Book Review: Welcome to the Writer’s Life by Paulette Perhach

This books is targeted towards people who want to become writers. It begins with motivation for getting started and information about making a habit of writing. As the book continues, it talks about tips and what practical skills you need to develop to live the writer’s life and profession.

Getting Started – Routines for the Writer’s Life

My favorite sections were the beginning few sections. They talk about getting started, establishing a writing routines and reading like a writer. The book mixes stories from the author’s life and advice from other authors with the explanation for what you should try and I found it motivating and helpful. The book is also peppered in suggestions for writing exercises. The exercises are part of the additional materials you can download at the book’s website.

Reading Like a Writer

After the part for starting out and the regular writing practice, the book moves into the reason why you need to start reading like a writer. I love any excuse to read more and this went into how to find examples of good writing and how to read more. It’s definitely something I have taken to heart. This book only gave ideas of fiction or non-fiction narrative writing, which is was a little narrow for me because I mostly write non-fiction. It does talk about personal essays and things, but it seems to be assuming you want to write a great novel.

The Nuts and Bolts of Writing and Publishing

The next section of the book is a dive into the the writing craft. Maybe it’s because I mostly write non-fiction or maybe it’s because writer’s craft should be a book on it’s own but I found this section underwhelming.

The section about the business of writing was interesting to read but only addressed traditional publishing. There was nothing if you want to self-publish, which didn’t seem to align with the publishing world today. It did talk about many ways to be a writer who makes a salary. This includes balancing writing on your own projects and doing freelance work or copywriting. I like how that section seemed very pragmatic about making the writer’s life work.

Writer’s Life – Events, Conferences and Going Back to School

The author really pushes writer’s groups, conferences and retreats. It made me wish the COVID situation was better so that I could travel to writer’s events. The author also outlines in depth her experience applying for and working towards her MFA. I don’t plan on doing that, but the details of her experiences illuminated much about how the program developed her networks and how that worked in the writing profession. The discussions of the costs and benefits of the MFA program was very realistic and detailed.

Next Steps

Overall, reading the book left me with some next steps and motivation for keeping moving forward with my writing work. I had some ideas about writing exercises and activities I want to try and a list of books I want to read next. For me, that recharge of motivation is one of the most important aspects of any book about creative living, so I found it to be a good read.