light & gather

One day, I finally made it to storytime at the library.

They were doing a special storytime program for grandparents, which I insisted on having my son’s grandparents be a part of. While they were in storytime, I found a little hidey-hole deep in the library where I could make a to-do list, a grocery list, add events to my calendar, and basically write down anything I needed to address.

Then I looked up, or rather, I saw a book in passing that said something along the lines of, “This is so-and-so’s debut book. Before publishing, this author won or was shortlisted for such-and-such award.” And I thought, “Oh yeah, I did want to be a writer known for my literary works and not just for my blog or my content.”

To be honest, the only reason I got into content creation was that in college I was told that content creators and influencers have an easier time getting published because of their audience. A publishing house sees that and automatically thinks it’s a safe bet that you’ll sell copies because you have a built-in audience.

So I started creating content, but I got really into it. Like, really into it. And now I actually love it. I think I got so carried away that I forgot the whole reason why I started doing it in the first place. It was name recognition, to build an audience, and to establish myself as a literary brand so that the transition to getting an agent, then securing a published book deal, would be a little easier.

But I forgot that part of this is submitting my actual work because, if I had to be honest…

I feel like I’m on the side of the internet where a few of the influencers I follow are making the transition from an XYZ lifestyle brand to wanting to become, and then becoming, published novelists. And often, all they have is a dream, the passion to pursue it, and an audience to help bring it to life. Lately, I’ve been thinking: why can’t that be me?

Now I have a brand, and while I’m not at the same stage as some of the people I follow, I have my stories and the skills to back them up. I know how to get my work vetted, and I’ve been committed to being a writer since the eighth grade. And while my life looks totally different now than it did back then, my desire to be a full-time writer and novelist has never changed.

So I’ve started submitting again. I’m making edits and rereading my work, and I thought, why not give myself a little more accountability?

I thought it would be good for me to be completely transparent about the process and what goes into getting your work published: finding publications, understanding what goes into submitting, the highs and lows, and that inevitable wall of rejection.

To start, I’ll give you a rundown of the stories I’ve written so far and have sent out for publication. I’ll give you all the stats so you can follow along and see just what it takes to become a writer.

The Stories

Salvation

This was the first story I ever published. I wrote it after reading The Color Purple, which turned out to be a formative book for me when it came to developing and improving my writing. The story is about a girl who, during her baptism, has a religious experience that traumatizes her, making her afraid of water and turning her into a devout Christian. That fear follows her throughout her life and into a relationship with the man she eventually marries.

Kissing Boys

I actually wrote this story based on a prompt for a publication that rejected it. At the time, I was in college, and this story sort of spilled out of me. I don’t know where the motivation came from, but I do think it was the outcome of what was going on with George Floyd’s murder and what it was like living in the South at the time. The story is about a preteen girl whose best friend’s father was lynched and how she navigated secondhand grief. This was a very tender piece for me, but I think that’s why I love it so much.

The Light in the Cabin

When I was in college, I got really into writing horror for some reason. I think it was partly my anxiety and partly just the state of the world. This story is about a girl who moves back to her hometown and ends up “trapped” there. It’s folk horror based on my hometown.

The Man From the Delta

I wrote this story when I was feeling very down. A lot was going on in my life, and I spent all my free time on YouTube watching pointless videos. I came across one about Robert Johnson, a musician from the Mississippi Delta. Legend says he sold his soul to the devil to play the blues and then died at a young age under mysterious circumstances.

I was obsessed with this story for about a week. I had dreams about it, and at one point, I thought I was seeing ghosts in my apartment. Toward the end of my short obsession, I wrote the story in three days.