Unveiling the Journeys of Women Inventors
This is my fifth book and is about precisely what you see in its title, which is Secrets of Successful Women Inventors. As creator and editor on this project, my primary goal was to reveal the real-life stories of over 20 successful, modern-day women inventors—stories that describe their hard work, frequent struggles, and relentless dedication to their ideas. The book also presents a look behind the scenes at these women inventors’ respective journeys—from their inventions first being sketched on napkins to the creation of multimillion-dollar companies—and offers sound advice to future inventors from several accomplished invention service providers.
Shifting the Spotlight to Women Inventors
As a woman who has written about inventors and inventions for more than 20 years, I couldn’t help but notice how history has tended to highlight male inventors. I began to wonder why women inventors weren’t a part of “his”-story”—and what about women inventors of color? Thankfully, over the last few decades—with increasing opportunities to shatter the “glass ceiling”—women have begun to achieve equal footing with men in careers and in salaries. In light of this evolution, I saw an opportunity to create a book that placed a much-needed focus on “her”-story –and that’s exactly what I did!
Aiming for Inclusivity in Women’s Stories
People would typically expect the book to target women. While it was my vision and goal to create a book that was of women, by women, and for women, the bigger hope answer is that this book’s target audience should be for everyone—and that, of course, includes men. I find more and more that a growing segment of men has become more sensitized and enlightened on the topic of women and their contributions to society. If my book brings a better understanding of all that women can do (and have done), then I’ve done my job.
Engaging Stories That Resonate with All Readers
First and foremost, my book is fun to read! In all of the interviews that comprise the book’s first half, the reader gets to know about each woman inventor’s life and background. In shaping my interviews, a key component was to allow every unique success story to come shining through—and in a way that captures the spunk and personality of the woman at the center of each story. As they read, my hope is that every reader will feel like they know each of the inventors—and that they may recognize parts of themselves in each story of struggle and success.
Expanding Reach: Audiobook and Educational Goals
One of the future goals for the book was to turn it into an audiobook, and I’m happy to say that we’ve already achieved that! I am delighted to share that Secrets of Successful Women Inventors has been brought to life in audio format by the talented narrator, Christy Hodson, who had the daunting task of reading aloud the success stories of more than 20 different women inventors—no easy task! In addition, I would like to see this book adopted as a course text within all Women’s Studies and/or Business departments nationwide at the college level.
A Wealth of Experience in Invention and Writing
In addition to what I have achieved as a writer and editor for more than 25 years, I have worked with a good number of inventors during that time. I first became a licensed U.S. customs broker license back in 2002 and was owner of my own sourcing, manufacturing, and importing business—EGT Global Trading—from 1997 to 2022. I have interviewed well over 140 inventors for my column in the specialty publication Inventors Digest and have been a book reviewer for various outlets (the most recent being for The New York Journal of Books). To learn more, visit my websites at edietolchin.com, and opinionatededitor.com.
You can grab a copy of the book Secrets of Successful Women Inventors available on Amazon.
