On making art your main focus (and not taking your day job too seriously)

What advice do you have for people trying to make a living as writers?

Do what you gotta do to keep writing. That’s really it. Make sure you don’t get so sucked into a day job that it becomes more important than your writing. I know so many creative people who took their day jobs too seriously. It interfered with their work.

If you can find a job where you can phone it in a little—don’t take it home—that’s ideal. Kevin Killian used to write at his day job as a secretary. That’s the dream [laughs]. Something you can do while still feeding your art.

It’s okay to want your art to support you, but if that becomes your main focus, it can get in the way. You start creating with the market in mind instead of serving your voice. So just remember: what can you do to serve your writing? Not the other way around.

You recently started Dopamine Books and edited your second anthology, Witch, which comes out in May. When putting it together, did you solicit contributions or open submissions?

I did all solicitation. I did the same with Sluts, which was last year. The first anthology I ever did was Without a Net, and I opened submissions for that. I didn’t know what I was getting into. It was wild—so many contributions. And honestly, a lot of people clearly didn’t even read what I was looking for. Submissions that didn’t make any sense, not on theme at all. It was a learning experience.

Open calls are amazing because you get people you wouldn’t normally get, of course. But at this point, I know so many writers. I’m always learning about new writers—someone recommends someone, a young or emerging writer. I have a huge file. I’m writing down everyone’s name. I pull from people who I know will surprise me.

As someone who’s so prolific and wears so many hats, what did you learn about managing your time?

I try! [laughs] It changes day to day, month to month. It really depends on how busy Dopamine is and how busy I am. Do I have my child a lot? I share custody with my ex, so I’m way more productive when I don’t have a child around. That makes a difference.

Sometimes I try to create structure. Like, is this a day for administration? For Dopamine? For my own writing? Or is this a day off—to clean my house, see a friend? I try to structure days like that, but it often falls apart because something else needs attention and just creeps up.

This year I got into Yaddo after applying for a long time, and it was amazing. I’ve been to one other retreat, plus some I organized myself when I was doing Radar Productions. I’m working on a book right now, and I really feel like if I don’t have retreat space, I can’t get lost in it the way I need to. I came back from Yaddo and was immediately like, “When do I have a week? Where can I go? Who has a back house?” [laughs] I was like, I don’t care if it’s in LA—just get me out of my own house.

I can get in that zone and get really feral, and just work in a way that I can’t otherwise. I need that full immersion. I can be really inspired by press deadlines, but when it comes to something creative or fiction, I have to live in that world. I have to go to sleep and wake up in it.

When there are all these daily responsibilities—whether they’re to my own work or to Dopamine—it cuts into the obsession you need to really surrender to. I say no to opportunities all the time. AWP was just here on a weekend I had my kid, and I basically didn’t go to anything. It was probably the best decision ever. [laughs] Honestly, I probably got out of stuff that other people wish they could’ve used their kid as an excuse for.

You’ve been in the publishing industry a long time. How have things changed for you as an author?

Authors have to do way more now. That’s just real. But there are also tools that make it easier. I started on small presses, and even now when I’m with a bigger press, I’m the small author on a big press, so I still do a lot for myself. I hustle. I think publishers like that I hustle.

Whether it’s getting my own blurbs or booking my own tour, that’s part of it. What’s funny is, I’m supposed to be getting blurbs for a novel I have coming out this fall, but I’m too consumed with getting blurbs for Dopamine’s authors. And I’m like, why isn’t my press doing this for me? [laughs]

But I want to give our authors as much as I can. That’s our reason for existing.

Do you organize book tours and promotion for Dopamine, too? Or do the authors take the lead?

We want the authors to do as much as they can, but I do book the tours. I’ll help them find an interlocutor if they don’t know anyone. We promote on Dopamine’s Instagram and through my personal network.

It’s more successful when authors have their own vibrant networks. We’ve seen a big difference between folks who do and folks who don’t. And it’s rough, because writers shouldn’t have to be popular. I never want to put that pressure on them. But the truth is, if you have a big network, word gets out, more people come.

Do you think live events and touring still matter in a digital publishing world?

Yes! Publishers rely on the internet way more now—instead of an author tour. Author tours used to be something we had to push for, but now publishers often don’t think they make a difference. I think that’s insane. Touring is what gave me my career. You can’t replicate that online.

Zoom events kind of suck. [laughs] Every now and then I’ll do one if it’s fun—City Lights did a great event for Dopamine. There’s a great store, A Room of One’s Own, in Madison, Wisconsin I love working with. But in general, I’m like, put us on tour.

Live events keep it real—being in a room with people keeps me connected to my voice and purpose in a way the internet never can.

We can’t financially assist with our authors’ tours, so if folks don’t want to go, I get it. It’s expensive. But if you’re able—if you’ve been wanting to go to a town anyway—do an event. It makes a difference.