Why The Publishing World Is Not Closed To You

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to hear a famous author speak at a live event near my hometown. I had just finished reading her most recent best-selling novel, and I was awestruck. To me, she was a Writer with a capital “W.”

Her writing was beautiful, thought-provoking, luminous. I arrived ready to absorb every drop of wisdom from her that I possibly could. When the time came for a Q&A session at the end of the program, I mustered my courage and approached the microphone, ready to pose my biggest, most burning question.

I explained I was a new writer, working on my debut novel with my agent, and asked if she had any advice for me as I embarked upon my journey to publication. Then I quickly took my seat and prepared to scribble down every word of her response.

I don’t know what I expected to hear—instructions for a specific writing regimen, perhaps, or maybe an endorsement of a particular editing method­—but her response was a welcome surprise. To paraphrase, essentially her message was this: The publishing world is not closed to you.

Her comments resonated with me because they echoed a deeper truth I was already on my way to discovering: the world of writing, and of writers, is an accessible one to those who seek it out.

It’s a truth that runs counter to everything I once believed. I used to think that to be a writer, you must devote the vast majority of your time exclusively to the study and creation of literature. Those with day jobs, small children, and/or other real-world responsibilities need not apply.

I’m not exactly sure how I came to this conclusion—probably from reading one too many memoirs by full-time writers about a certain type of creative process, the kind defined by long days spent alone in cozy studies—but once this misleading idea took root in my mind, so too did the first seeds of impostor syndrome.

In my head, the logic went like this: I had a full-time job, bills to pay, and a strong attachment to my regular paycheck and employer-paid benefits; therefore, I could never be a real writer. Why bother trying?

This line of thought could have very well marked the premature end of my writing journey, if not for other writers who, I am happy to say, proved my theory one hundred per cent wrong.

In November 2013, I decided to try NaNoWriMo on a whim. Thirty days and fifty thousand words later, I was hooked. Not only did I discover it was possible to write a novel while holding down a full-time job, maintaining my core relationships, and engaging in basic acts of self-care, I realized I wasn’t the only one doing it. There were thousands of other writers out there, who, like me, were able to write even in the face of life’s day-to-day demands. I started to follow some of them online.

Soon, I discovered Brenda Drake’s Pitch Wars—a contest that pairs unpublished writers with agented and/or published mentors. I didn’t get picked as a mentee the first year I entered, but a mentor who’d read some of my work reached out to encourage me to keep at this whole writing thing.

Still, I knew that growth would require more than persistence; in order to improve, I needed feedback from other writers.

Enter the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. I originally joined WFWA to be matched with critique partners, and I was—wonderful, thoughtful, all-around amazing critique partners I am so thankful for—but I also found so much more. WFWA has been the backbone of all my major writing successes: My critique partners helped me get my manuscript ready to enter the Rising Star Contest (WFWA’s competition for unpublished manuscripts).

Feedback from that contest helped me get into Pitch Wars on my next try. Working with my Pitch Wars mentor helped me make my manuscript agent-ready. When the time came to query, my WFWA and Pitch Wars online writing communities kept me sane. When it was time to celebrate, they were the ones I wanted to share all the details with.

The only thing that tops a supportive online writing community is cultivating friendships with other writers in real life. As I write this, I’m surrounded by a small group of local writers I meet with monthly, having just returned home from a five-day WFWA retreat. This “face time” with other women writers not only uplifts me personally, it’s also vital to my writing in ways big and small.

Everything from brainstorming to revisions is better when my peers are right there with me to share the highs and lows. When drafting, I’m more confident: I know if I’m way off track, my critique partners will tell me. In times of frustration, I’m calmer: I can privately vent to my writer friends and move on. When dealing with the inevitable stretches of waiting, I have a better sense of humor: the wrong-number call from a New York area code that would’ve once ruined my day becomes a funny story to share with other women who know exactly what I’m going through.

Every day, I’m so grateful to have found my people, my community, my writing tribe. And the best part is, that famous author was right: it’s not a closed off world.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Writers are a friendly bunch.

So when you’re ready, come on in. The door’s open for you, too.

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Leah Collum is a women’s fiction writer represented by Katie Shea Boutillier of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. When not writing, she stays busy advising and teaching a diverse group of college students from around the world. A native Texan, she loves traveling (especially to Europe!) and has earned degrees in English and French. Follow her on Twitter: @leahcollum.

Tags: featured, WFWA, women writers

Category: On Writing