"Writer Mama" Reviewed

I recently finished reading a review copy of "Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids," by Christina Katz.

"Writer Mama" is a writer's reference book, one I'll keep on my active desktop and won't store it on a shelf out of arm's reach.

Christina identified a big problem for women who want to write and are inspired to write while their children are largely underfoot: a mother's personal time is limited, her work space is often full of distractions and her attention is in demand 24/7.

Christina knows this because she's a mom herself and figured out how to balance her family life and a successful writing career. She's a serious stay-at-home-mother-writer.

"Writer Mama" is full of steps a new stay-at-home-mother-writer should take, websites to visit, tips to consider and exercises to complete. It's a must-have manual she'll revisit time and time again. I myself have two dozen pages earmarked for future reference.

What I loved about the book is that every so often I'd read a quote from other credible freelancers: C. Hope Clark, Diana Burrell, Linda Formichelli, Jenna Glatzer, Kelly James-Enger and Moira Anderson Allen are only a few she quoted. I'd already read a considerable amount from each one of these women so I respected the research Christina did for this book.

The only problem I had with "Writer Mama" was that some of what I'd read was too basic for me. I'd already taken many of the early steps Christina outlined. I had also taken Christina's online class, Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff, so I continually ran into redundancies that I didn't personally gain from.

That being said ... it's a great book to add to your collection. I think Christina summarized it best in her introduction:

"This book will help you get published sooner, while still keeping an eye on your long-term writing goals and balancing your responsibilities at home."