Building my writing resume

Before I started working on Finny, I felt pretty hopeless about my prospects as a writer, among other things.  Despair is probably the biggest pitfall I’ve come up against as a writer, and it seems like the writers who stick around for a long time must find some way to manage the disappointment.  In my MFA program, I think there were a lot of people who were more talented than I am who never published and have stopped writing – and I think the despair is a big reason, the feeling of hopelessness about where it will all lead.  But who knows.  Maybe they all got jobs at Maxim.

In a future post I might talk more about disappointment and despair, but since this is generally a cheerful and practical blog, I’ll mention a couple concrete things I’ve done to keep my writing career moving forward, even at times when I wasn’t necessarily publishing a lot.  These are all things that seemed to help my “writer’s resume,” so that when I approached agents, magazines, and publishers, I might be taken a little more seriously than the guy who was writing the memoir about training his goldfish to do the laundry. (Actually, I would love to read that book if it existed.)

My agent mentioned in an earlier post that, more than my MFA, she felt that the publications and awards I’d received established my credentials as a writer.  Of course, an agent never sees the staggering number of rejections and “Thanks but I don’t think this is for us” letters a writer receives before approaching the agent. (I mean, entire forests have been leveled in the service of keeping me out of The Georgia Review.) But there are so many opportunities for contemporary American writers – as compared to, say, writers in Stalinist Russia – that I’ve found it helpful for my morale to always keep a number of balls in the air.  When I get a rejection from an award or magazine or fellowship, the best antidote I’ve come up with to combat the disappointment is to send out my work to a dozen more awards and magazines and fellowships.

One opportunity is writers’ residencies, during which an organization pays for your room and board while you work on a writing project.  The most famous ones in the U.S. are Yaddo and MacDowell, but there are a lot more.  There are also some amazing international residencies.  The two most helpful free listings of residencies I’ve found are at http://www.transartists.org and http://www.artistcommunities.org/.  In transartists.org, if you click on the “search” link under “residency opportunities,” you can search by country, which makes it feel a little like hotels.com.

I think the advantage of an artist residency is three-fold.  First, it’s a meaningful award to add to your resume.  Second, you’re getting paid to write, which is shocking.  Third, you’re getting to travel.  Through writers’ residencies, I’ve spent time in a medieval castle in Scotland, and on the Ligurian coast in Italy.  Next stop, Detroit.

Another thing my agent mentioned was helpful was that I had the support of some established writers.  A lot of early-career writers meet established writers at MFA programs or S&M clubs, but another less-committal type of place where I’ve met writers is writing conferences.  A lot of conferences offer opportunities to take classes with well-known writers and show them your work.  Some of the conferences are expensive, but probably not as expensive as that bender in Atlantic City.  And unlike the bender, there are often fellowships available.  Here’s a listing of conferences and residencies in the U.S.: http://www.pw.org/conferences_and_residencies.  If you have a known writer who supports you and can be an advocate for your work, it really does help open the door a little.

Poets & Writers also has a calendar of awards and fellowships: http://www.pw.org/submission_calendar.  I make a note to check this calendar every month and click on any awards I think I might be eligible for.  A lot of them are free to apply for.

Like I said, I find it useful both for my resume and my serotonin levels to always be submitting and applying and putting my name out there.  It has become a constant part of my life and a regular monthly expense – like groceries and crystal meth. (I’m totally kidding about the groceries.) It often feels like I’m getting nowhere, but when I put together an application letter or a bio, I realize that by some miracle I do have a few accomplishments to mention in it.

Hope this is helpful.  Please send me any questions or comments.  And have a good week.

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