Whenever I get on a Zoom session now (God, that’s a thing we all do), people always ask how’s it going. And I don’t know about you, but I have no freakin’ clue how to answer that question. My poker face sucks, so I usually come out with a “fine” that sounds like someone has a knife at my back. Or I just laugh long enough that they feel awkward and move on.
It’s been a really weird summer spent mostly indoors avoiding the heat and other people. But even with my personal lockdown still in effect, I have been able to get more work out into the world and connect to lovely people online.
New Work Out!
I’ve had a weirdly productive summer insofar as publishing my work (I know, I don’t get it either.) Here’s my book review on Jaquira Díaz’s Ordinary Girls, a phenomenal memoir I think everyone should read. I also have a small essay included in San Fedele Press’ “Art in the Time of COVID-19” issue, available on Amazon. All proceeds will go to Doctors without Borders. Finally, my latest essay just came out from Kweli Journal, one of my favorite publications. “My Father’s Language” is about the year I spent learning Hindi and trying to communicate more with my father while dealing with our distant relationship.
Class Taken, Classes Held
I took a Book Proposal Workshop with Stacy Selby, a fellow writer whose debut book is coming out next year. For the past two years, I have been writing a memoir and I’ve been trigger shy about querying agents. Stacy will be offering this workshop again and I cannot recommend it enough. You can check out the details here.
Women Who Submit had a Zoom conference and I got invited to be on a panel called “Submitting to Top-Tier Journals.” I felt a bit guilty about being on this panel because while I had gotten an essay accepted into a top-tier journal, it was over a year ago and well, nothing else really came of that. But while WWS is all about getting more representation from marginalized genders and people into these uppity journals, we also came to some awesome realizations. One was that getting published in a top-tier journal doesn’t necessarily mean all your dreams will come true. Even if other journals solicit you for work, they might reject your submissions anyway. Another thing I love about WWS is that they make their advice available to the public. The whole discussion is available to watch on Youtube.
Gigs on the Horizon
In November, I will be presenting on narrative structure in fiction and nonfiction for the Belize Writers Conference. While I would LOVE to go to Belize right now (or anywhere outside my bedroom), the conference will be via Zoom. Still, I’m looking forward to getting to meet with other writers and talk about making a book. Check the website about registering.
I also have a new role as Nonfiction Editor in Hypertext Review. I am incredibly thrilled to continue to read for them and help writers get their work published.
Perks of a Writing Community
When it comes to receiving rejections, I’m an expert. A few years ago, I applied to tons of residencies and hoped to get into a few, preferably some where I didn’t have to pay. I didn’t, but I did get into Vermont Studio Center. I got some grant money to offset the cost of attending, but the cost of attending was still high.
I was desperate for the chance to be at a residency that I took on some more committee gigs at the college where I was working, collected the stipends, and took a spot in a cohort for September 2018. It’s about to be two years since I attended that residency and since then, I have remained in contact with numerous writers from that program. One gave me a position working at Hypertext Magazine. Another has volunteered to be a beta reader for my memoir manuscript.
So while I am still searching for decent employment in these strange times, I count myself fortunate to have the stability to get through this period and work in literary channels. I am starting to get paid for my publications and speaking engagements and while it isn’t a whole lot, it’s the first time I have felt professionally compensated for my time.
Please take care!
Currently Reading: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene