The Life of a Writer
Being a writer, at any stage of her career, is no easy task. You sit down and do the thing–write–and create something out of nothing. You put yourself out there and share your messy, early drafts with trusted friends and critique partners. You revise, revise, revise. You query, query, query. You work with an agent, an editor, and maybe, just maybe, you land a publishing deal and your writing project makes it out into the world for everyone to read. No, this is not everyone’s path, but if you do go this route, it is not easy, even if it appears quick, effortless, and even painless to the outside world.
Support Women Writers
There are plenty of successful women writers (and success is defined in so many different ways!), but often we don’t receive nearly as much attention or accolades for what we do as our male counterparts do. This month, we want to make a pitch for you to share a little love with some women writers out there. Maybe you have a friend who needs a story critiqued or maybe your mom has been toying with the idea of writing a memoir, but she just needs a little encouragement. Either way, a little love and support can go a long way for us creative types.
Here are also a couple of suggestions we have for supporting women writers:
A Still-Relevant, Beloved Writer
By now you know who Margaret Atwood is, and you’ve likely read at least one of her books. I must admit, I hadn’t read The Handmaid’s Tale until shortly before the TV show came out a couple years ago, but it left me breathless. Now that there is renewed interest in the world of Gilead (both from the show and, well, life…), Atwood has written a sequel! It’s due to come out in September of this year, so let’s show Atwood some love and tell our friends about this sequel, The Testaments, and maybe even pre-order the book!
An Emerging Voice
Yeah, yeah, you might be saying. Atwood isn’t hurting for money or an audience. Well, you’re in luck, because I happen to have a new novelist to tell you about! Erin E. Craig is about to publish her first novel, The House of Salt and Sorrows. This spooky young adult book, a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, will come out in August, and it’s already getting quite a lot of buzz. Even if scary books aren’t your speed, Erin is a delightful Twitter follow, and that’s always a small, helpful way to show your support for another writer!
Whatever you choose, we hope you’ll be sure to support a woman writer, whether famous or living next door, in some way that will help her see that what she’s doing is valuable and necessary.
Happy writing, Plumesters!
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