Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Mirella Stoyanova's avatar

Brooke,

I’m writing to you from my own damp corner of the Pacific Northwest. I (rather quietly) published my first Substack about an hour ago, and in it I say, “I am no expert.” What I mean is: I am no expert on what I am writing about in my Substack, which is writing, which is the world of publishing, which is also by design. What I am in expert in, however, is being new, and while, at some level, I know this, your post today gives me the language to say it. Of course, I am also an expert in other things I write about elsewhere — I am a therapist with a complex trauma history that brings me to the work I want to do with my writing career (beyond the book I am writing/revising). Being on Substack, I’ve thought a lot about what I can offer here that would be of use and given that the majority of us here are writers, I do think this being relatively new is what I can contribute (my expertise on this platform). I’m a long-time fan of yours. I’ve watched *so* many of your Youtube videos on memoir craft and recently discovered Write-Minded, which I’ve really enjoyed. Thanks for all you contribute, thank you also for this specific encouragement to reframe how we think about expertise.

Expand full comment
Katie Brotten's avatar

That was a great session, and gave me a lot to think about in terms of expertise. Last month I self-published a short little book about a year I spent with crows/corvids, and a couple Seattle radio stations and newspapers reached out to interview me. I kept saying, “I’m not a crow expert,” but for the purposes of the interviews, I guess I was… chatting about my experiences in a mini-memoir. And by definition we are the experts in our own memoirs. Hmmm.

Loved the piece on platform too. Lots on my to-do list.

Such an inspiring conference in many ways. Thank you for this post!

Expand full comment
50 more comments...

No posts