So, You Want to be a Writer!

It’s been said that at the heart of every publication and method of distribution is the author. This person, let’s say it’s you, has had a dream to share a story – their story – with the world. Your story may be presented in any genre and subgenre, but the point is, you have worked, sought out publishing possibilities, and finally, finally found a way to realize your dream of having a physical or digital book (or both) in the hands of readers.

“Through some mysterious process, the writer’s imagination has come alive on the page. Stories and poems have been born, memoirs, movies, and plays. All these literary arts make their way, however grand or humbly, to those who eagerly await them” (PWRI 4917 WK 3 Reading). But how do you, as the budding new writer, realize this dream?

Confession… I haven’t yet accomplished this goal, so I’m not entirely speaking from experience. But I’m working on it. Four years ago, I made the venture to my very first writer’s conference presented annually by the American Writer’s & Writing Programs, also known as AWP. The year of 2020 initially expected to receive a minimum of 12,000 registrants, 2000 presenters, and 500 readings, panels, and craft lectures (PWRI 4917 WK 3 Reading) at the AWP conference. But as we all know, COVID-19 had other plans.

Still, while attendance achieved a mere one-fourth to one-third of what was expected, the writing conference took place; I was there in San Antonio, Texas, eager to learn all that the reduced AWP conference hoped to offer budding young writers. And in a way, I was kind of glad that my first writer’s conference was not filled with the mass of people who normally swarmed the event. I was able to talk with and discover independent presses, academic journals, and representatives of graduate writing and publishing programs that I never knew existed.

A place for every interest!

Did you know that there are journals entirely devoted to creative nonfiction? I didn’t – then. Given that creative nonfiction was a key focus at the University of Iowa, from which I was soon to graduate, discovering these journals gave me a huge sense of hope and purpose. There were publications entirely dedicated to narrative truths out there waiting for my submissions, like Hippocampus, Fourth Genre, and River Teeth Journal. In addition, I spoke with chapbook-only publishers, like The Cupboard, who offered contests that I could enter. What!?

Unfortunately, many of the planned presenters had canceled, but there were still some very informative sessions led by small publishing houses and panels of experienced authors talking about how they started and realized their dreams of publication. The AWP conference offered me a picture of possibilities that once seemed fictional.

In my opinion, attending a writer’s conference, like that offered by AWP, is an excellent way for aspiring authors to learn some of the ins and outs – and options – of getting their words into the hands of readers. And bonus! If you want to attend the AWP Conference and are an AWP member who is an active student in an undergraduate or graduate degree program, you can attend the AWP conference at a greatly reduced student price; the AWP 2024 student conference rate is only $65, compared to $300 for non-student AWP members or $385 for non-student, non-AWP members.