Lena Andrews: On the Importance of Recognizing Hidden History
Lena Andrews is a military analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. She has a PhD in political science from MIT, specializing in international relations and security studies. She has spent more than a decade in foreign policy, having previously worked at the RAND Corporation and the United States Institute of Peace.
Lena Andrews
Kirth Bobb
In this post, Lena shares how her graduate work eventually led to her first book, what important trait writers need to find success, and more.
Name: Lena Andrews
Literary agent: Peter McGuigan | Ultra Literary
Book title: Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II
Publisher: Mariner Books | HarperCollins
Release date: August 1, 2023
Genre/category: History | World War II | Women
Elevator pitch for the book: Valiant Women tells the story of the hundreds of thousands of American women—from every race, faith, and walk of life—who served in uniform during WWII and directly contributed to the Allied support operations that helped win the war.
Bookshop | Amazon
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What prompted you to write this book?
The idea for this book began almost a decade ago when I was completing my graduate work on World War II. I’d read pretty much every book under the sun on the war, and while a few of those books mentioned American women who served in uniform or joined the manufacturing industry, they were rarely the focus of the narrative.
When I finally did stumble onto the stories of women who served in uniform, I was stunned by the scale of their contribution and motivated to find out more. I started reading voraciously about their experiences, and after several years—and a global pandemic—I finally had the time to write all my research down. The result is Valiant Women.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Once the idea for the book crystalized in my mind, it changed very little. That’s mostly because the book makes a fairly straightforward argument about women’s service—specifically that it made a significant difference in the war’s outcome—and I think that simplicity is very powerful.
So, when I finally decided to sit down and write a proposal everything came together very quickly. In the end, it took about three years from proposal to publication.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
As a debut author, there were countless surprises in the publishing process. Fortunately, I was guided through all of the twists and turns by my exceptionally talented agent and wonderful editor. Their experience and patience were invaluable in helping me look around tricky corners and in building my confidence as an author. Working with them taught me a really important lesson: Surround yourself with a trusted, capable team.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
To be totally honest, I was surprised by how much I loved writing this book. There is a trope out there about the tortured writer, filled with anxiety and dread, fighting a contrived battle with writer’s block and self-doubt, and I thought I would have many of those moments.
But even though there were moments of frustration and difficulty while I wrote the book, on the whole, I found writing Valiant Women to be incredibly inspiring and freeing. It felt like such a privilege to get to do it every day.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
First, I hope that readers come away with a clearer appreciation of how critical women were to winning World War II. These women fought tirelessly for the right to defend their country, and they served honorably alongside their male counterparts. We owe them a great deal, and paying that debt starts with recognizing their service and knowing their stories.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I’m still fairly new at this, so I don’t know if I’m qualified to give much advice, but I will share a piece of wisdom from the incomparable James Baldwin. He sat for a Paris Review interview in 1984, which contains many gems, but my favorite is when he’s asked to give advice to young writers.
He replies: “Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but, most of all, endurance.” In my experience, that sentiment is exactly right.
Endurance almost always wins the day—so, keep going.
While there’s no shortage of writing advice, it’s often scattered around—a piece of advice here, words of wisdom there. And in the moments when you most need writing advice, what you find might not resonate with you or speak to the issue you’re dealing with. In A Year of Writing Advice, the editors of Writer’s Digest have gathered thoughts, musings, and yes, advice from 365 authors in dozens of genres to help you on your writing journey.