My Writing Life

"My steps in my writing journey seem to be the stones upon which...I have crossed the dark river..."

Welcome to our weekly column offering perspectives on lit mag publishing, with contributions from readers, writers and editors around the world.

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Writing is a complex topic. Which human sensory receptors inspire one to write is beyond comprehension. I have no MFA degree, neither do I have a background in literature, but I write. I like to be referred to as a writer. This is me who began writing five years back. And now I am here with publication credits in Logic(s), Strange Horizons, Mascara literary Review, The Saltbush Review, Archipelago, Red Rock Review, SUSPECT, Acta Victoriana, Pulp Literary Review and elsewhere. So far I have attained second position in the 8th Singapore Poetry Contest. I have been nominated for the Best of the Net. All these publications are so easy and quick to read and finish, but a lot of hard work has gone into these writings.

The path is equally difficult, at the moment I am writing this down. In fact the truth is my writing career began the moment my lucrative technical career ended without a whimper. Time compounded with void and I came out of the phase as a loser. It is needless to say why things turned the opposite tide and I couldn’t make anything worthy out of my distinction awarded certificate. It is also true that writing was always there. In the form of school magazines, local newspaper articles and national level competitions. I won a few, I lost most.

I returned to writing. This time I had no idea what or why or how long.

At the beginning I felt choked by writer’s block. For a writer to be able to write with depth, reading is the foremost thing. At the beginning I didn’t know what to read. I read at random. I live in a village and have no access to the library. I don’t belong to an affluent family and buying books is a luxury I couldn’t afford until recently. For me the Internet is the best place for me to read and learn. Subscription to newsletters of literary magazines is a great and never a disappointing investment of time.

This finding of writings certainly helped me a lot. I keep introspecting about finding my muse somewhere between the words. This is like a language leading to another. This has become a vital point of my growth as a writer.

For a long time, I was waiting for my first acceptance. Someone said it takes two years to get the first acceptance. This was both disheartening and difficult to digest. If a working-class writer desires to make a living out of writing, it becomes as challenging as draining an ocean with a teaspoon. Yet I received an acceptance before the first year’s completion of sending out submissions to any magazine. I was elated. It was from a non-paying market but respectable magazine ‘Rigorous Review.’ Three months later I received the first acceptance from a paying market Eye to the Telescope.  The amount was honorary but I was beyond grateful to every force of this universe while this happened. The journey wasn’t any easier ahead. Between one acceptance to another I waited months. Neither did I have the option nor the thought of opting out of this self-chosen career. I maintained calm receiving these rejections. 

At the earlier stages of my sending out poems I never practiced simultaneous submissions. This wasn’t planned, only I was nervous to do this. Then I saw one of my poet friends declare about her acceptance and the joy of pulling out that poem from other venues. This encouraged me to begin sending simultaneous submissions. I didn’t know very clearly about the discover button of Submittable and missed out on many magazine’s deadlines. Now I use several platforms like Chill Subs to discover opportunities and send my work their way for consideration.

I lacked the habit of practicing rigorous editing. I am working to improve this habit. I have read it’s not necessary to write each day. Each one has his own theory, I have mine. I try to be regular in my writing practice. I write, I read. I read, I write.

As I am a South Asian writer for the American poetry community (which I believe is the largest in the world), I am an outsider. Though this thought has never crossed my mind. I have never faced discrimination for my identity. It’s true that for being a woman I get more chances to submit to those magazines who believe in empowering women’s voices. I have no inhibitions to send my poems to magazines hailing from any country or continent. I have sent poems to every continent magazine who accepts poems from international poets. To this date no one has sent me rude rejection letters. Either they are standard or they add a few words of encouragement for my writing. Whichever be the condition I have never felt discouraged from sending out my work to any magazine.   

Like any writer I too dream to have my work published in A-list magazines, but the competition is fierce, so the fear of rejection is more or less a certainty. Still this doesn’t worry me and I send according to understanding my best work to the highly regarded magazines. I have received a handful of non-standard rejections from these magazines. I save these messages and on the days I receive several rejections, I open these old rejection letters and re-read. I keep trusting one day I will write something worthy and find a place among the elite several. Once they send me rejections I try for other magazines where I think my work would align to the kind of work they publish. The truth is also that I respect every magazine I send my work to. For me they all are honorable and they earn my equal amount of respect from here.  

If someone asks, do you send work to the local magazines? My first lookout is the payment I will receive. I belong to India and there are fewer magazines that pay, so my submissions are less frequent. If said by a friend to send work for a magazine on a voluntary basis I certainly do without a second thought. Though this is rare as I am largely anonymous in my field. This is a bliss I guess. I take advantage of this situation and write my heart out. I don’t really have friends from the poetry community. I consider my editors as my friends and guide. They help me sharpen my work and isn't this something a true friend does?

Sometimes before sending my poems I am intrigued by the kind of poems a magazine prints. I try to download a free pdf copy of their issue. And if it is unavailable I search through their archived issues for the kind of work the magazine accepts.

Sometimes I am confused by the theme calls of the magazines. Only once in Brick Lit I could make through their submission call. I received an acceptance from them and couldn’t feel more privileged that moment and for the whole week of the happening.

I have nothing special about my writing journey, only a simple tale of how it began and how it is going. I am not satisfied both on my work front and have a long journey to attain financial stability. My steps in my writing journey seem to be the stones upon which placing my feet I have crossed the dark river of sadness and listlessness. The phenomenon of learning while earning is quite interesting. If I can do it, anyone can do the same. What’s needed is a heart that never loses faith.

I completely agree that writing can be learnt only through writing. I want everyone who aspires to be a writer without any higher degree for literature to practice it like me.

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