Subscriber Post: Whose Validation Do We Need?

This month's exclusive post for paid subscribers

It’s been a wild ride recently as we’ve had some exciting (albeit modest) recognition and landed some new bookstore accounts. Meanwhile, over the past year my own writing career has continued to grow as I’ve been able to add more significant bylines to my bio and see some larger projects taking shape, even if they’re likely long away from being more fully realized.

Still, I ask myself some version of this post’s title more and more often the deeper I get into both sides of the publishing world. Questions of validation have become increasingly layered as my own writing work has intertwined with the press: who will take Belle Point Press seriously? Can I still write well enough without an MFA? Do I have enough experience to build this press? When will I feel like I/we have “made it,” if ever?