So much of writing for me is sitting my ass down and writing, even when I don't want to. I have really good discipline. I can write for fifteen hours straight sometimes, and then revise and edit for days and weeks afterwards. The hardest part of writing I can do and have done since my first workshop back in 2002. The other crucial part of writing for me involves psychological and emotional maintenance (aka self-care), which is just as important. Normally, self-care for me means not only exercising, meditating, getting enough sleep, eating well, and going on dates with LB every week, but also ignoring my own negative thinking and putting myself out there again and again (even when it feels POINTLESS) and not getting discouraged (even when NOTHING is happening), which has been particularly difficult this summer.
Read MoreIdeas for the Future
I may rage against the machine when a particular rejection stings, but I'm the kind of dude that gets back up (literally) the next day and tries another way to make it work. Writing, after all, is the one thing I'm great at. Resilience is another. And Ima figure out how to get my novels in the hands of my future readers because that's who I am.
In the next month, I'll be sending AMNESIA to several indie presses that I think might be receptive (among others, FC2 and Curbside Splendor) as well to a few laser-targeted literary agents who represent multicultural literary fiction. One of them will be Zadie Smith's agent, because of the obvious similarities between The Amnesia of Junebugs and White Teeth.
With a clean break from Kaya, I have the power to (re)consider all my options, not just the obvious ones. I have the possibility of finding an even larger audience and a much more supportive editorial department. I have the right to try again and find the right press for my manuscripts as a hapa writer of fiction.
I may be bruised, but I'm still standing. I'm still going to make this work.