#20 Let me help you
On shaking off the shame around self-promotion.
I hate self-promotion, and I can imagine so many other people feel the same way about it. Blowing my own trumpet is not something I was raised to do or think of. It is rooted in this excessive culture of humility and related to imposter syndrome.
We easily categorise people as arrogant, yet we also praise them for being outspoken and confident. How do you strike the right balance?
Shouldn’t my work speak for itself? Won’t I become too spammy and end up turning people away from engaging with my content? Do I even bring enough value or even know what I’m doing?
These are the questions I’ve been dwelling upon since I started this newsletter. Deep down, sometimes, I know I am doing an okay job (see, even now I am struggling to admit that I am content with how The Culture Worm turned out). Do I want to shout about it? Not really. Do I need to? Yes, probably, if I want to grow this community further.
As with most things in life, if it gets uncomfortable, it means you’re doing the right thing. The thought of having this read by you every week is still daunting, but this doesn’t mean I don’t want to carry on doing it. I’ve got big ideas for The Culture Worm – it’s lack of time and resources that are missing, ha! – but in order to progress, I have to shake off the shame around self-promotion.
In the past few weeks, the number of subscribers has plateaued. Of course, this was inevitable, however, it did discourage me a bit. Part of my day-to-day job involves social media, planning content, analysing engagement rates and numbers. I am well aware of the landscape and the (un)importance of these numbers. But this newsletter is my baby, so no wonder I’d get affected!
I am in no rush, though. I am here for the marathon, not the sprint.
Today, I celebrate 20 (!) issues of this newsletter, but also ask how I can make this newsletter the most relevant and valuable piece of content you get to read in your inbox every week.
It feels like an ambitious goal, but I think together we can do it.
I’ve created this brief questionnaire below where you can submit your answers anonymously. It would mean the world to me if you could spare some minutes to write down your thoughts.
I am ever so grateful for being on this journey with me. If you choose to make your voice heard, I promise I’ll listen.
**
One more thing to ponder over before I let you dive into this week’s recommendations:
“If you don’t find a way to speak about the value of what you’re doing, you send a message that you don’t put much value on it. And if you don’t value it, why should anyone else?” – Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith, “How Women Rise.”
Happy reading, happy learning,
Teodora x
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🥁 📚 The latest in the literary world
The prestigious Dutch literary award, the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren, doesn’t get any festive ceremony this year, and not because of the pandemic! Astrid H. Roemer, the first author from Suriname to be awarded this prize, came under fire for her comments about the former Suriname president Dési Bouterse. The organisers decided Roemer will still receive the £40,000 prize, yet a ceremony –where King Philippe would have handed her the award – is no longer “appropriate.” 😬 🤔
The Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2021 Longlist is here, featuring 15 titles, with topics ranging from workplace culture to climate change and the pandemic. Stories include the rise and fall of tech start-up WeWork, the devastating power of cyberweapons, and the history of the meritocracy concept. The shortlist will be announced on September 23, with the winner revealed on December 1. Past winners include “Bad Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram” by Sarah Frier, and “Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed For Men” by Caroline Criado Perez.
A children’s story about families with same-sex parents has been published in Russia to fight back against the country’s LGBT+ propaganda law. Since none of the Russian publishing houses would support the release of the picture book, Sphere, a charitable foundation, has decided to publish it. This comes after a bookshop in Hungary was fined €700 (£600) for selling a children’s story featuring families headed by same-sex parents. 🏳️🌈
“Nine Perfect Strangers,” dubbed as “the new Big Little Lies,” is now streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime (if you’re in the UK). Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy are the big stars of this drama mini-series based on Liane Moriarty’s novel, following nine stressed-out strangers at a remote house retreat. In case you’re curious, here’s the trailer for you. 👀 🎬
I was almost concerned this week there won’t be any news of celebrities turning into overnight bestselling writers coming on the horizon! 😱Thankfully, singer-songwriter Anne-Marie has taken care of it. Not a memoir this time, but a self-help book that doesn’t give you “fluffy promises about self-care but speaks honestly about body image, mental health, being successful at work and more.” 🙄 If only the cover was pretty… *sigh*
BONUS: This absolutely brilliant billboard in London featuring Maggie O’Farrell’s “Hamnet” spelled out in flowers to celebrate readers’ love for the book. 🌺 That’s one hell of a marketing campaign from Headline Books! 👏
🎧 📰 👀 My media diet this week
Should robots have gender? Should humanity leave the Earth? Is religion necessary? Author Jeanette Winterson gives her take on AI, robots, feminism, and the future of humanity in this 15-min Q&A video from Penguin’s Big Questions. 🤖 ⛪ 🔮Why watch it? You’re probably wondering why you should listen to a writer’s point of view about the world we live in. Well, first off, Winterson is glorious. Her witty, punchy, yet insightful commentary comes from years of reading and research on history, religion, politics, and more recently, computer science. After all, “the stories we tell ourselves determine the outcome,” says Winterson. By the way, her latest book (or rather, essay collection), “12 Bytes,” was published last month, so this video is a good teaser. 😉
With Afghanistan’s on everyone’s minds, this opinion piece from the Nation – White feminists wanted to invade – is quite fascinating. Why read it? A look at an arguably well-intended, but ill-conceived project from white American feminists that decided war and occupation are essential to freeing Afghan women. 🇦🇫
Who would have thought? The ugliness of Comic Sans has a practical use. Why read about this? You’ll find out how ‘disfluency’ can help us learn more and think better, and two distinct pathways our brain is using to read and make sense of words. 💡 Also, did you know your brain requires only about 300 calories per day for consciousness, aka the amount of energy in a chocolate bar? 🤯 🍫
📌 Random news in brief
Revolut has turned over 70 employees into millionaires. On paper at least. 💰 🤔
A US trophy hunter was paid $30,000 to kill a lion with a bow and arrow. 🦁 🏹 💔 We don’t deserve to live in this world …
When people in Afghanistan do what they can to flee the country, a 22-year-old British student decides to go exactly there “for a holiday.” 🙄 Because Spain has suddenly become “boring.” 🤷
ICYMI: this three-metre-long python slithering out of the spice shelf at a supermarket in Sydney. 🐍