Iron Ladies: What We’ve Become
Sometimes a project has a mind of its own
Good storytellers, when interviewed about their storytelling abilities, often mention something about letting the story or the characters rule. The author may have had plans for what a certain character would do, but as the author writes, the character develops in surprising ways, and in the end — or perhaps the middle — will not believably do what the author had planned. Wise authors know to let the character win.
That’s how I feel about Iron Ladies. What I envisioned is not what is unfolding — but what is unfolding is a good thing. I intend to let it happen.
The idea behind Iron Ladies remains the same. As I said in our introduction post, we gather conservative women’s writing so that it is easier for the public to “hear our voice.”
The practical bits, however, have changed. Paying no attention to my original long term plans, Iron Ladies insists on becoming a training ground and talent farm for women writers on the right.
When this space seems slow, we are busy with editing and advice behind the scenes. We are also experimenting and learning about the publishing environment — which is in a fair bit of flux these days. And then, yes, we are running and sharing works from those new writers, mingling them with established writers on social media and in the Sunday Collection.
The new names write here for a while and then move on. We send them on their way with advice and a little bit of experience.
As for us, the core team, we write at various publications, occasionally here. We will be launching handbooks soon — collections of essays that you can physically hold in your hand and stick in your handbag. That’s what we call them, in fact, handbooks for your handbag. The first, called Leading Ladies, will be available soon.
Otherwise, we’ve updated the artwork to modern patterns inspired by Number 10 Downing Street and Margaret Thatcher’s iconic blue. We play on social media at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. On Twitter we have a list for the #concurious, a under 100 list of right women who tweet with knowledge on a wide range of topics. On Facebook we opened The Virtual Articles Club — think a book club, but for long-read essays instead of full books. And of course, we have the Sunday Collection of links and commentary. Find us where ever you prefer.
