Figuring Out What I Want

Ideally, for me, it's being paid for my Weird and Wonderful

I’m trying to keep my writing mojo up but it’s been tough. Even though I do think I’m a better writer than I was even a year ago, things just aren’t sticking.

I write about adoption, and all that comes with it, but I also want to share stories like “The House Always Wins” and other non-adoptee content (check out my short CNF, “River of Stars” published in the Adoptee Voices’s e-zine). My adoptee identity is really important to me though it’s not the only thing I want to explore. Unsurprisingly, I’ve definitely noticed the trauma-focused work seems to be better at making the rounds. I don’t want to be pigeonholed into writing only that because I have a lot more weird and wonderful shit up my sleeve.

Pigeons in their holes

Also, on my end, I’m being more selective in what LitMags I submit to. For me, this means:

• I don’t want to pay reading fees anymore, especially if the mag doesn’t pay its contributors. (This might change for a chapbook submission, but I’m not there yet!)

• I prefer magazines that pay —unless I really like the mag and/or it has name-recognition.

• The LitMag world is very, very white. The mags I submit to need to at the very least include a Masthead. They get extra points for folks of color.

These days I’m working on finding publications for a couple pieces (an essay and a flash speculative fiction) and trying to work on a CNF I started a while ago about persimmons. That’s all!