Before and After the Book Deal. Courtney Maum

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СКАЧАТЬ sexism, and other content that readers could find offensive.

      We Need Diverse Books is a great resource for writers and readers questioning the representation of diverse experiences and characters in children’s literature, and until recently, Writing in the Margins maintained a database of sensitivity readers that was pulled down after the writer (and site administrator), Justina Ireland, saw many of their readers being mistreated or not being paid for the work that they took on. In an article on Medium about her decision to stop maintaining the database, Justina writes, “I still believe that Sensitivity Reading can be a valuable tool for those authors who have done the due diligence and have worked hard to analyze their own place within systems of oppression. But for those who see diversity as a way to make a quick buck, it is one more tool to keep the voices of centered identities the loudest in publishing.” The writer and advocate Jennifer N. Baker runs a podcast called Minorities in Publishing in which she discusses the lack of diversity in literature with book publishing professionals. It’s an indispensable resource both for people writing outside of their own identities and for emerging writers from marginalized communities seeking industry advice.

      The Children’s Book Council also has a helpful list of resources for people interested in representing (or reading about) experiences outside their own backgrounds, and an Internet search will bring you the writers and editors offering sensitivity-reading services online.

Am I wasting my time and money in this MFA program?

      A simple Internet search will prove that there’s a lot of hand-wringing over the value of a Master of Fine Arts degree. I personally didn’t get one, but most of my colleagues did, or are in the process of earning one now. In addition to the trove of online articles devoted to an MFA’s pros and cons, there’s also the informative book, MFA vs NYC, edited by Chad Harbach (a writer and one of the founders of n + 1), which is a great resource for those questioning life with (or without) an MFA.

      In my own non-MFA-having opinion, whether you go for this advanced degree or not should depend on your budget and your long-term career goals. Can you afford not only to attend an MFA program, but to go without income while you’re studying? If you intend to teach, can you survive on an adjunct’s salary for several years? (Really? Are you sure?) If you already know that you want to teach in some capacity, it’s wise to pursue an MFA because most academic employers will require that you have one. If you want an MFA because of the prestige attached to it and the certainty that this particular degree will land you a book deal, let’s have a come-to-Jesus talk.

      “I really do try to disabuse my students of the notion that the MFA is this magic bullet,” says author Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, who teaches at both the graduate and undergrad level, although he doesn’t have an MFA himself. “It’s not the MFA that’s going to get your book published or bring you teaching opportunities, it’s also the publications. You have to write, hustle, submit, network, go to readings, make contacts, be a nice person who people want to help. In a way, you’re always going to have your own self-directed MFA.”

      Although Saïd isn’t self-conscious about not having an advanced degree, it does trouble him how often he is asked by his own students—MFA candidates—whether they’re wasting their time with one. Usually, Saïd responds that an MFA is useful, but it’s not a one-way ticket to anything: not only does it not guarantee a book deal, it doesn’t even mean you’ll write a book.

      “There’s this idea that people have that they’re going to write a book during their MFA program,” Saïd says. “But you’re probably not going to write a book in two years. At some point, you’re going to have to have a day job. You’re going to have to learn how to carve out time to write,” a skill that Saïd feels should be discussed and privileged over the inspiration model of writing, which he once subscribed to himself.

      “I had no discipline,” Saïd remembers of his years as a young writer. “I didn’t know that you needed some kind of schedule. No one ever said to me, it’s not about inspiration; you have to sit down. You have to write. I spent a long time just walking around thinking, Well! I’m uninspired.”

      At the end of the day, Saïd believes a solid work ethic is the thing that will allow you to write a book and/or acquire teaching experience, not an MFA. This is something that the writer Cara Blue Adams agrees with, a self-described “cautious” person who “always has a backup plan behind the backup plan.”

      Although Cara does have an MFA (from the University of Arizona), after college she worked at a law firm, an experience she credits with helping her understand that she could—nay, deserved—to earn a healthy wage. “I considered adjuncting at various points,” says Cara, “but then I looked at what it paid.” Cara optioned to pursue a career as an editor instead, accepting a position at The Southern Review, where she worked for five years. This decision was deliberate; Cara felt certain it would serve her to be skilled across multiple disciplines, instead of just an MFA graduate who wanted to write a book. “Even during my MFA program, I tried to do as much as I could to gain professional skills in a range of areas,” Cara explains. “I was thinking of my career more holistically: How could I be part of the creative and intellectual community without necessarily teaching? I edited the literary magazine, I ran a reading series, I started a professional development series.”

      Cara was publishing short stories during all of this, and by the time she joined The Southern Review, agents were knocking at her inbox. But she managed the unthinkable: she didn’t sign with an agent right away.

      For starters, Cara didn’t have a complete manuscript yet, but she also felt nourished by her job at the magazine. “One thing an editorial position afforded me was the luxury to not have a hard deadline and to be able to write the book that I wanted to write,” she says.

      In short, an MFA—even at the most prestigious program—is a privilege you must rise to meet. It isn’t going to do the work for you, it isn’t going to write the book for you, it isn’t even going to make the contacts you’ll need professionally unless you organize yourself into becoming the empathetic, curious, and supportive literary citizen that people want to see succeed.

      If you feel confident enough in your savings (or someone else’s savings) to see yourself through the limited job market that greets most MFA graduates, you’re a lucky person. Take that acceptance letter, and go. But if you can’t afford a life off salary while you’re in grad school, if you would need a loan to attend, and/or you’re not in a position to be accepted to a fully funded program, it’s not super wise to pursue an MFA. Or at least, not a traditional one. Or at least, not right now.

      It’s worth noting here that teaching experience is crucial to your success on the academic market, so if you do apply to MFA programs, consider those that give equal teaching experience to their students. First-year candidates in such programs will generally find themselves at the head of a freshman composition or creative writing class, while second- and third-year students can tackle subjects further afield such as literary journalism, travel writing, or experimental nonfiction. Some programs will even give their first-year grad students a crash course in assignment and syllabus creation to ready them for the challenges of teaching and time management. Regardless of the size of the class you’re leading—or the topic—these early teaching gigs are worth their time and effort. With each semester, you’ll be acquiring the confidence you need to craft syllabi and lectures when the stakes are higher (i.e., when you’re doing a demo class in front of an academic selection committee during a campus visit). After all, you want to know you can bike before the training wheels come off!

Is there a world in which I can teach without an MFA?

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