When I left my full-time job as a contractor/carpenter nearly ten years ago, I had a lot of motivation to reinvent myself as a writer/translator. But I had little experience. I didn’t have a prospective publisher for my first project. I wan’t even sure how a person went about looking for a publisher.
Fast forward to today, surprisingly, after having twenty books published, and having my writing appear in The New Yorker, The Harvard Review, Rattle, and dozens of other places, I can share a handful of tips I have learned along the way which may be helpful to other writers:
1. It’s all about drafts
Whatever kind of writer you may be, the important thing is to write. It all starts with doing the creative work, without being concerned about the finished product or the process of sharing it. Making time, creating the space, having the discipline to get the words down. Drafts do not have to be brilliant.
Generative writing is the start of every book. Sure, there are steps along the way to publication, like revising, revising, and revising. Submitting, networking, pitching and negotiating. But nothing happens without drafts. Lots of them, if possible. Having something to offer. Having projects in the files, ready for the opportune moment.
Showing up for your creative self without fail is what eventually will give you the best chance to share your work.
2. Don’t be afraid to join something
It can be important and rewarding to find ‘your people,’ others who share your passions. Whether your particular interest is fashion or ferrets, there are groups, associations, and networks out there to welcome you. Whether you are a researcher, a ghostwriter, a hybrid poet, or a biographer, there are people in your field who come together, and they will understand you like no one else.
Seek them out! Reach out to them and they will answer your questions, commiserate with you, and open doors to opportunities you did not know existed. And you will feel less alone. By being with allies, you may feel validated and supported like never before, like how I felt after my very first literary translator’s conference.
Eventually, you may gain experience to the point where you can become a mentor for someone else who stumbles into the group, like you did once, looking for inspiration and guidance.
3. Writing can be an act of service
We writers often start with our own discomfort, which causes us to pay attention in a heightened way to something that we would probably rather avoid. It is often these heightened emotions from some minor or major trauma coming to the surface, maybe repeatedly knocking on the door to our awareness, which becomes our prompt to express what we are experiencing, so that, if nothing else, we can get a better look at it.
This can be, first and foremost, an act of service to ourselves. And what we face doesn’t have to be so-called negative emotions like resentment, anger or grief. Joy, beauty, and love can also make us uncomfortable, perhaps because we don’t know them well enough, or we feel undeserving or unable to receive them.
Writing can validate our own emotions and experiences, and I believe that in sharing our writing we may then act as a catalyst to encourage a similar interrogation in our readers. This is one way that the creative process creates change and increases compassion in the world.
4. Say yes as much as possible
Once I began generating projects for books, and after I had joined some organizations, opportunities began to open to me: writing groups, readings, conferences, committee meetings, retreats. Suddenly I was confronted with the part of me that is an introverted hermit.
Usually I would like nothing more than to keep to myself and follow my own preferred daily schedule, without interference from the world outside. But it became clear to me that to be a writer I would need to participate in the writing community, in order to learn from others, and also to give of myself. So despite my innate hesitation, I made the decision that I would say yes to opportunities as often as I could.
Through participating, being visible, and sharing good will, I make friendships with my fellow writers. Plus I build trust and respect, which open the way to ever-growing opportunities to learn about the writing life and to contribute my skills and my writing. So don’t let fear hold you back. Say yes, even if you don’t know exactly how you will carry it out. Believe in yourself and you will rise to meet the moment.
5. Keep putting your work out there
Someone once told me, “The more editors and publishers say yes, the more other editors and publishers will say yes.” To me this meant that I needed to build a resume, that I needed to participate in the world of writers by getting busy with revising my work and spreading it around, getting advice, following leads, dedicating myself to making connections to literary friends and outlets wherever I could find them.
This also meant devoting myself to ongoing writing projects, sometimes several at once, so I had lots of material to choose from for various calls for submission. The act of revising and submitting is a practice that will gradually build self-confidence in the validity of your projects and your writing voice.
I understand that writing and publishing is a somewhat glutted market. I keep my expectations low, so that dozens of rejections will not make me doubt my ability or my process, because that could prevent me from writing or sharing my writing. Over time, positive results can build up into something surprising.
– Michael Favala Goldman
