Review - Dear Writer by Maggie Smith

Title: Dear Writer* 

Author: Maggie Smith

Rating: 3.75 stars / 5 stars

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Favorite Quote: “The first draft is almost always the not-right words in the not-right order.” Smith, Maggie. Dear Writer. Atria Books, e-book ed., 2025. 

Review: Thank you to the Netgalley platform and the publisher, Atria Books, for the free e-ARC I received in exchange for this honest review.

Maggie Smith’s book Dear Writer is a mix of memoir, literary criticism, and advice for fellow writers. She uses examples of her own work as well as the work for others to inspire readers on their own writing journey. Throughout the book are notes to the reader, signed by Maggie herself, offering insight and encouragement.

Here’s what’s working - At its core, this is a book about craft, and as such, the exercises sprinkled throughout the book provide readers with the tools they need to grow their own crafts. They are couched in practical advice provided by Smith herself, as well as examples of her work and the works of writers she admires. 

The personal narrative she weaves throughout the book also works really well to humanize the author (and authors in general). Many craft books ignore the human element - that authors have families and lives outside their crafts that impact their work. 

I wouldn’t say there’s anything that isn’t working in this book, so much as I would say that I may not have been the primary audience appropriate for this book. When I requested this book, I had a goal of reading books tied to my creative interests - one of them being writing. However, I am, at my core, a prose writer - primarily fiction with just a little bit of literary nonfiction sprinkled in there. I think many of the prompts in this book speak to me because they can be applied outside the poetry genre, but Smith is a poet, so much of what she talks about as it relates to poetry wasn’t quite what I was looking for in the book. 

About that Quote: Smith’s broader insights into writing (or creativity in general) are where I found the most insight applicable to my own work, because I am not a poet. In all honesty, I haven’t written much in the last year - life got in the way of almost everything but survival - but I am hoping to re-invest in my creative activities in 2026, and I know that my first few tries at writing are not going to be good. It’s a muscle that I simply haven’t exercised in a while. And it’s advice like this that I think will push writers (certainly this writer) to keep writing…even if the words are not-right at first. 

Have you read Dear Writer? Share your thoughts below!