In the Spotlight: Ashlyn Greer
The pandemic, quarantining and learning to live the New Normal has given rise to a range of deeper reflections. Writers from every corner of the global have been attempting to tackle the year that was (and still is). We’re living through a moment in history that will be revisited often and I’ve been pondering what I’ll return to in the years to come to remind myself of this experience.
Ashlyn Greer is a writer who has taken this pondering one step further with a stunning debut collection, ‘Bad Poetry’. Written during quarantine, first-time author Ashlyn chronicles a reflective journey of rediscovering and releasing herself through writing. What started as a daily diary of 2020 quickly morphed into short poems about life, fear, creating, and success.
Beginning with uncertainty and questions about who she had become, Ashlyn spools the thread of her subconscious to explore the obstacles of change and the motivators of action that reside inside anyone who's restless in some area of their life, but not quite sure what the future holds for them - from subjects as dramatic as a career change to those as seemingly routine as greeting a neighbor across the hall.
Greer’s raw and honest writing has captured me and I was delighted when she agreed to an interview to talk about her process, embracing failure, and self-publishing.
First of all, huge congratulations on an incredible book! You mentioned you started writing this collection at the start of the pandemic, was there a specific moment or experience that set this journey in motion for you?
I remember realizing that my grandchildren would likely ask me what it was like living through the pandemic and I wanted to remember as much as I could. It was the first or second week of the lockdown in March last year that I started writing and it truly began as just a diary of the day’s events. Almost immediately I noticed that I was writing more about my thoughts and feelings surrounding what was actually happening, and a lot of the first poems were about anxiety and feeling suffocated inside and behind a mask.
I love your ethos around just starting, not seeking to study writing but just letting it emerge naturally and organically for you. Has there been anything surprising you’ve learnt about yourself through this process?
So many things! I think most importantly I’ve realized that I do have a lot of fear, especially around being perceived in a certain way or being “successful.” I needed to fully acknowledge, name, and accept that and writing these poems helped me see it’s OK I just still have to push through and do it anyway. I also learned that procrastination for me really creeps in whenever the stakes are high. It only took me a week to organize 30,000 words into subjects and sections but it took two months to finish the layout on the final small collection of poems. When I was organizing my words I hadn’t fully decided I was going to put anything out yet so it was easy. I knew when I finished the layout that meant it was time to print and release and THAT was opening me up to fail.
“If we decide something could be and will be bad, we’re released from all inhibitions and can just create.” - this sentence really spoke to me and I think, as writers, we often feel crippled by perfection. Did you have any moments along the way of wanting to give up or imposter syndrome? How did you work through those moments?
Oh absolutely. The minute I decided to edit what I’d written into a collection I knew I had to give myself some sort of out or I wouldn’t actually do it. That’s where the name came from- Bad Poetry. I was already telling everyone “hey this is probably bad so don’t expect much.” If I’d called it anything else I might have abandoned the project because of how inadequate I felt to release what had just been pages in my journal. I am a first time writer, so imposter syndrome was with me every step of the way. I also put myself on the hook in a few areas to keep me from backing out- I asked a very talented illustrator to work with me and told a large audience I was releasing a book of poetry soon in an article I wrote for an online publication. If you struggle with imposter syndrome and have a tendency to want to start over instead of shipping your work, I highly recommend finding some hooks for yourself early on. When you start to feel like you want to run or scrap it for something “better” that doesn’t exist yet- you’ll have to push through.
The book itself is so aesthetically pleasing! I’m really keen to hear more about how easy/challenging this was through self-publishing, and any advice you have for other writers just starting to think about this?
Thank you! It was a surprisingly easy process for me but I will add a caveat that I have some experience with print. I am not a graphic designer by any means but I’ve worked in creative production for the last 10 years so I know my way around InDesign, how to set up files appropriately, and what looks good! Corrie (the illustrator) put so much time and thought into her pages and really designed those as a whole vs just providing me the illustrations and I credit her with how the book looks really. As far as advice, if you decide to do it yourself there are countless tutorials both from Ingram Spark and just on YouTube for the mechanics of laying out your book. Definitely opt for a very clean layout and type face for interior pages- it automatically reads more polished if you don’t have any serious design chops! Lastly, there are so many graphic designers for hire in every city that would love to work on a book if you have the ability to take someone on to bring your vision to life.
Self-publishing is becoming more popular, in a really good way. What has been your overall experience and how have people responded to your self-publishing?
I was able to work with other creatives in different aspects (illustration, editing/proofreading, photography) and really enjoyed putting the book together myself. I think if you put either the time (or a little money if you don’t have the skillset) to make the book look great no one else will care that you self-published. Obviously you don’t get the PR or the same reach that you do with a publisher but I’ve had incredible support from friends sharing my work and others finding me through them. Instagram is one of the best marketing tools there is right now because we all have an audience there- and it’s free!
And lastly, any gold nuggets of advice or motivation you’d offer to other writers sitting on a body of work and unsure how to move forward?
Just put it out! I think our tendency as creatives in any new field is to not want to share anything until we feel like we’re experts and our work is perfect. But no one becomes an expert by not practicing, and perfection doesn’t exist. You will learn so much more in the process of actually putting something out, both about yourself and your work. Writing Bad Poetry helped me work through where I’ve been and who I was. Releasing it has allowed me to move forward.
Ashlyn Greer is the author of Bad Poetry, a self-published book of poems and illustration. Formerly a fashion and creative production manager, she quit her career in 2020 to start writing and become a founder. Ashlyn holds a master's degree from Savannah College of Art and Design and currently resides in Charlotte, NC. You can read more from Ashlyn at https://www.ashlyndavidsongreer.com and find her on Instagram: @ashlyndavidsongreer
You can purchase a copy of Bad Poetry here.
About the Interviewer
Elaine Mead is a freelance copy and content writer, editor and proofreader, currently based in Hobart Tasmania. Her work has been published internationally in both print and digital publications, including with Darling Magazine, Healthline, Wild Wellbeing, Live Better Magazine, Writer's Edit and others. She is the in-house book reviewer for Aniko Press and a dabbler in writing very short fiction. You can find more of her words at wordswithelaine.com
