A New Way to Persist & Resist: Publish
A twice-monthly resource for women writing game-changing nonfiction
Nevertheless, She Persisted
This was a pivotal moment for me. Maybe for you, too.
It was 2017, and Jeff Sessions had been nominated to be AG. Elizabeth Warren read aloud a letter from Coretta Scott King decrying Sessions’ record of Black voter suppression in Alabama. Mitch McConnell, ruling to silence Warren from reading King’s condemnation into the record, blustered his way into what I’m sure he thought was a perfect, misogynist reprimand:
“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Instead of an insult, it became a rallying cry.
Damn right, we persist!
Hell yes, our voices will not be silenced!
Just wait until you hear what we have to say!
Nevertheless, She Published channels that spirit of resistance and persistence into a newsletter for women with something important to say.
Women who know they have a book to write and are searching for a community that champions their voice, offers guidance and support, safety, and celebration.
Whether you’re a scholar trying to find your voice beyond the academy, a glass-ceiling-smashing biz leader with a message more people need to hear, or a woman who has lived and knows your story will change someone’s life for good, you’ve come to the right place.
Twice a month, you’ll get in your inbox:
insights on the nonfiction writing and publishing world
answers to the questions you weren’t sure how to ask
solidarity and support
motivational quotes from other amazing women nonfiction writers
book reviews and recommendations
the occasional travel update (because I work from all over the world with writers all over the world)
Subscribe to stay on top of it all.
Email me anytime if you ever want to know more, or have a question, or a topic you’d like to see tackled in the next newsletter (you’ll always get a response from me personally).
Welcome. Thanks for joining me here. It’s going to be good.
Hi, I’m Caroline.
Four years ago, I launched The Write Malloy, a coaching and editing service for the phenomenal women I knew who wanted to write and publish game-changing nonfiction, but didn’t know where to begin.
This newsletter has emerged as a public space to talk, celebrate, and grow more amazing woman-authored nonfiction.
When I’m not home in Chicago, you’ll find me sailing around the world as a Resident Historian with Viking Cruises. I love getting to travel, talk history, and, thanks to the marvels of modern communication, continue to work with writers all over the world.
(Keep an eye out for updates from anywhere in this newsletter!)
Can I publish with a university press if I’m not an academic?
Absolutely!
This is, in my opinion, one of the best-kept secrets in nonfiction publishing. (Why it’s a secret is beyond me, but it continues to be a kind of quiet and overlooked option.)
A significant number of university presses have their academic line, and they also publish work by non-academic writers. They often have particular niches where they would like to support more public-facing books on particular topics or themes, from LGBTQ+ memoirs to Laura Ingalls Wilder books. The options will surprise you!
> Two not coincidental examples - check out Suzette Mullen’s The Only Way Through is Out and Barb Mayes Boustead’s forthcoming Wilder Weather.
Additionally, university presses accept unagented submissions, so you have the ability to pitch directly to the editor of the series without having the additional burden of trying to find an agent, and then starting the process all over again for a press.
The biggest downside of considering a university press for your nonfiction book is the lack of financial support. This is not a world of big advances or big margins. But it can be a space of surprising interpersonal support and great reward in terms of establishing your authority.
At a moment where more typical trade presses are perhaps over-focused on cookie-cutter business books and unattainable marketing prerequisites, university presses can offer a good, safe home for the right authority book.
Academic writers will find the process familiar, but it is possible, friends, to not publish an academic book with them.
And non-academic writers will find the community welcoming and open to new ideas and new voices.
Have you considered it for your book? Would you consider it?
Let me know.
Cape Town to Cape Verde
I’m launching this newsletter while sailing up the West Coast of Africa. We started in Cape Town, where a visit to Robben Island was one of the most powerful travel experiences I’ve ever had. I didn’t realize that they had turned it into a site that celebrates freedom, rather than captivity. And the guides are all formerly incarcerated men from the struggle against Apartheid. It was a powerful reminder of the commitment of a people to peace and liberation.
From there, we sailed up to Namibia, and I was instantly enchanted! I’m already making plans to go back. The sand dunes were jaw-dropping, and I hear the rest of the country is just as incredible, yet wildly different. From the oldest desert in the world (the Namib) to a “Big 5” preserve in the northeast, Namibia is worth exploring.
Academic vs. Trade Biographies
Stay tuned for a deep dive into two excellent biographies of African leaders, Kara Cooney’s The Woman Who Would Be King and Linda Heywood’s Njinga of Angola. I highly recommend both for so many reasons, but I’ll be digging into the different audiences, publication routes, and outcomes for these two books next time.
Make sure to subscribe to get all the details in two weeks.