Edgy, mature women are publishing

Did you know that unpublished authors aged in their 60s, 70s and 80s are now at a premium in the book world – with radical, edgy women in high demand?

In an article by Amelia Hill - ‘Things are definitely opening up: the rise of older female writers' – published online in The Guardian in February ’23, Cherry Potts, the founder of the independent UK fiction and poetry publisher, Arachne Press, was quoted as saying:

“There has been a sea change in publishers’ understanding and acceptance of older women’s experience and their voices, which are no longer dismissed as safe or cosy.”

Yes!!

Over the last few years, I have loved working with enterprising women with agency and experience, living large on their own terms, and telling their own stories at last.

I have the pleasure of supporting such women as a book coach while they plan their memoir/self-help books or other non-fiction.

I have also managed the production of several 'memoir with a message' books in 2023, written by wonderfully accomplished women, and we have a couple more in the pipeline right now.

The key to success in writing a book that combines a particular time in your life (memoir) and useful information for the reader (self-help; how-to; or other knowledge) is planning a thorough book blueprint.

The first questions are ‘Why are you writing this book?’ AND ‘What is the point?’

Here is a glimpse of some of our 'memoir with a message' authors and their 2023 books: ??

Hannah Schuhmann wrote ‘Confessions of a Woman in Real Estate – and how to do it your way’ as a bridge from retirement from business ownership in the real estate industry in 2022 to her new 'anti-retirement' career as a business coach supporting other women in 2024.

The memoir element: stories that give us insight into her independent spirit as a young girl and woman in Germany, and how that led to her establishing and growing her own very successful real estate company in Brisbane, Australia, amidst mostly male industry peers who didn't always play nice.

The how-to element: Business strategies and processes women in real estate (and most enterprises, actually) can apply to growing their businesses in up and down economic cycles.

Dr Penny Burns, found herself uniquely positioned at the intersection of economics and engineering in 1982. Building on her foundation in experimental economics, she embarked on reshaping the field, and desired to capture the gradual emergence of infrastructure asset management practices in her engrossing book, ‘The Story of Asset Management’.

A combination of memoir, insights into government reforms, and behind-the-scenes industry knowledge, makes this an important publication for industry educators, government decision-makers, peers, and current practitioners.

(Dr Burns self-published this book in 2023, aged in her early 80s.)

Khuraman Armstrong, author of ‘TROLLED – From Victim to Victor’ never dreamed of writing such a book, but after her three-year emotional and legal battle for justice after being horribly and unjustly trolled on Facebook by a mob of haters, she felt compelled to write of that experience and how she dealt with it.

A perfect example of ‘memoir with a message’, Khuraman’s book not only describes and explains the online attacks, but it also shares many insights and learnings she gained from dealing with the authorities, Facebook, and the legal system, all of which make the book essential reading for all social media users and business owners who are active online.

FOLLOW-UP: If you are interested in the idea of writing a combination of memoir (just a slice of your life) plus the lessons learned so others benefit (your message), I invite you to book a call with me for a comfortable chat OR fill out this initial inquiry form and I will contact you.

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Bev Ryan, Certified Non-fiction Book Coach