s an influx of film and television executives, studio executives, producers etc., all coming into town,” Jason Richman, co-head of media rights at UTA, told Variety.
ALSO SEE
It seems that university presses are racking up legal bills over AI copyright breaches.
Also in AI, NPR reports that there are a growing number of AI “scam” books flooding Amazon.
And finally, the American Library Association has found that the number of unique titles targeted for censorship hit record levels in 2023, with a surge of 65% compared to 2022.
GLOBAL REPORT
MEXICO: “A federal immigration judge granted asylum today to a Mexican journalist who fled his country more than 15 years ago due to death threats, and who had been denied asylum twice.”
NORWAY: “The team led by Ida Anna Haugen, head of editorial innovation at NRK, started to manually add bullet-pointed summaries at the beginning of each article. This allows the reader to see the main points of the story at a glance so they can decide whether it is worth delving into.”
INDIA: “The media industry in India has been plagued by discriminatory practices, continued Paliwal. “[Indian] media has historically been dominated by cis-heterosexual people. In leadership spaces, they decide what kind of stories are told, whose voices are uplifted, who is worthy of covering,” he said. “Because they’re not from queer communities they’re also not asking the right questions [and] not spending time with us.” Noticing these disparities, Paliwal launched queerbeat in November 2022 to tell a greater diversity of stories about often invisibilized queer communities in India.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them. “
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
HOORAY! YOU MADE IT TO THE END!
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