16th February 2025
🎁 Blurb, 💬 Chat, 🎸 Listen
🎁 Blurb
One of the most awkward steps in writing and publishing a book is sending the completed manuscript to a bunch of people whose opinion you respect and blatantly asking for praise. But not just praise… succinct praise. The sort of praise that can be shared on a website or even printed on the back cover of the book in one or maybe two lines.1
It’s a hard thing to ask for. But even harder to write a good one. I’m grateful to all of the people who have made the effort to help me promote How To Be Wrong. Honestly, reading these as they have come in has been a delight.
Over the next week I’m going to be sharing some of these lovely reviews I’ve received on social media, but here are three that I especially like to start with - hopefully demonstrating that this is not just a book for startup nerds:
Courtney Johnston
Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive, Te Papa
“Why would a museum director be drawn to a book about tech start-ups? Simple: because it starts ‘History isn't fact. It's narrative’? Here's an author who understands the power of mythology, and shows how it's at play in our popular understanding of tech start-ups - their births, triumphs, and failures.”
Sir Bill English
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand
“A remarkably humble honest tale of taking risk, how to roll with it, how to beat it and why it’s worth the effort. I enjoyed his discussion of government innovation policy as he strips down the borrowed hype of tech policy.”
Malindi MacLean
Tumuaki/CEO, Outward Bound
“A masterclass in experiential learning - Rowan's insights about focussing on the rewards of Deep Fun rather than the sugar rush of Shallow Fun will change how you think about starting and building organisations. I loved it.”
Thank you to all three of them, and all of the others who took the time to review. All of the blurbs are on the website now, and there is an extra page with longer-form versions.
If you’re sufficiently inspired, pre-sales are available now.
Speaking of blurbs, here is some news from Sean Manning, just too late to be useful:2
While there has never been a formal mandatory policy in the eight years I’ve been with the Simon & Schuster imprint, it has been tacitly expected that authors—with the help of their agents and editors—do everything in their power to obtain blurbs to use on their book cover and in promotional material. I have always found this so weird.
I mean, what I just said, right?
I’ve decided that beginning in 2025, the Simon & Schuster flagship imprint will no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books. This only applies to Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint, and this isn’t to say that we will outright refuse to include blurbs on our book covers and in promotional materials. If a writer reads a book because they want to (not because they feel beholden) and comes away so moved by it that they can’t resist offering an endorsement, we will be all too happy to put it to use.
Ok?
But there will no longer be an excessive amount of time spent on blurb outreach. There will no longer be the fear that if we don’t secure the right blurbs or enough blurbs or even any blurbs, it will jeopardize a book’s chances for commercial and critical success.
🙄
💬 Chat
I first met Siân Simpson (no relation) in 2011, when she was running the Kiwi Landing Pad in San Francisco. For a couple of years I was a frequent visitor with Vaughan from Vend, as we tried to grow the team in North America and raise the capital to fund that. She always welcomed us in, but more importantly pointed us out at the impressive network of interesting people she had built in the city.
Fast forward a dozen years (yikes!) and I was privileged to spent a bit of time with her at the end of last year at her new base near Cromwell … a million miles away from the buzz of San Francisco both physically and mentally. It’s a beautiful spot, and as always we enjoyed talking about an eclectic range of topics. The difference: unlike all of our previous conversations this one was recorded, for an episode of the current season of Sian’s Bountifull Podcast, so you can all eavesdrop.
Even if you’re not into startups and business there are some different questions in this which I think you’ll find interesting. I’m told this episode will be colloquially known as "The Simpsons". Enjoy!
Watch/Listen Now
PS if you’re not familiar with the Bountifull Podcast, it’s a bit different. I’d recommend checking out the Season One episodes with Paul Conway, Julie Fry and Sir Richard Taylor for a start. And if you’re flying on AirNZ you can find it under “New Releases” on the TV tab of the seat-back entertainment.
🎸 Listen
At least one keen-eyed reviewer noted some of the subtle referenced to popular music that are sprinkled through the book. So, as further proof that this is not a normal book, I’m excited to share the official How To Be Wrong Spotify playlist:
I have a special turkey-themed prize for the first Top Three subscriber who can locate and describe back to me the exact places in the book that reference each of these thirteen songs. Enjoy!
All orders placed before Wednesday will ship this coming Friday or Saturday - if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on a copy.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
As a treat, for those who read the footnotes, here is the actual back cover of the book:
Read the full note from Manning here:
Why Simon & Schuster’s Flagship Imprint Won’t Require Blurbs Anymore, Publishers Weekly