Nice blurbs

Some lovely things esteemed writers Amy Liptrot, Lucy Jones, and Becky Barnicoat said about Mother, Inc. Two days left to get it!

There’s just two more days left to buy my pound project book, Mother, Inc. Two more days and then that’s it, poof! It’s gone!

I was bowled over by the response from beta (first) readers. I also reached out to a few writers I admire to see if they’d read the book before it was announced and share any words about it. I was also pumped to receive the following.

I don’t really know how blurbs work with traditional publishers but in this case it was just me emailing each writer after a few messages on Instagram and then being stunned that they were generous enough with their time and heart to say yes. I hope I can pay that forward one day for another writer coming up the ranks.

These blurbs have proved utterly vital for this book—since ALL of the sales happen in a three week window and then STOP. Then the book is printed, packaged and posted to all the readers who supported it. So there’s no word-of-mouth, no browsing bookshop sales, no marketing post publication. It’s a great model and I love it, but how do you know if the book is any good if nobody you know has actually read it yet?

Well, hopefully the words of such esteemed, highly skilled, and experienced writers will go some way to bolster your decision to support this double-volume book…

“A gripping, essential intervention on the conflict between family and working life today. Puts paid to the Lean In myth and lays bare the discrimination faced by so many mothers in working, public life. Beautifully written, honest, moving and a relief to read. This is a book that will help us evolve.”

—Lucy Jones, author of Matrescence

“Hannah Ray’s account of giving birth in a pandemic then returning to work for tech firms is a very 2020s story of motherhood. Her honest individual writing about finding a way through will be helpful and galvanizing to readers. Women’s testimonies of motherhood are our war stories and I want to hear them all.”

— Amy Liptrot author of The Outrun and The Instant

“Hannah Ray brilliantly depicts the slow-motion crash of working life meeting motherhood head on, while daring to dream that something better might emerge from the wreckage.”

— Becky Barnicoat, author of Cry When the Baby Cries

And what about regular readers? I asked a small group of trusted comrades to be my ‘beta readers’ crew. Beta readers is just a fancy writer way of saying first readers. They were a mix of widely-read friends who read all my work and have an interest in books of all genres, people featured in the book who I needed permission from, and a couple of family members who have an work-related interest in books and publishing. Here are some of the immediate things they wrote back to me (along with amazing readerly feedback that helped shape the book):

I hope that helps with your decision to buy a copy. Two days left:

Interested in learning a few tips and joining a safe space to try writing about womanhood and women’s stories? When you buy your signed copy of Mother, Inc. you can also package it with a new exclusive workshop from me: WRITE LIKE A FEMINIST. No writing experience necessary. Join me for 90 minutes of prompts, reading, and co-writing to spark new ideas and connect with feminist stories and narratives. Date TBD depending on participants choice. Sign up to the workshop here: