The First Step

For those who, from these first two titles, think this is going to be a chronological, well-organized documentation of exactly how I "became" a writer, let me stop you here. That's for my autobiography, if I ever write one. This is, instead, a collection of moments that define me as a writer, in whatever order they become relevant.

Today's "moment"  happened...well, today. But first, a bit of background.

This year, one of my New Year's resolutions and, in fact, a longstanding goal of mine--in fact, of any writer--was to get published. My self-published novel on Amazon doesn't count (and that's another story). So I subscribed to a website known as Literistic that, each month, sends me a list of contests and publications that are currently accepting submissions.

In March, I finally sat down and made it a point to take the necessary time to read and research the various publications and contests Literistic sent me to and start getting my work out there. I looked for contests and journals whose guidlines and current themes matched some of the work I'd already completed or the type of writing I was already doing. And I started submitting work everywhere. I submitted a set of three poems to one journal, a flash fiction to another, and I even took the chance to write a nonfiction essay about "Renewal" during quarantine to submit.

As a "new" writer (new meaning unknown; I've been writing for...yikes, 15 years now, if you start counting with that first horrendous story in 7th grade), I wasn't really expecting much. I also have no real guage for how good my writing is, because the only real feedback I've gotten on my writing has been from reviews on Fanfiction.net, and we all know that can hardly be considered constructive criticism, even when it's positive. 

Which brings me to my moment (you can probably see where this is going).

There I was, scrolling idly through my email and clearing out unreads, when I came across a particular email from Tiny Seed Literary Journal that read, "Your flash fiction is stunning! We would be honored to publish it on our blog on June 6."

I squealed. Can you blame me? It may be a lesser-known online journal, but as of June 6, I will officially be a published author!

Thus, I've taken my very first step on the road to becoming known and, eventually, publishing a best-selling novel. I'll post a link to Tiny Seed once my work gets published, and I'll let you know when I hear back about my other submissions!