Author Update #27

It has been a while since I had much to report on my writing, largely due to waiting on some responses and fluctuations. So, here’s the info dump on my writing projects underway:

1. I had written about my getting fired from the writing job because of bad business practices on their part. I deleted that post because I don’t wish to harbor negativity about that experience — what’s the use?
2. I did get an acceptance from Lucid Journal, a UCI-based first-gen publication hoping to make waves in the university literary magazine game. Unfortunately, the issue has not yet released, but is slated to release on Nov. 8th according to their Instagram page.
3. My tutoring job continues with difficulties reducing as I get more familiar with the role. By November/December, I should know if I will be continuing on to teach either reading or writing. I was told that they are very interested in getting a good writing teacher into their Claremont center, so I hope to have good news by the end of the year.
4. After submitting to a “long-shot pub” (for non-literary folks, this means a publication that you feel there’s no way you would get accepted at because of its excellent reputation and history) I got a rejection. It was a good one though because they asked for more immediately. Sadly, I have been so overwhelmed with all of the aspects of my life, that I haven’t been able to polish another piece for them. Still, I take it as confirmation that my writing is doing better.
5. I have been accepted to work as a reader, with the potential of an associate editor role, on an upcoming 10th annual issue at a literary magazine that I highly respect. This is an exciting development for my overall career, and I plan to bring as much to it as possible. Furthermore, it gives me the first opportunity to delve into the publishing world which will be indispensible in my career. I’m SO appreciative.
6. During September, I worked to heavily edit a piece that I’ve been developing since June 2023, regarding colonialism in San Diego through a lens of my own experiences and familial linkages to that history. My mentor through Antioch, a celebrated author of feminist memoir, had many wonderful compliments about it.
7. Coupling their incredible feedback with the aforementioned request for more work from the highly-respected magazine, I’m cautiously excited. I was tasked with improving my narrative while waiting to apply for CNF at UCR again. Armed with these minor wins, I am hopeful that my application this year will garner a phone call (this means immediate acceptance) versus an email (waitlist or rejection). Having optimism is, for me, very scary, but I want to try once more so that I can prove to those who’ve believed in me over the years that I can do it. I have something to bring to this world through my writing, and the rigorous intellectual environment of a residency graduate program would be the perfect place to allow it to grow and flourish. So, here’s hoping.