Writing and querying

Just a catch-up

Hello,

It has been a while since the last ‘letter’. Times have been very busy, and very stressful. I am sure you all must be experiencing this too. So, here in solidarity. There is a lot I say about politics on my social media already so I wouldn’t repeat it here!

In terms of news, I finished the copyedits on my next book (PHEW) that is out on 1st September so seems like a lifetime away, but it is available for pre-order if you’re really keen (I really hope so!).

I have had a very hectic speaking schedule, and over the last few weeks, especially the week of International Women’s Day (Gender equality is not just for IWD!) I gave a number of talks, virtually and in person. It has been so lovely to get feedback because even when we shouldn’t look for external validation, it is always nice to hear how our words might be making a tiny impact, changing someone’s mindset. This is something actually I have been talking about with my 5-year old twins a lot recently. They are really interested in understanding inequalities and so we are reading more about slavery (historic and modern), and they are shocked by how not everyone has freedom and so they are constantly asking questions such as ‘what is freedom’, ‘why don’t we already have equality’, and ‘what can we do’, and I really want them to understand that even as brown/mixed-race children they do have some privileges, and if we could each leverage our privilege, we could create space for those who don’t. And so even as they understand the inequalities in the world, they also feel empowered to create change, through their words and actions. These are a couple of books we are reading at bedtime right now:

I have done a few in-person events about Sway and (M)otherhood recently and it has been incredibly lovely to feel the energy and buzz in the room, to meet people and chat to readers, to sign books.

I also had four gorgeous days at the Mothers Who Write retreat run by Rebecca Schiller. This is such a lovely space and Rebecca is such a warm and considerate host, and I was sharing the space with Mars Lord and Marchelle Farrell, and I can’t remember when I laughed so much, and so hard, but also had such deep conversations about race, gender, and writing.

Last week I ran a free workshop for writers to share my experience of writing non-fiction proposals and querying agents. There were a few technological issues (aren’t they always!) and so I am hoping to run this again in a couple of weeks’ time. I think that publishing could be more transparent, and if I know that when I first came into it from academia, with no networks or connections, I could have done with something like this. So if I could help someone else not feel so alone and terrified of this whole process, that would mean a lot. I will post dates here, so please watch the space.

But in the meantime, do add your questions in the comments here if you have any at all about writing or querying, or if there’s anything that you’d like to share from your own experience.

Some of you might find this useful that I wrote couple of years ago.

I really really (REALLY) loved this about not wanting to be pushed into certain niches as a writer of colour. ‘I don’t want to write about diaspora. I want to write what white girls write.’ It is heart-breaking, thought-provoking, relatable.

And if you are looking for some motivation and inspiration, here are 150 writers to do just that.

In the end, I don’t believe that there is one way to write, or that we need to stay in our lanes, or that we should only write about specific topics and themes, or even that we need to follow certain rituals and practices. In the end, if you write you are a writer. First and foremost, I believe we should write for ourselves. But we also should write so that maybe just one person can get moved by our words, be seen by our words, laugh and cry with us. Just one person. We write in response to things, but we don’t have to. We write to process emotions, but we don’t have to. There shouldn’t be any rules around this. But, I do believe that we should not take up space from those who are already marginalised. We should write in a way that opens up this space for others who might not already have a voice. That is what I believe anyway. But who is to say if I am right. What do you think?

I hope to speak again very soon. Hope you have a lovely week, and hope you get some time to enjoy the spring.

Much love,

Pragya