When you’re a college, there are so many opportunities to put yourself out there. Most people stick to joining a sorority or fraternity, joining clubs on campus; some might present research or present at conferences. But even less people consider publishing their works in MSU’s own literary magazine Voices.

As an editor of Voices for the past two years, I’ve heard a lot of people say they didn’t submit because they didn’t think their written work was good enough. Don’t think that this is in any way true. Writing, especially fiction, is subjective. Voices has several editors to help even this out, as we comment on what we did or didn’t like in a piece. That being said, there is always someone who is going to like some part of your prose and/or poetry – and someone else won’t like some part of your work. You have to take the good with the bad. But it is important to take that criticism to improve your writing.  

Submitting your work to Voices or The Wichitan can be nerve-wracking if you have never done it before. Letting everyone read your work in a creative writing class can be nerve-wracking. I think it’s this way because you are putting yourself out there.

If you know me, you probably know I have a fear of public speaking. Yet I have presented at a conference and presented at the Eureca forum last spring. It’s scary to put yourself out there – even a little bit of yourself (like your creative work) – but once you do, you have that under your belt.

Publishing your work in Voices or in The Wichitan is just as rewarding as it sounds. You have physical proof of your creative work being published for anyone and everyone to see. I can assure you, your writing is good enough to submit. My advice is to make the best of your undergraduate years and submit something, so that by the time you graduate, you can say you’re a published author. Trust me, it’s an impressive accomplishment.