I started writing 4 years ago, but I really didn’t consider publishing until I was more polished and had learned the ropes. At the time, I was thinking of publishing maybe 10 or 15 years down the line.
However, one day, I was talking to a family friend sometime in 2016, and he said, “Larissa, have you ever thought of having your work published? You’re a great writer. I then gave him my whole speech about wanting to learn the craft more.
That night, while I was in bed, I was like, “You know what? Why not?” So, the next day, I submitted a piece to a website. I didn’t get my piece published. I then tried again at the same site, but I had no luck.
A few weeks passed and then I tried to submit a piece to another website, but no luck. I waited months to start again, and that time, I tried The Mighty. On May 9th, 2017, I had one of my pieces published online for the first time ever, and as they say, the rest is history
I love getting published; it’s amazing. There is nothing like it. For me, there are two sides of being published. Yes, getting published is great because others notice you. You get validation for your years of hard work, and it all pays off because now others are seeing your work.
For me, though, writing is not about being famous or making the New York Times best-sellers list. Don’t get me wrong; that would be absolutely amazing, but for me, writing is about opening peoples’ minds on various topics that and starting conversations about these topics matter. The topics I write on matter because they are real and important.
I don’t expect people to like all my writing; that’s not my goal. When I write and get published, it is exciting, firstly because my writing is published and secondly because it moves the conversation to certain important topics. by me When I write a piece and put it out into the world, I’ve already started talking about the topic, but it’s up to the people reading my work to be willing and open-minded enough to choose to keep the conversation going and create change for the better for at least one person. That is the best reward of all for me.
I publish my work for a purpose: to help people. If you publish just because you want to get famous or think you’re going to be rich, you’re in the wrong line of work because you won’t get anywhere that way, and writing won’t be as rewarding. Find your purpose to write, and take your time to publish. Don’t rush it; it’s a process. Once you find out who you are as a writer, you might have just found your purpose to become published.
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
