Hey folks,
Six months in, What’s Curation? has grown from a small, unknown music recommendation newsletter to a medium, sorta-well-known one. I’m incredibly grateful to my dear friend Sara Rosinsky for being my first subscriber who decided to entertain the idea of getting a song a day to expand her musical horizons. She leaves helpful comments, shares my posts on her social media, and offers encouragement when I have moments of doubt. She also was the first person to become an annual paid subscriber, even before I figured out the playlist perks.
So, today, I’m doing an interview with Sara and shining the spotlight on my friend in Colorado.
Five questions!
1. Hi Sara! As a freelance copywriter, what sort of writing work do you craft for your clients?
Recently, I’ve been writing an email sequence, a landing page, a “brand story,” a website, and a whole bunch of headlines. I love writing ads and packaging copy and coming up with names for products and companies.
2. What are 3 fascinating or weird things about the English language that our readers might enjoy?
Where to begin? OK:
When someone gets their “just deserts,” that’s how you spell it—“deserts” with one “s” in the middle. That’s because the person is getting what they deserve. It has nothing to do with after-meal treats.
You probably know that “cardiac” has to do with the heart, but several other English words do, too. When you’re in accord or concord with someone, your hearts are in the same place, but “discord” means the opposite.
Metathesis is when sounds get changed around in a word. “Bird” used to be “brid,” and “wasp” used to be “waps.” If people say “nucular” instead of “nuclear,” that’s metathesis. The spelling of words like “nuclear” may eventually change to reflect the mispronunciation.
3. In 2021, you wrote a book called “Unflubbify Your Writing”. Could you tell us more about it and how you decided on that unique title?
When I started freelancing full-time as a copywriter in 2016, I decided to write fun little lessons about common mistakes in English that I could share on social media. Readers found the lessons entertaining and helpful and started making topic requests.
After a few years of creating these lessons, I decided it would be helpful to compile them all and add an index for convenience. The collection is entitled Unflubbify Your Writing: Bite-Sized Lessons to Improve Your Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar.
I came up with the word “unflubbify” for the same reason I came up with the name of my company, Shiny Red Copy. Everything else had already been used—I had to come up with something new and distinctive!
4. How are you enjoying the ‘What’s Curation?’ experience so far and what are your thoughts on becoming a paid subscriber?
I truly value the service you’re providing, so I’m happy to pay for it. Once I started listening to podcasts and audiobooks about a million years ago, I pretty much abandoned music, so I knew I could really use your guidance. I know that you’re endlessly curious, and you told me you’d be sharing music from different genres from around the world. So I signed right up for What’s Curation?.
And you’ve exceeded my expectations! Not only do you introduce me to music I’ve never encountered before, but in the few instances you’ve shared songs I know, you’ve taught me something new about them. Also, I love your insights and your writing. Every newsletter is a treat.
5. Finally, staying true to our theme: Could you recommend a song for our readers to listen to today?
Oooh. How about Ray Charles singing “Hit the Road, Jack”? And as a bonus, maybe Peggy Lee’s “Fever”?
Thanks, Sara, for the email interview, and for supporting the newsletter!
Dear reader,
If you’d like to support me further, please consider a recurring monthly subscription. It tells Substack that people love this newsletter and improves visibility and awareness. If you’re in a good place and can do $5/month, I’d appreciate it.
Contact Sara
Say hello to Sara, connect with her on LinkedIn, or schedule a call to discuss your copywriting projects.
https://www.shinyredcopy.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sararosinsky/
Nice interview Nikhil. I'm with Sara on Peggy Lee. Her version of Fever was hot!