Hi Reader,

If you’re planning to gather with friends and family this holiday season, you may be dreading every writer’s worst case scenario: direct inquisition about your writing. 🫣

Whether it’s the eagerly supportive “So, how’s your book coming along?” or the aggressive “Are you still wasting time writing?” having the public spotlight on your book, your progress, or your process can be stressful.

All that attention can bring up a platter of insecurities and trigger a gravy boat full of self doubt.

Over on my blog, I’ve put together a little survival guide to help you get through any awkward conversations you encounter in the coming weeks. You can check it out here.​

And here’s one secret I didn’t put in the blog post:

I don’t talk about my writing with anyone except my writing friends.

99% of my family doesn’t even know I’m working on a novel!

It’s not what you think. I actually have an extremely supportive family that includes people with various creative interests. No one would bat an eye if I mentioned I was writing a book.

But you know what would happen if my work in progress was common knowledge? I’d get lots of supportive, well meaning questions. And that would be lovely, except I don’t want to report on my progress during every family event.

I know this is something we’ve all experienced: sometimes the writing is going well and we might be happy to share an update, but a lot of the time writing is difficult, up and down work. Constantly being asked about it, even if the interest is genuine and comes without judgement, can be exhausting.

So you get to choose, Reader. Be loud and proud about your writing, or keep it safely tucked away. Do what you need to do to protect your mindset and your manuscript. ❤️

I’m curious: Who do you have at the center of your support circle? Hit reply and let me know!

Let's write,

Erin

PS - If you’re thinking “Erin, I didn’t know you had a blog,” that’s because it just went live over the Thanksgiving holiday. Turns out a sofa, a laptop, and an endless supply of football on tv is a productive combination!

PPS - If you’ve noticed that I’m popping into your inbox more frequently lately, there’s a reason. I’ve found that I have more to say than can be reasonably shared in two emails a month. The benefit for you is that I’ll be sharing helpful content on a more regular basis to better support you in your writing!