quick thoughts from a published author

I’ve been seeing a lot of questions about the process of getting published on this sub, so I’d like to offer a few thoughts from an author’s perspective. I am a poet, and I’ve been shilling my work since I was 16. I’m now in my mid-twenties, and I have some observations about getting your work published:<br><br>If I were a scientist, what I’ve accomplished in eight years would be an incredible achievement. If I were an artist, I’d have a painting in the Met. If I were a chef, I’d have a restaurant. If I were a scientist, artist, or chef, I would know what satisfaction is.<br><br>Instead, I am an author.<br><br>Eight years of writing and submitting. Eight years of rejection letters. Eight years of unpaid work for some blog that died two years ago.<br><br>I’ve published in six literary magazines. Most times, it’s been for free. Sometimes they ask for money, but I just pretend they’re being sarcastic. <br><br>I’ve published two chapbooks, one with a micropress and one with a small press. The small press paid me a stipend of $250 for a book I spent two years on. <br><br>My first piece of creative writing was a poem, when I was ten. I had always been a writer, ever since second grade. I wrote my first short story at 12, my first novel at 14, and my first volume of poetry at 16. <br><br>I am 25 now. <br><br>I have spent my entire life writing. And I’m still an unpublished author. <br><br>It’s time to stop lying. It’s time to stop calling it a hobby, something we do for fun. We write for the same reason any other artist does: to share our talents with the world, to make a living off of our art. <br><br>But writing is not like that. If we wanted to be a painter or singer or dancer or actor, we could at least work at it. We could get a day job and do our art in the evenings. We could work at a studio, or teach. We could be a background actor or play in church or sing in a band. <br><br>But we have chosen something different. Something hard. Something lonely. <br><br>We are writers.<br><br>And we have a long road ahead of us, with no sherpas to guide us. <br><br>Good luck out there. <br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit: some folks are getting the sense that I’m bitter about this, and that’s not it at all, though I admit I could have framed it better. My point is that we put a lot of work into this craft, like any other, and this is the path we’ve chosen. I love writing, and I love being a poet. I’m not bitter, I have just observed the reality of our situation. We must accept it for it to change in the future. <br><br>Edit: I let some of my own thoughts about publishing get in the way of getting my main point across. I see in the comments that I bore some of you, some of you are a bit mad at me, and some of you are inspired. I made a mistake. I didn’t communicate properly. I am sorry for that. <br><br>I hear some of you saying that what I’ve done is an achievement, and I agree. It is. It’s an incredible honor to be published, and I do not take it lightly. I will continue submitting work and submitting my books. <br><br>Please continue to write, and see the best of our profession. The path will open itself in time.