The First Step: Reflections on my Writing Career

This is it, the journey of a thousand pages begins with a single comma splice.

Three years ago, I stepped down from my position as a 7th Grade English Teacher to focus entirely on my writing career. Now I’m attending the 2024 Agents & Editor’s Conference in Austin, TX. There’s been heartbreak and struggle along the way, and if I can attribute my recent success to any piece of advice, it would be this.

Don’t do it alone!

This isn’t just about feedback. Writing might be a solitary endeavor, but there’s no reason to self-isolate. For years, I assumed that other writers were solitary islands, nestled within communities that I had no right to join. There is a layer of self-doubt that creeps – a kind of comparison that leads to feeling isolated even among other writers: Not Good Enough.

After a decade of writing for myself, I started submitting short stories at the beginning of 2019, just before my teaching career sabotaged my creative spirit. The submission process is terrifying, at time humiliating, but it was a necessary growing pain towards becoming a better artist. Joining a writing community felt the same. Worse even; attempting to create my own community.

There is a tendency among writers to cringe at our past writing, as if it’s shameful to create art poorly. This filter extends to social encounters. For those who suffer from social anxiety, it can feel like the critical/analytical lens is the key to finding acceptance, rather than a hurtle that must be overcome. Passion, not evaluation, is the key to connecting with others. Towards overcoming that fear.

Stuck within that isolation, it can be hard to gauge whether or not anyone actually wants to read your writing. The accomplishment of finishing a novel, short story, or essay; feels insignificant compared to friends who are buying houses. Running companies, pursuing a career as a successful artist without the pressure of a day-job. Writing is, by it’s own nature, difficult to show off to friends and family.

I have received 73 rejections thus far, with hundreds ahead in my career. Only the most recent have been with the support of a community. Now I am able to commiserate with other writers, gather insight from professionals who’ve been through the wringer ahead of me. It’s not about overcoming the fear of failure, it’s about understanding how to parse the result from the achievement.

So now, after many false starts, I’ve finally put together a basic website. This blog will be a conglomeration of news, events, insights, and retrospections. With hope, this will be on ongoing process.

In the end, the larger sacrifice is remaining complacent.

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