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Figuring Out What I Want

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Figuring Out What I Want

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

Sara Streeter
Apr 6, 2023
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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.

Multicolored pigeons in holes in the wall.
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!

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