Write On, Sisters!: Voice, Courage, and Claiming Your Place at the Table

by Brooke Warner

Overview

There are more outlets than ever for writers to spread their messages and share their work, more opportunities to speak out and be seen. Writers expose themselves freely and willingly in a way that would have been unfathomable fifty years ago, and more people than ever are writing and publishing. Men and women are writing with equal fervor and commitment to their message and craft. As a result, it’s easy to assume, or hope, that the gendered playing field is a thing of the past, too. Unfortunately for women writers, it’s not. Knowing what we’re up against and how to fight back is the heart and soul of Write On, Sisters!
Inside these pages, Brooke Warner draws upon research, anecdotes, and her personal experiences from twenty years in the book publishing industry to show how women’s writing is discounted or less valued than men’s writing, then provides support to overcome these challenges. This book also shines light on how women writers face not only ever-present historical and social challenges but also their own self-limiting beliefs. Write On, Sisters! is for every woman writer ready to be done with all that, and who’s ready for the next revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631526701
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	08/27/2019
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Brooke Warner is the publisher of She Writes Press, president of Warner Coaching Inc., author of What's Your Book? and How to Sell Your Memoir, and co-author of Breaking Ground on Your Memoir. She is also a regular Huffington Post blogger and a master teacher of memoir who co-leads the popular course “Write Your Memoir in Six Months.” Her expertise is in traditional and new publishing. She sits on the boards of the Independent Book Publishers Association, the National Association of Memoir Writers, and the Bay Area Book Festival. Her website has been named by The Write Life as one of the Top 100 Best Websites for Writers. Warner lives and works in Berkeley, California.

Table of Contents

Contents Introduction: This Is Our Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Part I Chapter 1: She Wrote, She Writes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Chapter 2: Writing Under the Influence of Gender . . . . . . 39 Chapter 3: A Woman Must Have Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Chapter 4: Psychological Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Part II Chapter 5: Daredevil You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Chapter 6: Women-Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Chapter 7: Sisterhoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Chapter 8: Amplify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Editorial Reviews

2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in Writing/Publishing (Nonfiction) “Plainspoken, supportive, and positive, Write On, Sisters! is a professional guide for women who write and for those who want to champion their voices.”
—Foreword Reviews

“[I]n her latest book, Warner examines the institutional and cultural forces stacking the deck against women writers. [S]he leavens this disheartening view of gender politics in publishing with guidance on how writers can silence their critics—both inner and outer—and stand together to achieve their goals. Bracing and frank, this guide offers support for women who want a better path to publication.”
—Booklist

“Brooke Warner marries feminism with truly estimable publishing chops. Write On, Sisters! is practical, political, and, most of all, an invitation for women to pick up the pen.”
—Jennifer Baumgardner, author of Manifesta and publisher of Dottir Press

“Write on, Sisters! is restorative, transformative, and provides what is needed to help women writers value their time, prioritize their voice, and with joy flaunt their literary worth. As you navigate your own publishing journey, you will have flashbacks to Brooke Warner’s spirit-building words and the mandate that you not be censored or limited. As a literary agent, I predict the projects that come from those who have soaked into their subconscious the instructions in this book are bound for literary success.”
—Regina Brooks , Serendipity Literary Agency, and author of You Should Really Write a Book

“This useful motivational book has an encouraging tone, asserting that any woman who wants to write and publish should be able to do so. The book is strongest when it addresses the structural barriers to female writers in traditional publishing (“my lived experience as a publisher of books by women is that a lot of women deal with false categorization and get accused by the industry of having executed imperfect stories”) and when it provides strategies for developing confidence in the value of one’s work.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Brooke Warner gives women writers a sanity baseline: If you know what you’re facing, you can work to overcome it in your own way. Feminist, proactive, and real, Write On, Sisters! is the ultimate companion for a writer to turn to in moments of self-doubt, angst, or anger.”
—Courtney E. Martin, author of The New Better Off

“Brooke Warner has written a phenomenal book for women: part manifesto, part self-help, part memoir. This is the book that today’s female author has been waiting for, with analysis, validation, affirmation, and practical tips for success.”
—Aya de Leon, author of the Justice Hustlers series

“In this gem of a book is everything a woman needs to know about writing her truth, her life, and her words; about the publishing world; and about pushing through the self-doubt that seems to come naturally to writers. This book is mighty sassy, filled with pages that inspire and enlighten and encourage, and it is filled with wisdom. You will dog-ear this book.”
—Amy Ferris, author of Marrying George Clooney

From the Publisher

2019-04-19
A hybrid-press founder advocates for women who want to publish their writing.

In this follow-up to 2016's Green-Light Your Book (2016), Warner (The Magic of Memoir, 2016, etc.), president of She Writes Press and SparkPress, focuses not on the mechanics of writing, but on the personal and cultural influences that drive some female writers to devalue their work, as well as the structural impediments to the creation and promotion of books by women. The first section details the many ways that women's writing was dismissed by "Gatekeepers of the Status Quo"—generally white men—and the second section turns to solutions, both individual (such as overcoming one's inner critic and making writing a priority) and systemic (such as choosing nontraditional publishing). This useful motivational book has an encouraging tone, asserting that any woman who wants to write and publish should be able to do so. The book is strongest when it addresses the structural barriers to female writers in traditional publishing ("my lived experience as a publisher of books by women is that a lot of women deal with false categorization and get accused by the industry of having executed imperfect stories") and when it provides strategies for developing confidence in the value of one's work. The book is very timely, with references to Christine Blasey Ford, #MeToo, and the annual VIDA Count. Warner, co-founder of an author-subsidized publishing house, is a fervent advocate for the hybrid model and offers valid criticisms of traditional publishing. However, an implication that agents rarely work with small publishers seems inaccurate, and a description of the royalty process is unclear. Warner does address the experiences of nonwhite authors, particularly in a section called "The Whiteness of the Publishing Industry." However, the treatment feels superficial, as when the author asserts that, after a 2016 survey by Lee & Low Books, "diversity has become a publishing buzzword." Despite these limitations, its advice to authors is generally sound.

A book of useful strategies for developing female writers' voices and platforms.

Kirkus Reviews