Click on the video above to hear about Evelyn’s experience with Writer’s Relief!
With a résumé that includes working as a blackjack and roulette dealer, our featured client, Evelyn Martinez, knows how to play her cards right. A Latina writer, Evelyn was concerned there wouldn’t be an audience for her quirky writing style, and the idea of researching and targeting journals at the age of seventy-one seemed daunting. Luckily, Evelyn decided to take a chance and contact Writer’s Relief. The result? Her work has been published in several journals, including Entropy and Rougarou—and even nabbed a Pushcart Prize nomination!
Read on and watch the video to hear how Writer’s Relief has helped Evelyn properly prepare her work for submissions and target the right markets for her writing style.
In Evelyn’s Own Words
I had been writing all my life but never dreamed my work was publishable. I was seventy-one years old and a writer of quirky, intensely personal memoir/essay pieces. The world of submissions seemed impossibly daunting. It took a few encouraging nudges and pokes in the shins from supportive friends and a link to the Writer’s Relief website to transform my desire to have my stories read into reality.
I knew I was abysmal at formatting and proofreading. This was the entrance cue for the kind, knowledgeable professionals at Writer’s Relief to dash in for the rescue! They take care of the technical aspects of preparing my work for submission, including composing a proper cover letter. They review each piece and identify the literary journals where it might best fit. It has been such a “Relief” for this writer, and allowed me to concentrate on doing my best possible work. In my brief history as a Writer’s Relief client, I have had five pieces published and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. To see my work in print has been thrilling, legitimizing, and a huge boost to my creativity.
It is never too late to take yourself seriously as a writer. There is a world of readers out there waiting to hear your unique voice!
More About Evelyn
Evelyn was an English major at the University of San Francisco. She has taken writing classes at the University of Nevada, Reno; University of California Berkeley Extension; and Berkeley Repertory Theater, and has studied with Charlie Varon. Her professional career has been wide-ranging and includes being a correctional officer, conservator for the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and most recently, nurse practitioner in cutaneous oncology. She has had recent work published in The Charles Carter and Your Impossible Voice. She is a member of the Shut Up and Write writing group. In addition to writing, Evelyn enjoys ballet, swimming, the company of sweet pit bulls, tacos, and exploring Antarctica. She lives by the ocean in San Francisco.
This is inspiring! What a wonderful story. You call yourself a late bloomer, Evelyn, but I think you’ve been blooming for many many years. However it is nice to finally see your work shared and recognized. I wish you continued success.