Huzzah! The end is near(ish).
This semester is, indeed, my final one in the program, and it is still difficult for me to accept that my time at Bay Path is coming to an end. There were moments when I worried that I would never finish. I started on this journey to an MFA at the beginning of the pandemic, which at the time seemed as though it was going to be a temporary thing that required temporary changes to my and my family’s life. Boy, was that assumption wrong! It has been a rollercoaster of a time professionally and personally as I’ve made my way through the program, and I’m so very grateful that I have made it through and that things have finally evened out a bit. The thesis that I am finishing with now is not the thesis I had envisioned when I started. (This is likely true of nearly everyone, I’m aware.) I had hoped that the version I submitted at the end of the program would be one I could then use as a book. That was The Plan. Alas, that is not the path that I find myself on, and it is my dearest hope that no one outside of my cohort and professors ever read the things that I shared in my thesis. That being said, I also don’t think that I could’ve written any other thesis than the one I did. Though my work here has not been work that I would feel comfortable seeing the light of day via publishing, I do think it was essential, unavoidable work. I had these stories inside of me and if I didn’t get them out, they would’ve stuck around haunting me for who knows how long, perhaps keeping me from the business of ever writing the things I really do want to be writing. Now, with these pieces of my story outside of myself, I feel more able than ever to begin writing the kinds of things I actually would love to make their way out into the world. I cannot reference the conclusion of my internship as I have asked to continue in it for a while so I can see some projects through. However, I can say that it has been a blessing and that my time working for Bookshop has made me feel hopeful about the future, as well as reaffirming the love and admiration I felt for the company prior to my joining up in my small way. And the completion of my time here at Bay Path means I can get started on the plans I’ve laid out in my Writer’s Contract. For my contract, I developed different goals for each of the following three years that nevertheless were connected. The first year post-MFA’s goals are as follows: I want to publish a book of essays, launch and maintain a weekly Substack, grow to over 200K followers on social media, and continue working for the magazines and websites I already have relationships with. The book of essays is the major work for this year. I would like it to be fifteen essays and plan to publish it myself, likely using IngramSpark. Year two’s goals expand on the prior year’s goals. My major work for this year will hopefully be a fiction novel of more lighthearted fare than my other works, possibly something genre. My second year out I hope to rediscover the joy in writing. In addition to my novel, I hope to continue growing my Substack and to start attending more in-person events. As for social media, I hope to grow to over 300k during this year and expand my presence on video platforms. I am determined to make short-form videos my jam! I would also love to broaden the number of magazines and websites I write for during this year. Finally, the third year after my MFA is the one in which I hope the real magic will happen. I would like this to be the year that I write a major work that is capital G “Great.” While I plan on releasing my first two books post-program myself because I think it makes the most sense for me, this particular book I would love to see accepted by a traditional publisher. (I’d love it to be WVU Press, as I went there as an undergrad and have been really impressed by the things they have been putting out of late.) During this time, I’d like to expand into audio, as well. A separate thesis idea I had would make a great podcast, and I think I’d enjoy writing for that form. Finally, I hope to make it to half a million followers by the end of this year. A girl can dream! 😉
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