About ‘Journey to Publication’

I started Journey to Publication for two reasons:

1. To show other writers that every journey is different. A lot of times when I was beginning to write, I thought I would take the path of another writer, usually one I admired. What I’ve learned over years of writing is that everyone’s path — even every story’s path — is unique.
2. To debunk the myth of the writing process. I’d like to put to rest the notion that writers are just doing yoga and burning incense while humming along to the latest Tuvan track on their iPod when inspiration strikes and abracadabra! A story falls out. Or a poem. An essay. A novel, even.

I can’t count how many times someone has said to me: I’d love to write but I just don’t have the talent for it. My response: Writing is like a muscle you have to exercise. You wouldn’t run a marathon without training for it. You have to practice. You have to learn and make adjustments. You have to fall and get up and run again.

I hope that by reading these “stories behind the stories” people will come away with a better understanding of how hard we writers work to make our stories feel effortless.

A couple of logistical things:

I contact writers, so — nothing unsolicited at the moment

I will do this for as long as there’s interest. If there’s never any interest, well then. It was good while it lasted.

Thanks for reading.

Gwen