Writing Through Rejection: Roxane Gay on How to Get Published

Getting published as a writer doesn't require fancy connections—just ask Roxane Gay. In this video, the New York Times bestselling author shares down-to-earth, straightforward advice on how to submit your writing to publishers. Learn her tricks for writing through rejection, finding new outlets for your essays, and catching the attention of editors (even if you've never been published before). And for more writing tips, join Gay on Skillshare for Creative Writing: Crafting Personal Essays with Impact: https://skl.sh/3usjG3q

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HOW TO GET PUBLISHED QUICK JUMP MENU

00:00 We All Start in the Same Place
00:22 Considering What Other Work You're Reading
00:50 Finding Publications for Your Work
01:49 Should You Pay to Submit Your Work?
02:22 Finding Submission Guidelines
02:49 Writing Your Cover Letter and/or Writer Bio
03:50 Dealing with Rejection (It's Normal!)
04:54 Revising Your Work

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ABOUT THE SKILLSHARE CLASS

Everyone has a story to tell. Join best-selling author Roxane Gay to find your story, craft your truth, and write to make a difference. This one-hour masterclass is an insightful, inspiring look at how to transform your story into a powerful personal essay. Learn how to craft your personal voice with wider context—and write to connect with the people you want to reach.

By sharing her meditative, thoughtful approach to the craft of writing, Roxane invites you to take yourself seriously as a writer, empowering you to share your passion, take a stand, and make an impact on the world around you. Packed with practical guidance, actionable tactics, and example essays, 8 video lessons will take you from first idea to a final, publication-ready work. Throughout, Roxane will help you:

Find a specific purpose for telling your story
Connect your work to larger conversations and timely themes
Conduct crucial research to support your work
Navigate personal memories to write your truth
Write and revise your final work
Submit your work for publication

Plus, the class includes a downloadable worksheet to support your ongoing creative nonfiction writing practice, as well as links to additional resources.

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ABOUT SKILLSHARE

Skillshare is an online education platform with thousands of classes taught by the world’s best practitioners. Come take a class on illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing, crafts, and more. To get started, sign up for a free trial here: https://www.skillshare.com/signup

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ABOUT ROXANE GAY

Roxane Gay is a writer, professor, and editor known for her honest, thoughtful writing on race, gender identity, culture, and more. Her writing has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many other publications. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times best-selling Bad Feminist, the nationally best-selling Difficult Women, and the New York Times best-selling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects.

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MORE WRITING RESOURCES

Turn everyday situations into compelling short stories with the help of writer Yiyun Li, whose Skillshare Original Writing Character-Driven Short Stories offers creative strategies and tips for writers of all levels: https://skl.sh/3F95rW4

In Writing Fiction: 5 Exercises to Craft a Compelling Plot, learn how to banish writer's block and create a riveting storyline with actionable strategies from writer Lisa Ko: https://skl.sh/3D4Evou

Great pieces of writing don't always start out that way. In Ali Novak's Skillshare Original, Writing and Editing: Polishing a Manuscript, learn go-to tips for revising and strengthening your work: https://skl.sh/39TacVn