Ready to start (or re-start)Â a writing project in 2025?
Join us for the first HerStories Project Incubator.
This month-long community writing experience, starting January 13th, is for midlife women beginning writing projects in the new year, and will include online lessons, meetups, co-working times, as well as workshops from 9 guest presenters.
January is the perfect time for you to get started on your next — or first! — writing project.
Maybe you're thinking of:
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Starting or finishing a book |
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Publishing a blog or Substack |
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Building a writing practice |
This yearÂ
Get the support you need from other midlife women to build a foundation for your project.
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The Project Incubator is an opportunity to gain the skills you need to push through obstacles. For the past decade, we have been astonished by the power of community to accelerate creativity and productivity. Accountability and connection are some of the most effective methods to stay motivated when working on projects, whether large or small.Â
What if you had...
Community
A group of women sharing ideas and cheering you on.
Accountability
Feedback on your goals and assignments.
Learning
Expert guidance from other midlife women.
30 days of planning, organizing, learning, building habits, and collaborating alongside other midlife women
ENROLL NOW →Here's what you'll get:
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9 Zoom workshops with guest instructors |
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lessons and assignments to help you make real progress |
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weekly co-working and office hours hosted in our private community forum |
what you'll learn
Through the workshops and lessons, get guidance on how to:
Define your goals and get organized
Build a writing practice and keep motivated
Improve your craft and find your people
learn from these incredible midlife women
Our 9 presenters and their topics Â
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Jesse Ball
"Cultivating Creative Flow: The Power of Ritual"
For the past 20 years Jesse has worked in the healing arts. Her passion is blending the psycho-spiritual aspects of our being with embodiment, and helping people find their authentic way of experiencing and expressing life, understanding and healing trauma and connecting with their true nature. She is an artist, a writer, a mom, an activist, and a continually evolving human.
Jen Berlingo
"Midlife Emergence: The Crossroads of Comfort and Curiosity"
Jen is a midlife coach, a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Nationally Registered Art Therapist, a visual artist, and a master-level Reiki practitioner. After two decades of midwifing hundreds of women through life’s major transitions and experiencing her own passage through a fiery midlife portal where she more fully stepped into her queer identity, she was inspired to write the award-winning and bestselling book, Midlife Emergence.
Jacquelin CangroÂ
"Writing With Purpose: Project Management Strategies for Long-Term Writing Success"
Jacquelin Cangro worked at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster for more than twenty years. Now, as an independent developmental editor and book coach, she reviews novel manuscripts providing providing writers with feedback to revise their stories.
Lindsey DeLoach Jones
"Using a Writer's Notebook"
Lindsey is a writer and writing teacher with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Huff Post, Split Lip, Under the Gum Tree, Paste, and Motherwell, among other places. Lindsey lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and five hens.
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wendy fleming
"Building an Online Platform With Social Media and Email Lists"
Whitney Fleming is passionate about telling stories that help others feel less alone. She gives an authentic and empathetic voice to issues such as parenting, mental health, grief, marriage, and midlife. She co-owns the successful blog parentingteensandtweens.com, is the voice behind the popular social media pages Whitney Fleming Writes, and is the author of three books.
Ann imig
"Find Your Strengths, Disrupt Your Saboteurs"
An MSW and certified coach, Ann helps burned-out moms regain their mojo, crush their goals, and fuel their joy at home and work. In 2010 she created the storytelling series (and then book) titled LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER. Almost 15 years later, LTYM continues Giving Motherhood A Microphone on stages across North America (70 cities and counting).
Michelle MellonÂ
"Art and Science of Storytelling for Midlife Women"
Michelle is a marketing and communications consultant as well as founder of WordBird, a storytelling consultancy serving solopreneurs, small businesses, and NGOs that have a social impact mission and/or are led by women and people of color. She is also the author of award-winning speculative short fiction, and in 2024 she was designated “America’s Greatest Thinker” as the winner of the Great American Think-Off annual essay and debate competition.
Wendy Robinson
"The Big Finish: Finishing Long-Term Writing Projects for Women with Perfectionism, ADHD, or Spicy Brains"
Wendy is a writer with interests in personal essay, poetry, and fiction. She's previously taught at a variety of colleges and universities and enjoys mixing humor with practical tips for getting stuff done. She has both personal and professional experience with the intersection of ADHD, creativity, and productivity and looks forward to sharing ways to make completing long-form projects more doable for anyone who has struggled with perfectionism, procrastination, or attention challenges.
Jena Schwartz
"Start, Keep Going, Be Good to Yourself"
Jena Schwartz is the author of "Fierce Encouragement: 201 Writing Prompts for Staying Grounded in Fragile Times". A widely published poet and essayist, Jena has been a creative coach for over 20 years and a writing group facilitator since 2014. Known for her presence and for creating safe spaces for writers at every stage, she believes that writing practice can be a portal to self-compassion through the stories that connect us.Â
what else will we learn about?
Other topics will include...
Writing a project mission statement
Overcoming imposter syndrome and limiting beliefsÂ
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Setting goals and boundaries
Dealing with distractions and setbacks
Building a platform as a writer
Finding collaborators and supporters
Use the coupon code "2025" before January 5th to get $25 off.
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Join us
âś“Â Forum for accountability and feedback
âś“Â 9 Workshops
âś“Â Co-working and office hours
âś“Â Lessons and assignments
What a few of our last month-long writing experience participants have to say:
"The summit empowered and energized me and my writing practice"
"The variety of workshops scratched the need for creative fulfillment, and this time of year was perfect for digging deep. The community felt small and intimate when, in actuality, the collected group was far and wide. The summit's platform, the variety of topics offered, and the ease of participating are a testament to how Jessica and Stephanie have, once again, created a magical experience for midlife women writers and the kind of creative experiences they seek."
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"It felt a little like a family reunion. A chance to interact daily with interesting and relatable people who share challenges of writing and midlife."
"There’s a sense that no matter what the content or the presenter, people were just glad to be together sharing our love of writing in this safe and nurturing community."
Meet your hosts
Jessica & Stephanie
Jessica Smock and Stephanie Sprenger are the co-founders and co-editors of The HerStories Project, a writing community for midlife women, and of Midstory Magazine on Substack.
Jessica and Stephanie have been leading online writing courses, groups, and summits for more than a decade. The HerStories Project has published five essay collections of women's writing.
Have a question?
Don't see your question below? Send us an email at [email protected] and we'll get back to you ASAP!
When are the live Zoom workshops?
The Zoom presentations from our presenters will be on January 15, January 20, January 22, January 27, January 29, January 31, February 6, February 7, and February 10. All workshops will be either noon or 1 p.m. EST.
What if I'm not writing a book?
That's okay! This incubator is perfect for anyone working on any kind of new undertaking — a website, a Substack, an online course, a new freelance writing opportunity, a fiction practice, or a poetry project.Â
What if I can't make one (or several or even ALL) of the workshops when they are scheduled?
No problem! All workshops will be recorded, and the recordings will be posted by the next day in our forum platform. You'll be able to interact, ask questions, and post writing based on the presentations inside the forums.
How do I get feedback on my ideas, progress, and my writing?
Inside our private forum, there will be spaces for you to post your progress and your writing and get responses from other writers and the instructors. You can also ask questions in our Zoom meetings.
