Thoughts

First of all, I will address what most of you are thinking–– writing as a career. It is definitely a risk, but in my opinion, one worth taking. While everyone around me was focusing on careers that guaranteed monetary success, I decided to follow another path. I chose Creative Writing as my major because it was something I loved doing. If you could turn your passion into your work, why not do it? If I had to work every day for the remainder of my life, what would bring me the most happiness: a job I dislike yet ensures financial stability, or to wake up and do what I love–– writing–– for the rest of my life? Besides, I am a firm believer that if you put your heart and effort into something, then nothing can stop you. [My] truth is, if you are following what you are passionate about, you will find a way to make a living out of it.

As a junior in college, I wanted to have an early start in publishing. I knew that I could submit my book to editorials, which I did, but most of them take months to get back. Personally, I believed that with everything going on in the world and with how uncertain life has become in the past couple of months, it was best not to wait.

It's a scary thing to self-publish my first book. I was terrified that people might not like it or invalidate my work because it was self-published. However, I recently heard someone say that self-publishing was not failure but rather believing in your work strongly enough to bet on it. If we think about it, most authors begin from nothing. Rupi Kaur, one of my favorite contemporary poets, self-published her first book during her college years and she was later signed with Andrews McMeel Publishing. Now, she has become one of the most famous poets of our days. I am not saying the success is guaranteed, but it is certainly proof that self-publishing is not an excuse to feel less of a writer.

Process

I have been writing for years in my own journal. I was the kind of person who feared sharing my poetry–– it made me feel vulnerable. However, less than a year ago, I opened an Instagram account where I began to post my work. It took a lot of courage for me to take this decision because, as I said, I have always been more reserved.

Instagram Post@c.r.words

During summer, I decided to recollect all of my favorite poems and start working on a book. First, I reread my poems, selected my favorite ones, and worked on editing them. The hardest part of the process was definitely choosing which ones to keep and which ones to throw away (for now).

I tried not to focus too much on the title of the book because I had brainstormed for weeks and hadn't come up with anything I absolutely loved and that it was meaningful to me. One day, while I was editing the poems I came across a piece I had written a while ago titled "Metamorphosis." It was then that I realized that it was the perfect title for my work. Through my poems, I narrated the process of growing from brokenness. Isn't that what metamorphosis truly is: to learn how to fly and starting from the ground?

Back cover of MetamorphosisBy Candela Rivero

Once I had found a theme and a title, I had to arrange the poems in a way that portrayed the metamorphosis I was talking about. So, I decided to divide my book into two sections: Crawling and Flying. Each section would be a step toward personal growth.

When I had a draft of my book, I sent it to two of my friends for them to read. I believe that is always good to have an outsider's perspective. Sometimes, it can be hard to find spelling or grammatical errors in your own work simply because you know how it is supposed to be read. And I was right. After I received their feedback, I worked on the last polishing touches.

The last part was the cover. As a writer, I don't have a lot of experience with digital art but I knew a friend who did. She was kind enough to work on the cover of my book and bring my ideas to life.

After gathering everything I needed, I checked Amazon KDP and its formatting requirements. It took me several days to finish formatting my book as Amazon required, but once it was ready, I published it.

Here's a link to my first poetry book if you want to check it out!

Advice

You don't have to be a writer. This advice will help any kind of aspiring artist!

Start by sharing your work. Don't be scared of letting others read your work. Start by showing your friends and family. It would help to get feedback and a perspective of how your work is perceived. Then, you can start by posting your pieces on social media: a blog, Instagram, Twitter, etc. In my case, I decided to open a separate Instagram account from my personal one. Just start building an audience!

Stop waiting for the "perfect moment."A lot of times we talk about the future–– "I would like to be a published author... or a known artist." Well, the truth is that unless you start somewhere, no one is going to come knocking at your door offering to help you become who you want to be. It took me a while to realize this, but I learned to make the most out of every opportunity. Whatever your goal may be, start approaching it. You could be submitting your work to a local magazine, start sharing your work in open mics or social media––just do what feels right to you! Own the moment and make it perfect instead of waiting for the "perfect moment."