Really good questions to ask! I approached mine a little differently—I wanted to devote two years entirely to writing and to get as good as I could during that time. As for outcomes, I studied poetry and to date I've made $30 on my poems. They've been barely published. But I've also been working as a professional writer in just about every conceivable manner since completing my master's, so writing's been paying my bills.
I was already half-jaded with the publishing industry before my master's, but the program just confirmed my suspicions. Nothing wrong with the publishing industry—I'm grateful for the books they continue to provide—but it's just not for me. Personal opinions broaden greatly here but I think the future of poetry is not going to be decided by literary journals and publishing houses. I think it's going to be decided somewhere outside of institutions, much like most of its history. I could very much be wrong about that, but outside the fence is where I'd want to play anyway.
What I might add is that MFAs are great in providing a lattice from which you can structure what you're trying to learn. Some people really prefer that over being self-taught. That may be a benefit but it's only one aspect of what should be a multi-faceted decision, as you pointed out.
James, thank you so much for reading and sharing your MFA experience! I think if you're able to make it work, dedicating a couple years solely to writing is a wonderful idea. And that's a good point about the degree being something that can help you branch out into what you want to learn. I'm not sure I even knew what types of literature I most wanted to study or get better at writing when I was taking MFA classes, so that may have also played into not feeling it was benefitting me in the ways I imagined it would. I was so pre-occupied with just completing my first novel and navigating the publishing industry.
I'm happy to hear you're making a living from your writing, even if it isn't from the type of writing you most enjoy. I'm in the same boat as a copywriter. It's not the kind of writing I dreamed I'd get paid for, but I'm still grateful to be getting paid to write at all. The copywriting and copyediting opportunities have immensely contributed to my growth as a fiction writer; it's having that daily practice in any kind of wordsmithing and creative thought. There are a lot of aspects of corporate culture that I don't enjoy, but I always say my worst day writing ad content is still better than an average day doing something else - like something I get no joy out of and that doesn't further my other goals.
I can relate to having a preference to "play outside the fence." Interesting prediction you make about the future of poetry being outside institutions - because you're correct - historically, big splashes in poetry have been made by outsiders from counter culture movements. And yet, at least from my perspective, independent writers seem less accepted on the whole than other types of independent artists, like indie musicians and filmmakers, and there's still quite a lot of tension between trad publishing and the indie publishing world. Some trad publishers really don't want indie publishing to exist. A couple reps from Penguin Random House said as much at a writing conference I attended in Atlanta last year. There was definitely some grumbling in the room about their comments after the panel ended. Knowing there are industry elites who'd like to silence indie authors just adds to the appeal of being one for me. In a future post, I'd like to explore all the pros and cons of being an indie author.
Really good questions to ask! I approached mine a little differently—I wanted to devote two years entirely to writing and to get as good as I could during that time. As for outcomes, I studied poetry and to date I've made $30 on my poems. They've been barely published. But I've also been working as a professional writer in just about every conceivable manner since completing my master's, so writing's been paying my bills.
I was already half-jaded with the publishing industry before my master's, but the program just confirmed my suspicions. Nothing wrong with the publishing industry—I'm grateful for the books they continue to provide—but it's just not for me. Personal opinions broaden greatly here but I think the future of poetry is not going to be decided by literary journals and publishing houses. I think it's going to be decided somewhere outside of institutions, much like most of its history. I could very much be wrong about that, but outside the fence is where I'd want to play anyway.
What I might add is that MFAs are great in providing a lattice from which you can structure what you're trying to learn. Some people really prefer that over being self-taught. That may be a benefit but it's only one aspect of what should be a multi-faceted decision, as you pointed out.
James, thank you so much for reading and sharing your MFA experience! I think if you're able to make it work, dedicating a couple years solely to writing is a wonderful idea. And that's a good point about the degree being something that can help you branch out into what you want to learn. I'm not sure I even knew what types of literature I most wanted to study or get better at writing when I was taking MFA classes, so that may have also played into not feeling it was benefitting me in the ways I imagined it would. I was so pre-occupied with just completing my first novel and navigating the publishing industry.
I'm happy to hear you're making a living from your writing, even if it isn't from the type of writing you most enjoy. I'm in the same boat as a copywriter. It's not the kind of writing I dreamed I'd get paid for, but I'm still grateful to be getting paid to write at all. The copywriting and copyediting opportunities have immensely contributed to my growth as a fiction writer; it's having that daily practice in any kind of wordsmithing and creative thought. There are a lot of aspects of corporate culture that I don't enjoy, but I always say my worst day writing ad content is still better than an average day doing something else - like something I get no joy out of and that doesn't further my other goals.
I can relate to having a preference to "play outside the fence." Interesting prediction you make about the future of poetry being outside institutions - because you're correct - historically, big splashes in poetry have been made by outsiders from counter culture movements. And yet, at least from my perspective, independent writers seem less accepted on the whole than other types of independent artists, like indie musicians and filmmakers, and there's still quite a lot of tension between trad publishing and the indie publishing world. Some trad publishers really don't want indie publishing to exist. A couple reps from Penguin Random House said as much at a writing conference I attended in Atlanta last year. There was definitely some grumbling in the room about their comments after the panel ended. Knowing there are industry elites who'd like to silence indie authors just adds to the appeal of being one for me. In a future post, I'd like to explore all the pros and cons of being an indie author.