About Writing Women
I remember coming to the realisation that all the books that lined my family’s library must once have been written. I was 5 or 6 years old, and it blew my mind. Actors and musicians had made for easy idols; authors were the mysterious ones. The author’s task of capturing vivid lives on paper seemed unfathomably complex.
A couple of decades on, I became an honest-to-god, getting-paid-too-little-for-it writer. And then I signed a nonfiction book deal with a Big Five publisher. The task of capturing vivid lives on paper is now mine, and I can tell you that it is indeed unfathomably complex. In the months since signing the book deal, I stared at the learning curve that stretched far above me, I couldn’t spot where it led or ended, but I knew it made me dizzy. The fear of it coming crashing down on me froze me for a while there, but I’ve been moving, slowly up it.
In this newsletter, I’m cataloguing my process of story gathering and story writing for my debut nonfiction book, with the missteps I make along the way and the occasional lesson. If you’re a writer yourself, I hope the newsletter helps shed some light on an often opaque and solitary process. If you’re a reader, I hope it provides some insight into the way in which book, at least this one, gets made.
What book are you writing, anyway?
I’m authoring a narrative nonfiction book based on the lives and science of three Indian women who, in 2013, helped send a rocket to Mars for less than it cost to make The Martian. It’s entirely based on original reporting and recreates scenes using well over a hundred interviews with the three leading characters and numerous secondary sources, along with extensive on-the-ground research.
The book was sold at an unusually early stage during proposal development, before I had discovered my protagonists, in 2019. Here are a couple of press releases from the time of sale on The Bookseller and my agency’s website. Some twists, turns, and research later, I had found my very lovely protagonists, firmed up the chapter structure, and the book moved to Trapeze, an imprint of Orion Publishing Group/Hachette. It’s likely to be published in 2024. Publishing—it’s a wild ride!
Why’s the newsletter called Writing Women?
The book follows the lives of its three iridescent protagonists from 1960s small town India to near-present day.
What can I expect from this newsletter?
Who are you, again?
Ipsita Agarwal, nice to meet you! At one point a reluctant engineer, I now work as a science-focused narrative nonfiction writer and editor. Besides working on my debut book, I am a Contributing Editor for Stripe Inc.’s engineering magazine, Increment, and book publisher, Press. I’ve also previously written for WIRED, Smithsonian, among other publications. Nonfiction suits me well—I love having to go into the messy world to gather stories and I couldn’t do without quiet alone time to try to make sense of them in writing.
How often will I receive a newsletter from you?
Once a month.
OK, I’ve subscribed. What next?
There’s a post that’ll land in your inbox soon! Until then, you can read from a selection of previously published pieces in the archives. I’d also appreciate it if you share (✨) the newsletter with those whom you believe would like to follow along the process of writing a nonfiction book based on brilliant women and their science. Here:
