I first heard about Paulette Perhach through her popular book Welcome to the Writer’s Life. It was one of those writer books that I couldn’t stop talking about on Twitter and Instagram. Filled with writerly tips for writers at every stage, it was also surprisingly fun to read. Every ounce of her book oozes with personality, which is how Perhach writes-like you know her, like you’re one of her bestfriends. This is why I was ecstatic when she agreed to be interviewed, I knew it would be helpful and loads of fun!
In your Yoga Journal article, “How I Became a Front-Row Yogi,” you write, “Now that I am an expert failer, I respond to a fall by pausing, regaining balance, and trying again. I know enough to know that the failure is the only thing that gets you to those moments of joy, where you can suddenly do something you always figured would be out of reach. I have enough experience to see the failing and the succeeding as parts of one thing, the very thing we’re all here to do.” I know you’re talking about yoga here, but I feel like this applies to failing in a lot of things including writing. You’re so open about your own writer rejection on Instagram, do you feel the same way about failing in writing as you learned how to do with yoga? What advice do you have for writers who feel like they’re failing and ready to throw in the towel?
Yes, yoga has taught me so much about failure that helps with my writing. Failure will never be de-coupled from success. It’s always back and forth, which is one of the reasons I love watching shows or reading about the lives of famous artists. Failure is part of the package. Chef’s Table, oddly enough, is a great one for this kind of thing. You have to see failing as a kind of succeeding, which is very hard on our little egos. My ego is like a crying baby monkey I’m always having to carry around, changing its diaper and shushing it. But it’s my monkey to carry. If you’re not willing to fail, you’re not ever going to succeed.
Your voice comes through on the page. As a writing coach, how do you help writers find their voice?
When you stop trying to sound like how you think you should sound, that’s when your voice comes through. Like above, I wrote about changing a baby monkey’s diaper, and I paused and went, well this is a little weird, and then, from decades of experience, I can now say, yes, you’re weird, that’s why you’re here. You have to be willing to be weird and vulnerable and your true self. It’s not just craft; it’s a lot of soul work. Share on X
What is one thing you wished someone told you about writing?
That it’s much, much harder than you think it’s going to be, or that most people admit. It’s all about the daily work, so just put your head down and get started.
On the About page of your website, you have a section entitled, “Failures, Humiliations, and Rejections,” where you list publications you’ve been rejected and degrees you didn’t finish. You’re so bold in doing that. What made you decide to list these on your page?
Author’s bios are such bs. Not only do none of us look as good as our author photos, it was never as easy for any of us make it sound in our bios. On one level, it’s a necessary marketing tool, but since I’m a writer who helps writers be writers, I thought I would add a little peek under the iceberg. People love it. It does a service, says, “Don’t worry if your life doesn’t feel this shiny and neat. No one’s is.”
You know I’m a fan of your book Welcome to the Writer’s Life. What inspired you to write it? Can you share a little bit about the process? How long did it take? Was the process completely different from writing an essay or article and can you share one practical tip from your book to help new writers?
In looking for how I’m going to make a living for myself, I decided I liked helping new writers. My personality lives on the edges, where I can be really dark, but then I’m also a Pollyanna-type person. I created a course called Welcome to the Writer’s Life, which includes elements like audio interviews with writers, and then got invited to write a book based on it by Sasquatch books. It includes a little more about my history. I wrote it during 2017-2018, during an intense time of work like I’ve never done in my life. I did see it as kind of a series of articles, that’s how I could even manage to think about getting it done. I think the most practical tip is find the best writing you can read and read it. And put out the worst writing, just write it. Then hang on for a few years. Take classes, get feedback, and never stop learning.
Did you always want to be a writer? If you didn’t choose writing, what do you think you’d want to do?
Hmmm, yes I think I always wanted to be a writer. If not this though, maybe a travel agent. I love helping people plan trips!
What is your next project and how can writers learn more about you and your coaching services?
I’m writing a novel right now and just finished my “pile of garbage” first draft. (That’s a Kristen Arnett quote.) I’m also always working on essays. You can find out about coaching on my website. Just book a free 15-minute call with me!
Paulette Perhach’s writing has been published in the New York Times, Elle, Slate, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Yoga Journal, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and Vice. In 2016, she was nominated for the BlogHer Voices of the Year award for her essay, “A Story of a Fuck Off Fund,” which is anthologized in The Future is Feminist from Chronicle Books, along with work by Roxane Gay, Mindy Kaling, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Caitlin Moran, and Audre Lorde.
In 2015 she created the Writer’s Welcome Kit, an online course for writers that includes a 55,000-word workbook. Hugo House licenses and sells the course. Her book, inspired by the course, was published in August 2018 by Sasquatch Books, part of the Penguin Random House publishing family. Welcome to the Writer’s Life was selected as one of Poets & Writers‘ Best Books for Writers.
You can find her at welcometothewriterslife.com and keeps a casual podcast called Can We Talk About Money?
She’s now a coach for writers, helping them figure out how to make a life and identity out of being a writer while making the money work (as she figures it out herself.)
