Dear Writers,

When applying to college, I knew I wanted to major in English. The goal: to become a writer.

But when I told my father this, he asked, with a bit of a sigh in his voice, “What are you going to do with a degree in English?”

I was too afraid to say WRITE. So, I said the thing I knew would make him less afraid of my future: teach.

Throughout high school (and college), I was lucky enough to have teachers who believed in my talent and who supported my writing endeavors by submitting my work to contests and recommending me for creative writing courses.

But I had no idea how to make my writing pay the bills, and there was no one telling me how to become a writer in any practical sort of way. And I thought I was only a writer if I had a job as a writer.

There’s so much I wish I’d known. But I know it now, and I want to share it with you.

You’re a Writer if You Write. Period.

You’re also a writer if you are not currently writing but are thinking about how to work through a problem in your story.

You’re also a writer if you are reading books on craft.

And you are most certainly a writer, even if you’re not yet published or making money off of your work.

For years, I thought the only way I could be a legitimate writer is if someone was paying me for my writing. But I was still writing. I just wasn’t calling myself a writer because it felt kind of fraudulent to do so. WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.

I had years’ worth of stories, but because they’d all been rejected or lived quietly in the pages of my journals, they weren’t worth calling myself a writer? Nonsense.

You’re a writer if you write. It’s as simple as that. And don’t let imposter syndrome tell you otherwise.

It’s Way Easier to Submit Than You Think It Is

Duotrope. Manuscript Wishlist. Publishers Marketplace. Query Manager. Authors Publish. All great platforms to use as research tools for vetting publications and agents to send your work to.

For a long time, I did not know this. I didn’t submit my work anywhere because I didn’t know how. I thought there was this gate keeping troll under the bridge who made you dance on hot coals while guessing the answer to the riddle of the sphinx in order to gain entry.

Turns out, you just have to send your query and manuscript to an email address or query manager per the publication or agency’s guidelines. No trolls. No dancing. No riddles.

Does this ensure an acceptance? Absolutely not.

However, rejection is par for the course in creative endeavors. You can’t take it personally, and it doesn’t mean that you’re a bad writer. It simply means that where you submitted wasn’t the right home for your work.

Dust yourself off and try again. It’s totally worth it for when the yes comes.

Want to Improve? Practice. Practice. Practice.

Read as much as you can. Write as often as you can. Study your favorite authors. And through those actions, you will see results. I promise.

I started to see a positive change in my flash fiction writing when I started reading more flash fiction. I’d always written stories that landed around the 1000 word mark, but within that word count, I was trying to pack a ton of action into a small space.

When I started reading more flash fiction, I realized that there was a formula or pattern to the storytelling within the 1000 word frame. It wasn’t a condensed short story. It was a snapshot within a larger story that the 1000 words served as a vessel to explore acutely. I started applying this knowledge to my flash writing and not only saw my writing improve, but my stories started getting published.

If you don’t have the time or money to get an MFA or take writing courses, studying your favorite authors through the lens of craft, asking yourself “What is the author doing that makes this story great, and how can I apply that to my own writing?”, then applying the answer to your own writing is a great way to improve your craft. The proof is when you compare your old work to your new work. Trust me.

Your Readers Will Find You

There is someone who needs your words. There is someone who needs your stories.

Whether you are thinking about starting a blog, afraid to submit your stories, or outlining a manuscript that you’re worried no one will want, someone will. There is an audience for every story.

Stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, resonate with their audience because they speak to a universal truth. They prove that no one is truly alone, nor is there such a thing as a unique experience. Thousands of years’ worth of stories proves this.

When my anxiety and panic attacks came back full force in 2019, the only thing that seemed to calm them were books. I sank myself into story after story, The Secret Garden, Montauk, City of Girls. I remember arriving at school (it was after finals, so there were no kids in the building), going upstairs to my friend’s air-conditioned classroom, and being completely immersed in whatever world I was reading about that day. It was meditative. It quieted my brain from the chaos of fear that is anxiety because I got to be somewhere else for a while. Stories saved me and continue to save me.

If you’ve been thinking about submitting or publishing your work, please do. There is an audience waiting for you.

We’ve Got This

I didn’t feel confident calling myself a writer until I was in my late 30’s. But I had been a writer my whole life.

Don’t wait to call yourself a writer, when in your heart, you know you are. And be brave. Put your stories down on paper and see what happens next.

You know that words and stories are magic. I’m certain that’s part of the reason why you write. I certainly know it’s part of my why.

And keep going, even when the going gets tough. Now, more than ever, we need the humanity of storytelling to remind us that we aren’t alone.

What’s one thing you wish someone had told you at the beginning of your writing journey? Let me know in the comments!

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Until next week, my fellow writers.