Map Your Career
Where do you want to be in a year?
How to Get Away with Publishing ™ is a weekly newsletter and blog that provides emerging writers with practical advice from author Faylita Hicks.
3 reasons why now is the best time to decide what’s next for you!
You have plenty of time to set yourself up for a season of winning.
Everyone has been coming face to face with an unprecedented amount of time alone—and everything that comes with that. For some people, that means they are working more or spending much-needed time with loved ones, while the rest of us are mastering the fine art of cooking on Tik Tok.
Whatever you’re doing with your time, there’s no judgment here. I want to point out that we have NOT been expected to bow to the expectations of being present for social activities—for the first time in our lifetimes!
This means that the lovely Saturday night you previously used to hit up local open mics can now be set aside as “mapping” times. And trust me when I say dreaming up the future can be just as fun!
Unprecedented access to resources and nationwide or global communities.
You ever wanted to take one of those infamous essay workshops with Alexander Chee? Cool. Just keep an eye on the website and get a link to the online event.
Thinking about going on a book tour? Perfect timing! Just send an email, set a date, and download the app. Boom. Bookstore reading.
Wanna network with the publishing community? Great! Hop on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram and chat away.
The world is literally at your fingertips right now.
Equity, representation, and restitution are at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
As a queer Afro-Latinx writer who has been hanging around the publishing scene for nearly eighteen-years—there has never been a better time for people from underrepresented backgrounds to step to the front and be seen!
From Penguin Randomhouse to indie magazines, the literary field has been interrogated and found wanting. That means that there is an opportunity for emerging writers from underrepresented communities to TAKE UP SPACE.
Okay. But how do I map my career?
Pick a day in the upcoming week and book an appointment with your #1 client: you. Give yourself one-two hours.
On appointment day, take a seat in your creative space, and grab something to write with. Download my Prepare the Altar Questionnaire PDF and set your timer for 45-minutes. Answer as many of the questions as you can.
At 45-minutes, take a 10-minute break. When you come back, set your timer for another 45-minutes.
This is an exhaustive list designed to help you hone in on where you are in your career and identify where you want to be. I want you to try and be as specific and as honest as possible. The only person looking at this will be you—so go in!
If you answered all of the questions—hooray! If you haven’t—that’s okay too! Make a second appointment with yourself. On that day, you’ll review and refine your answers. If you need to do some research, do the research.
The goal is to be clear about your intentions for your career. We can’t get you there if you don’t know where you want to go!
Whoa. That was a lot. Now what?
In the next installment, I’ll tell you how to use the intel you’ve just gathered on yourself to manifest a three-month action plan that is bound to get you results.
For now, put the notes aside and use your free time to daydream about what kind of career you want for yourself.
Happy Writing!
Next week: My Three-Month Plan for Emerging Writers
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About the Author
Shayla Lawson is the author of A Speed Education in Human Being (Sawyer House Press) and the chapbook PANTONE (Miel Books). She grew up in the bluegrass state and has always carried a fondness for oceans. Follow the author on Twitter: @blueifiwasnt
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