Karolina Gajdeczka - Working on a Literary Career

            I’m going to fill you in on a little secret.  Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve held the idea close in my heart that I could pursue a career in the literary field.  But until recently, that’s where that dream stayed—close in my heart.  Now, I’ve finally come out of my shell and admitted: I want to make my career in the literary community.  This was a pretty big deal for me to cast out into the open.  Like any other career, perhaps more than some other careers, this requires dedication, a little patience and a leap of faith.

            I’m not going to lie—I get overwhelmed pretty easily, though most of the time I am able to handle it pretty well.  Trying to get my foot in the door in the literary world where I had no real connections and only a growing interest at first seemed really daunting.  In the past year, I’ve taken some baby steps and some big strides in pursuing this dream.  Let me tell you about them…

            Now, I’m naturally a pretty shy person, so even at the mention of the word “networking,” I used to turn and run in the opposite direction.  Despite my fears, I’ve really pushed myself into networking this year, and it’s the biggest thing I’ve been able to do for myself.  I have met some really amazing people along the way!  Okay, perhaps I oversimplified it—I didn’t really “push” myself so much as “ease” myself into it—but either way, I’ve been able to get my foot in the door and make new connections.

            In February of 2011, I went to my first writer’s conference—the AWP Conference in DC—and if you’ve never been to an AWP Conference, let me tell you, it’s huge.  I got pretty intimidated by the crowds, and didn’t use the opportunity to network too much, but I learned a lot at the workshops and was less scared to go to another conference.  That April, I went to Conversations and Connections, where I was a bit less intimidated and asked questions during the workshops. There, I was also able to reconnect with Zachary Benavidez, the Editor-in-Chief of Potomac Review, with whom I had taken a creative writing class.

            By the time I went to the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference, I was ready.  I asked questions, chatted with other writers between workshops, and even followed up with people I met—in fact, that’s how I met the wonderful Ethelbert Miller, who has since graciously offered advice and other connections.

            Through my networking, I was also able to get an internship at Potomac Review for this semester.  At the internship, I’ve been able to read published as well as rejected pieces, and organize incoming submissions.  I even read over and edited the upcoming issue of Potomac Review.  In addition to all of this, I contribute to the Potomac Review blog.  Most recently, I wrote a short blog post called “Later, Rinse, Repeat: Revision Steps” about the revision aspect of the writing process.  That’s just the stuff I’ve accomplished through networking.  

            Last year, I joined the staff of Lighted Corners, the student-run literary magazine at Mount St. Mary’s University and through hard work became an associate editor.  This year, I became the editor of Lighted Corners.  I have been in charge of most aspects of production, including organizing meetings and deadlines, selecting editorial staff, organizing submissions and the selection process, and delegating and checking editorial work.  I’ve also worked very closely with my Art Editor to establish an overall aesthetic, a design and layout aesthetic, select paper quality, fonts, art editors, and artwork.  This experience has taught me about just how much work and how many decisions go into magazine production, but I’m so happy to be a part of promoting literature in our small community that the work is worth it.

            “Okay, enough about the networking and literary magazines—what about writing?" you ask.  Funny you should mention that.  Of course, as an English major and creative writing minor, I do a lot of reading and writing for school, but between schoolwork, internships, and finding time for family and friends, it’s really hard to find time to read or write just for myself.  So I set a goal for myself: every day I need to get up an hour or two early and write, and every other week I read a new book.

            So, maybe I have not been able to keep exactly to my strict goals.  After staying up late to finish school assignments and already waking up early for class, waking up extra early to write is not always possible.  And yet I’ve still managed to fit it into my schedule where I can, and am writing much more than I used to.  How did I do that?  Well, honestly, like the networking, I’ve just had to stop talking about it and do it.  One thing that has helped me, though, is realizing that a draft can be far from perfect—it’s much easier to perfect your writing in revision than in a first draft—which has helped take some of the pressure off.  I’ve also been reminding myself that writing in different styles, whether for classes, the Potomac Review blog, or the school newspaper, still develops my writing skills, even if it’s not the brilliant poetry and fiction I want to be writing.

            Scary as it has been to go out on a limb for my once-secret dream, the experience has been amazing, and I’m already doing so much to move it forward.  Now I just have to keep on going to see where all this will take me.