This is not a how to become traditionally published. For that, I’d highly recommend this post with infographic from Jane Friedman. This is a post on what it’s like to endure the relentless journey of becoming a traditionally published author if you choose to take it. It’s the post I wished I read before I started on my own journey 8+ years ago. While your author’s journey will be unique to you, there are similarities in all heroic journeys especially on the road to being published. While many are equipping themselves this summer with travel gear during the pandemic, this…
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Ever since I transitioned into a fiction writer, I’ve run into these insane walls. It’s the kind of blocks that make you doubt your abilities as a writer. You question whether this story’s dead-end is a sign it’s time to burn it. Maybe this story isn’t meant to be, you think to yourself. Maybe you don’t have the chops to be a fiction writer. It’s not like this didn’t happen when writing nonfiction. But I was able to research might way out of it. And I had an editor with a deadline, which are good incentives. But as I’ve been…
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In the 14 years that I’ve been writing professionally, I’ve had many ups and downs, as well as yikes and oops moments! It’s pretty much a part of my daily regime and definitely a huge slice of my writing journey. I love sharing all the embarrassing faux pas I’ve made because I want to pass down the wisdom to you. So you don’t make the same mistakes as I have. Here’s hoping. That’s why I pulled together a list of things I’ve done. Some were understandable errors and others I wished I had known better. But all have taught me…
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The air has shifted. Even here in Hawaii, there’s a slight change in the seasons. The days are getting longer. It’s time to store my sweaters away sadly and I’m back to my usual tank top shorts uniform. Seasons are light bulb reminders externally of things we need to shed inside. While we declutter and spring clean to make ready for summer, there are things we can do as writers to check-in, to make sure we’re still where we need to be. This can look like ordering more paper, getting a fun new journal or laptop. It could mean more…
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Questions like these are stereotypical because it often plays into the idea that one person can speak for an entire community of people. Also that the experience of being a minority makes things like writing completely different when all writers suffer and struggle to throw words onto a blank page. There are a few things, however, that I can speak to. And if you are Asian American and write, could possible relate. If you wonder: if your work isn’t connecting and you’re receiving rejections because it doesn’t resonate with the majority culture. if your work is chosen preciously because you…
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If you’re reading this, you want to be published. You want to become an author or be published in a mainstream magazine. Congratulations on acknowledging this HUGE first step! As someone who has walked this path from absolutely no writing experience aside from an internship to working full-time as a copywriter to eventually getting published in newspapers and magazines, I know how simply COURAGEOUS it is to just admit your dream. And I know how difficult it is to want to share it with others who end up telling you why being a writer is a dismal job with little…
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Don’t you wish people would post neutral news on social media? I’m not talking about what someone ate for dinner. But lately, my Facebook feed is filled with a monopoly of good news. Maybe it’s because we all need to hear some right now. I just saw a commercial talking about the joy of seeing the bright side of things and then I saw it was an ad for wine. The message was mixed. Do we need alcohol to see sunshine these days? Hopefully not. Here’s some neutral news. The publishing industry is getting flooded. I know that sounds like…
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I’m a big fan of nonfiction books. At any time of year, there’s a teetering tower of books on my nightstand. I love reading everything from health and healing to writing craft books. No matter what I read, I can parse something to my writing life and every word seems to wind itself into my prose. I’m also taking 7 courses and homeschooling. In fact, I wrote about it in an article for ASJA this month. With all the information I’m garnering, I thought I’d share a few pearls of wisdom from experts that offer a fresh perspective on…
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I’m going to share a weird secret about myself… I call myself an author even though I haven’t been published yet. I only tell this to myself and my husband because I know the word author comes with years of hard work and rejection, which I haven’t yet earned. But I’ll tell you why I think of myself this way. Seeing myself as an author dictates the decisions I make. It motivates me when my inbox is quiet. It prepares me for the opportunity if and when it should arise. It silences the voices that say you’re not good enough…
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Usually when writers blog it’s because they’re already published or about to be. But I’m blogging in real time, before I’m an author or agented so you can know what the journey is really like. Here’s the truth of it. While there have been wonderful news like having my first children’s story published with audio and illustrations to boot, an article in ASJA magazine and an essay published in spring for a journal I’m super excited to eventually share, there have been rejections. Or no news. My 2020 PBChat mentorship has ended and I haven’t left with an agent or…