I find writing itself to be incredibly therapeutic.
Honestly, I work through problems I didn’t even know I had through my fiction. And to be clear, I am a fiction writer; none of my published work to date is autobiographical.
And yet I find myself returning to particular themes and struggles that are clearly emotionally resonant for me: the exploitation of women, pregnancy and mother-child relationships, bullying and abuse.
I Find Publishing Incredibly Anxiety-Producing!
That said, I find publishing incredibly anxiety-provoking. As a writer, I feel at once like, hey, everyone look at what I made! And then when people look at what I made, I’m like, oh my god, I can’t stand this attention!
Of course, a big part of not wanting people to pay attention is rooted in fear of rejection or, worse, shame, of having someone think, how dare she produce this and think it was worthwhile?
When you have that kind of fear, it can be really inhibiting and it can be difficult to create.
I cope with this anxiety in lots of different ways and one of them is to remember that my work is not going to be for everyone and that’s okay. It is for someone, though, and I have to put myself out there to make sure that the readers who need or want my work will find it.
How I Get My Head Straight as a Writer
The other major thing I do is to run most mornings.
This is how I get my head straight.
Some mornings I wake up roiling, but by the time I get back from my jog, I’m okay. Crucially, I run outdoors.
The only weather that can really stop me is ice. Otherwise, I gear up and get outdoors.
This is so important to me in part because I need to see the trees.
I’ve been reading about this lately, in terms of involuntary attention, and it turns it out that just being around trees improves our mental and physical health.
It is wonderful to discover that researchers are affirming what I’ve found to be true personally.
Teaching at a Community College is Incredibly Affirming
Community Colleges are democracy’s colleges.
I feel so lucky to have had the good fortune to have established a career talking about writing and literature with truly diverse groups of people who have such various life experiences and perspectives.
I feel that the U.S. community college is an increasingly rare and precious site where people who otherwise might not be spending time together—who in many ways are kept apart in our society, whether that’s because of racial segregation or class-based differences or political differences or age or ability—get to work alongside each other and support each other as they pursue their goals.
And these goals, too, are diverse, but are unfailingly worthy: my students are pursuing knowledge and also developing skills and expertise. Many are on the path to upward mobility, and many are seeking to improve the lives of their families and communities, as well as to make our world itself a better place.
Teaching at a community college is incredibly affirming.
To Achieve My Writing Goals, I Have Become Somewhat Inflexible
The reality is, in order to achieve my writing goals, I have become somewhat inflexible.
Like many people, I have a ton of important commitments: to my job, my family, and to my own health and well-being. As a result, I feel as though my partner and I run a tight ship. We have routines and schedules that we are very careful not to disrupt.
For example, we take turns exercising in the morning. One of us exercises while the other gets breakfast ready and the kids up and out. And, as our social lives have started to return to something-like normal, I have to be selective with which invitations I say yes to.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more aware of the people who really give me life. The people who, when you leave their company, you’re smiling and laughing and feeling energized. I prioritize spending time with these people—and try to avoid those folks that, I find, usually have the opposite effect on me.
Of course, this is also about boundaries.
I’ve become very good at being aware of my needs and being pretty straightforward about them—and my true friends understand that. My friend Laura laughs at me because she used to stop by my office to chat and after a certain amount of time I might abruptly cut off the visit, telling her she had to go. She knows me well enough to know that I still love her and to respect that I needed to get back to work.
Especially When Writing at Home, I Go To Foods
As you know, writing can be pretty sedentary. I also find that, especially when I am writing at home, I go to foods—and not necessarily health foods—as rewards for my hard work. So, I’ll write for an hour and then get a cup of coffee and, if it’s in the house, something sweet to go with it.
Now that things are opening up again, I am hopeful about working in different places—the library, my office at school, a coffee shop—in order to sort of break some of the habits that I’m not crazy about.
On days when I don’t run, I make sure to move in some other way. Sometimes I’ll do a half an hour online barre class or I’ll ride my stationary bike. My partner teases me that riding the stationary bike isn’t a workout—and I agree, it’s definitely not HITT. I sort of pedal and scroll or read or watch something.
But I like that I’m getting my heartrate up (even if only a little bit) and that I’m moving. I love my stationary bike!
(Note from Colleen: A large 2019 review showed that indoor cycling “may improve aerobic capacity, blood pressure, lipid profile, and body composition.” So writers, ride away!)
What’s Worked for Me with Book Marketing
I find it hard to tell what has “worked” [for book marketing] in the sense that you put a lot out there—you’re emailing and tweeting and posting and placing articles—and you really don’t have a sense of what “moves the needle,” but I definitely noticed good engagement with giveaways on Goodreads and Instagram.
I also feel really good about the connections I’ve made with writers in various online groups—mostly Facebook and Twitter. These are companies I don’t love, but I’ve found great support in these spaces as well as opportunities to promote my work.
Advice for a Young Writer: Appreciate the Flow
I would congratulate them. I think a creative life can be a really beautiful one. I would advise them to appreciate the flow, the experience of getting lost in your work. It’s truly, I believe, a key to happiness.
* * *
Sara Hosey is the author of two young adult novels, Iphigenia Murphy, called “one of 2020’s best” and Imagining Elsewhere, which Kirkus describes as an “interesting take on power, bullying, and fear,” as well as a novella, Great Expectations.
Sara grew up in Queens, an area that might be described as an “urban suburbia,” and has lived in Washington, D.C. and in Wisconsin, where she once stayed, for a while, on an island in the middle of a lake, with only her cat for company.
She is now back in New York, where she lives with other, less-adventurous cats, a dog, and her family. For more information on Sara and her work, please see her website and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.
Featured author photo by Mike Vorrasi.
Imagining Elsewhere: Being a better person can be a lot harder than it looks.
It’s 1988, and former bully Astrid is forced to move from Queens to the small town of Elsewhere. Although this town is totally weird, Astrid sees the move as a way to reinvent herself. That is, until Candi—the teenage tyrant with supernatural powers who rules Elsewhere—decides she wants Astrid to be her new bestie.
Having to choose between the perks and safety of being the Queen B’s best friend and the desire to be a better person could literally cost Astrid her life. As Astrid and her new friends begin to dig into the dark history of Elsewhere and the source of Candi’s powers, they form a dangerous plan to resist Candi’s compulsion and to escape Elsewhere, or else be doomed to live under Candi’s rule forever.
Available at CamCat Books, Amazon, and wherever books are sold.
Iphigenia Murphy: Running away from home hasn’t solved Iphigenia Murphy’s problems. In fact, it’s only a matter of time before they’ll catch up with her.
Iffy is desperate to find her long-lost mother, and, so far, in spite of the need to forage for food and shelter and fend off an unending number of creeps, living in Queens’ Forest Park has felt safer than living at home. But as the summer days get shorter, it all threatens to fall apart.
A novel that explores the sustaining love of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and the indelible bond of family, Iphigenia Murphy captures the gritty side of 1992 Queens, the most diverse borough in New York City. Just like Iffy, the friends she makes in the park—Angel, a stray dog with the most ridiculous tail; Corinne, a young trans woman who is escaping her own abusive situation; and Anthony, a former foster kid from upstate whose parents are addicts—each seek a place where they feel at home.
Whether fate or coincidence has brought them together, within this community of misfits Iffy can finally be herself, but she still has to face the effects of abandonment and abuse—and the possibility that she may be pregnant. During what turns out to be a remarkable journey to find her mother, will Iffy ultimately discover herself?
Available at Blackstone Publishing, Amazon, and wherever books are sold.