'A Plague on the Industry': Book Publishing's Big Problem

'A Plague on the Industry': Book Publishing's Broken Blurb System

Do authors actually like the books they endorse—or even read them? On their surface, book blurbs seem fairly innocuous, but in reality, they’re a small piece of the puzzle with a big impact—one that represents so much of what’s broken within the traditional publishing establishment. Blurbs expose this ecosystem for what it really is: a nepotism-filled system that everyone endures for a chance of “making it” in an impossible industry for most. To borrow a phrase from Shakespeare enthusiast Cher Horowitz, “Blurbs are a full-on Monet. From far away, they’re okay, but up close, they’re a big old mess.”

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Ghosting Has Gone Way Too Far

First, a confession: I’m an incessant communicator. I’m that friend that immediately responds to texts; the pesky coworker who Slacks you paragraphs back; the psycho who still attempts to reply to emails in a timely fashion. In a world where it’s acceptable to never reply to a person’s message, I’m barreling into your DMs and asking in all-caps IF YOU GOT MY TEXT. I know the world views me as a monster, but I refuse to chill, because of a belief held deep in my bones. Ghosting has gone way too far.

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We Still Don't Understand the Yips

Despite all the chatter about mental health in sports lately, most athletes (and fans) still struggle to understand the difference between failure and performance anxiety. The yips are a whole other beast. “The yips can be found in anything where you are being watched, your performance is being evaluated, and the outcome means something,” says Dr. Carrie Hastings, who has been the Los Angeles Rams team psychologist since 2018. “It’s called ‘the yips’ because it is kind of mysterious.” The yips isn’t some boogeyman with a strict appetite for the ballplayers, runners, and hoopers of the world—though silence allows that stigma to thrive. But if we’re willing to listen to what an athlete with the yips goes through, we may just gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.

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