How to be an Author on the Internet without Losing Your Mind
What's on for Mothers Who Write Members in May
Hello everyone!
May has caught me by surprise. I've had a strange, sharp, intense April. Everything's gone bad - oh look a swallow, the air smells of coconut, everything’s yellow, the moon's just a chip in windscreen again!
It's a lot isn't it, being a person? I already feel stretched – both behind and way ahead in the year.
I called my second post on the Substack I don't want to write, "Would you like to hear me crying?" Someone asked why that title and then made a bit of a face. I’ve been thinking about that face quite a bit. A little twist around the nose area as if they had smelled milk on the turn. The answers to the questions of why the title and why the face are, I think, the same. Something about honesty, the way that being a writer on the internet can be at times and how confronting and squirmy it feels when that is pointed out.
The current content models have set things up in a way that feels to me more performative and less honest than other ways of writing. Transactional yet pretending not to be transactional. I fear I am less protected as a person and an author if I write on Substack rather than in a traditional medium with editors and a legal team. There are benefits of this direct from source approach too, and maybe I can square it all away as long as we acknowledge the reality – and if readers share in the burden of being less protected.
I chose the title, "Would you like to hear me crying?" because it protects readers less from the reality of the transaction. Haven't we always been buying the end result of writers and artists' alchemical experiments with pain? If on Substack I have nothing but my skill and the money between me and the pain and the reader, then I am going to show them the links between the money and the pain – and the money and the hope and the joy and the noticing. If pointing those links out makes them feel icky and mawkish then good. Let’s talk about that!
On that note…
I'm thinking a lot about this stuff at the moment, so on Friday 9th I’ve enlisted the help of the brilliant Nicola Washington of @toomuch_social. How to be an Author on the Internet Without Losing Your Mind will be a free discussion and Q&A exclusive to Mothers Who Write Members. I'm going to ask Nicola all the questions that are eating away at me and get into the tricky stuff around building profile and selling books without selling our souls. Nicola will also be answering your questions about Instagram and Substack for writers. If you can't be there at midday on the 9th then leave your questions in the comments - or message me directly with them and I'll ask on your behalf. This event will be recorded and added to Talks Library later.
There's lots coming up at Mothers Who Write this month.
On 6 May I'll be hosting a drop-in session for anyone working on a book proposal - or thinking about working on one. Bring your questions, ideas, tips and concerns. We meet at 11.30am on Zoom. The session is free, exclusive for members and will be recorded and added to Talks Library later.
If you (like me!) need a writing kick start to get back in the habit, have a big deadline on the horizon or just need a reason to give your writing some attention; the Retreat At Home might be just the thing. From 12-19 May we'll have a week of writing daily together (think writers hour+++), setting clear goals, reviewing progress and having access to support from me and the group in a private space on here as well as during a mid-week drop-in session. If you don't have a project in mind I'll provide optional prompts. More details and booking (at a cost of £50 for the week) here.
If you want to keep momentum going as your work on a memoir or novel, our next monthly peer support group for writers will start in June. 6-9 of us will meet every four weeks on a Friday afternoon for six months to share our work, update on progress and work on specific issues/skills/ideas. Plus some one-to-one support from me. Message me if you'd like more info.
Looking ahead, I have just two places left on our September retreats in beautiful North Wales. Four nights of being totally looked after so that you can rest, read, write and think. I've not had a chance to promote these outside of our group yet so if you're keen to attend a retreat now's your chance. They sell out in minutes if I put them on my Instagram stories, but I'd like to give our members priority. More details here.
Finally, I'm keen to book some more free talks and discussions for members over the coming months. Let me know if there's a subject you would like to cover - whether it's industry knowledge, technical writing stuff or a particular writer you'd like to hear from. I'd particularly love to start inviting authors who don't currently have a book to promote. Hit me with your suggestions or feel free to volunteer yourself.
Hope to see you at Writers Hour (Mon, Weds, Fri 10am) or chatting on here. And if you need a little boost before then, remember that our Resources section has writing prompts, ideas and other helpful things to tip you out of yourself and onto the page. Feel free to add your own ideas and prompts.
Take care, write soon,
Rebecca x