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A note from Jane

One afternoon, out of the blue, my mom texted me, “While you were building your career, did you ever step outside your comfort zone, that is, were you nervous or scared about what you were doing or planning?”

My immediate response was, “All the time!” But why was she asking?

Apparently, she was having a conversation with a family member about what builds success in general, and this came up as a reason.

The more I thought about it, the more I regretted my immediate answer and what it implied about success.

Yes, it was scary to quit my job and become a full-time freelancer more than a decade ago. But I was amplifying my dedication to work I’d been successful in for 15 years, work that I enjoyed.

Last year, I was nervous about increasing the frequency of my paid newsletter to weekly—could I keep up without burning out? Yes, but I’ve adjusted my workload in other areas and I have 10 years of experience in producing it already.

While it can be uncomfortable to take a risk, the risks I’m taking are calculated and I trust my judgment more than anyone else’s. This is why I find it difficult to answer the question: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I quite arrogantly can’t think of anything. No one knows my life situation and my business like I do.

Of course I trust a few people as sounding boards and to help point out my blind spots. But I tend to regret it when I go against my own best judgment. Plus I act quickly when I decide what needs to be done—no dithering. I’d rather make a mistake and have confidence I can recover. That’s far better to me than paralysis.

Jane

P.S. Most popular post this month: ​Launch Day Is Not Judgment Day​

​Bob Eckstein​

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A fun way to use your landline phone

Reader Barbara Hesselgrave wrote in, “I was interviewing a source and bemoaning having to use a cell phone and he said do you know about the XLink gateway? Turns out this is a gadget that allows you to use your old landline phones via Bluetooth. I have the coolest vintage rotary phones from France and Italy. You simply plug in this little box the size of a card deck and it has a regular phone input so your old phone plug goes in there. Then you press a button and it finds your Bluetooth cell phone.” When calls come in, you can use your “dumb” phone, not the smartphone or cell.

Find the difference between two text files

I know some writers worry that editors (or any third party) may make changes to their files using AI without their knowledge. Or maybe you’re using AI yourself and concerned about undetected changes. Diffchecker can help you identify the differences between two text files.

Diffchecker is useful for more than just AI concerns, of course. You can use it to compare any kind of document where you’re worried a change has been made without transparency, like in a contract. Free & paid versions. H/t AI Sidequest​

More ways to get your affairs in order

In the last issue, I mentioned a class that helps you get your financial and legal affairs in order, and readers responded with some other suggestions. One anonymous “solo ager” recommends Joy Loverde’s The Complete Eldercare Planner, 4th Edition, and comments, “I was brilliant at taking care of my elderly parents decades ago, but things have become more complicated.”

And my colleague Tiffany Yates Martin writes in, “This made me think of one I recently ran across and am so intrigued by—the NOK box (next of kin). It’s probably a lot of the same info [as in the class] but what intrigues me is that this seems to be a user-friendly set of templates of all the documents and housekeeping—major and minor—that might need to be attended to after a death, all stored in one convenient place. As I grow increasingly mindful of my Swedish death cleaning, I’m flirting with the idea of getting one of these.”

When you’re seeking alternatives to your current tools or software

Sometimes the tools you’re using change in ways you don’t like, or they increase pricing beyond your tolerance. If you need to find alternatives, Alternative.to is a good place to start. H/t Tools for Reporters​

Next online class: Building Better Memoir Scenes

• Taught by: Lisa Cooper Ellison
• Ideal for: Memoirists who have completed a first draft and are ready to revise, or gotten feedback that they’re relying too heavily on summary, explanation, or reflection.
• Jane says: Scenes are the fundamental building block of any story and critical to memoir craft.
• When: Wednesday, June 24, 1:00–2:30 p.m. EDT, or wait for the recording delivered on Friday

Your turn: over-the-ear headphones

In the last issue, I asked if you could recommend a pair of over-the-ear headphones for use at a desktop computer. Here’s a sampling of what you said.

• I have Raycons and like them. They are not fancy and weren’t a big investment … they encompass all of my ear because I also don’t like the ones that just sit on my ears. … My husband says my headset usage reminds him of Mary’s brother Warren in the movie There’s Something About Mary. I’m a little neurospicy that way, so it’s valid. —Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
• My theory is that the majority are designed for men and do not fit on/in/around women’s ears. I have been using V-Moda Crossfade M-80 on-ear headphones for ten years. I am a documentary producer and spend literally ten hours a day on the phone with these. They are foldable for shoving in your purse, extremely sturdy (mostly metal parts), well-padded where they need to be, and still light. … I know, they’re for gaming, but they are the BEST for phone, music, etc. —Sian Evans
• I switched to ‘behind the neck’ wired headphones for my stationary desk years ago, and instantly no more headaches from bulky headsets. I still use an external Yeti microphone for voice, but these headphones have been a game changer for me. My specific set is no longer available but the Williams Sound HED 026 is similar. —Cindy Huggett
• I just bought a great pair of over-the-ear headphones two months ago, Anker Soundcore Space One Headphones. They’re cloud soft, noise cancelling, the battery lasts for ages (I’ve only charged them twice since April 2). I use them exclusively at work when I need to focus or for Zoom calls and webinars. … I honestly love these as much as my expensive SteelSeries gaming headset that I use at home, and they were a good $200 cheaper. —Stephanie A. Cain
• I love Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones. They’re so comfortable. And if someone speaks to you, the music turns off so you can respond. —YC Takahashi
• Koss KTXPRO1 Titanium Portable Headphones with Volume Control. I’ve been using this model literally for decades. The sound quality is excellent for the price, and they’re cheap enough that you can replace them whenever the foam earpads wear out or the inline volume control gets wonky—maybe after a couple of years. My mother swore she couldn’t wear headphones, but these gave her no trouble at all. —Aaron
• The over-the-ear headphones I use when listening to recordings (or recording voicework) are Maono MH700 Professional Monitor Headphones. They’re comfortable and lightweight. The over-the-head band is padded and adjustable. The ears are well padded, too. Frankly, I don’t like wearing headphones (they mess up my hair) but when I need to, I grab my trusty Maonos. —Shauna L Bowling
• I absolutely love my Anker Soundcore AeroClip open-ear, clip-on earbuds. They aren’t over-the-head, so they may not be what you’re looking for. They fit around your ear, which means no headband to give me a pressure headache and they don’t constantly slip out of my ears like normal earbuds do. I wear them for hours at a time and one of these days I’m sure I will get in the shower with them on because they’re so comfortable I forget about them. —Jessica Snyder
• I use the Corsair RGB Void Elite gaming headset for my work, and it records audio as well. I am not a gamer, but for my day job, listening to music and doing amateur audiobook recordings, it is fantastic. With cushiony earpieces, an adjustable head strap and handy volume and mute controls, it is the perfect tool for me. I have had mine for about seven years, and it has not given out. —Brendan Shea

💙 This was a popular question! Browse the full list of recommendations.​

Next question: Reader Mary Rosewood asks, “What shoes do you find comfortable when attending events, for walking the convention floor and/or speaking?” Hit reply and let me know (and help out Mary!).

Do you have a tools or resources question you would like me to ask all readers? Offer up your suggestion, and I might feature it.

Free resources featuring Jane

Do You Need an Editor? with Katie Bannon and Jane Friedman, a free Zoom session on June 26 that will cover when an editor is most helpful, how to choose the right one, and what it may cost

Upcoming online classes

• ​Building Better Memoir Scenes with Lisa Cooper Ellison, June 24
• ​What It Takes to Sell Your Memoir (or Hybrid Memoir) with Jane Friedman, June 25
• ​Moving Beyond Three-Act Structure with Steven James, July 1
• ​Building a Strong Author-Publisher Relationship with Anne Trubek, July 8
• ​Today’s Key Book Publishing Paths with Jane Friedman, July 9
• ​Pitch, Publish and Get Paid with Allison K Williams, July 15
• ​Mastering Narrative Flow with Tiffany Yates Martin, July 22
• ​Writing From Your Why with Leslye Penelope, July 29
• ​Writer’s Survival Guide to Contracts, Legal Issues & Other Business Basics with Jane Friedman, Aug. 6
• ​Improve Your Author Website with Jane Friedman, Sept. 24

Meet Jane at an event

• ​Stockholm Writers Festival (Sweden), June 13, 2026
• ​Midwest Writers Workshop (Muncie, IN), July 16–18, 2026
• ​Willamette Writers Conference (Portland, OR), July 31–Aug. 2, 2026
• ​Romance Writers of Australia (Darwin, Australia), Aug. 21–23, 2026

“At electric speed, all forms are pushed to the limits of their potential.”
—Marshall McLuhan

Created by Jane Friedman I report on the publishing industry and help authors understand the business of writing. My newsletter that helps pay the bills is The Bottom Line, where I recently reported on what makes a book take off on TikTok.

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