A washer-woman, Collier is best known for her spirited, well-written poem "The Woman's Labour: an Epistle to Mr Stephen Duck." She did not initially intend to publish, but the Advertisement states that ‘Her Friends are of Opinion that the Novelty of a Washer-woman's turning Poetess, will procure her some Readers’. She explains that she published for the reader's entertainment and to "put a small sum of money in her pocket," as her life was "toilsome, and her wages inconsiderable." The DNB, however, explains that the public did not respond well to a washer-woman turned poetess, disbelieving the authenticity of her authorship. "Her later comment on this venture was: ‘I lost nothing, neither did I gain much, others run away with the profit’ (Collier, iv)" (DNB).