Memoir Progress Update

After He Said Cancer | A Memoir

Dear Subscribers, Supporters, and Friends,

I am nearing completion of my first draft of the memoir, which currently stands at 70,000 words. While this feels like an achievement (and it is!), there is still a long way to go in the publication process.

The road to traditional publication with one of the “Big Five” publishers is elusive and fraught with writers who were run over and left for dead along the side of the road. Smaller presses, hybrid publishing, and self-publishing are also options, but I would like to try to publish with a traditional publisher. This means I will need to query and secure an agent, write a book proposal, develop a larger platform, and establish writing credentials to make my book appear like a good bet for potential sales.

Over the next 4-6 months, I will focus on submitting stand-alone, unpublished essays to literary journals, as publication can help establish my writing credentials for a potential book agent. This means that I can’t publish these essays on Substack (sniffle, sniffle, dab a tear). I kick-started the process by submitting my first essay to 7 literary journals this week. While I am accustomed to submitting to scientific journals with names like Nature and Journal of Immunology, now I am submitting to literary journals with more colorful names like Hippocampus, Swamp Pink, Exposed Bone, and The Offing. These journals have response times of 4 weeks to 8 months. While I wait, I will write a few more essays to submit to literary journals to keep the submission merry-go-round turning.

How I imagine the journal “Swamp Pink” might look from an aerial view. What a name! The old name of the journal was “Crazy Horse”, but I like Swamp Pink better.

It will also help my writing credentials and the prospect of publication to publish an Op-Ed or essay related to the topic of my book, male breast cancer. There is potential here to raise awareness for a disease that is thought by the public only to affect women, and seems to be rising in number. Risk factors include a family history of breast cancer or exposure to chemicals or smoke from burn pits used near military bases. Firefighters and car mechanics are also at risk. When I hear of wildfires in the West, I think of firefighters and their exposure to toxic chemicals in smoke. November is Men's Health Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about cancers that primarily affect men. I plan to pitch a few newspapers and magazines to place an Op-Ed about male breast cancer.

I recently completed a 10-week memoir writing course through the University of Washington, taught by Ronit Plank. It was an incredible course, and I learned a great deal about the genre. Ronit also has a Substack called “Let’s Talk Memoir”, which I highly recommend! I am following up this course with a few others through Hugo House. One course is on book contracts – not that I have one but let the girl dream! Another is an 8-week course on flash fiction, which describes a genre of short and powerful essays. Improving my skill in developing conflict, tension, and suspense in less than 1,500 words is the goal!

With these activities in mind, I’ll be pausing paid subscriptions for the next six months, as my posts will be less frequent while I focus more time on the activities mentioned above. I will continue to use the Substack platform to update everyone on my progress toward querying agents, refining my craft, and posting occasional memoir essays. Please wish me luck for the last push before shopping the memoir to book agents in January of 2026.

I really appreciate your support, likes (hearts), and supportive comments!

Best,

Kristina