By Sabyasachi Roy
Writing careers are not made overnight. Almost no one starts by landing a book deal with Random House or, for that matter, scoring a column in The New York Times.
It is about piecing together a mosaic of small wins. Most successful writers had to follow this labored path — tiny, unimpressive victories that barely make a blip on the radar. This, somehow, miraculously, adds up to something bigger.
The Power of Starting Small
Think of building a LEGO masterpiece. You don’t slap a castle together in one go. You start with a single brick—a 500-word article here, a personal essay there. I know, there is nothing glamorous about submitting a short story to a little-known online magazine or pitching an article to a niche blog. Even so, it’s where you learn the ropes. Writing to a word count is a growing skill that you need to learn, same is the importance of meeting deadlines, and building up endurance while dealing with (sometimes brutal) feedback. These are important proficiencies and you’ll need them later when the stakes are higher. These little wins act like training wheels. And let’s be honest, we all need training wheels before we can pop wheelies.
Confidence Breeds Success
Even if it’s tucked away in the dusty corners of the internet, every published piece feels like a mini award ceremony. That sense of, “Hey, someone actually likes my work enough to publish it!” can fuel your confidence in ways nothing else can.
It’s like the first time I got a poem accepted. Sure, it was for an obscure journal that probably had a readership of a handful, including the editor’s cat, but that acceptance email? It felt like I’d just won a Pulitzer. I strutted around for days, maybe weeks. (Yes, it’s embarrassing, but also true.)
These small wins are like breadcrumbs. Follow them. Eventually, those tiny victories mean much when you’re trying to convince someone: a literary agent, a publisher, or even yourself.
Doors That Open
Small wins aren’t just confidence boosters, rather, take it from me, they’re keycards to opportunity. Margaret Atwood’s first publication was a small book of poetry, and Stephen King’s early work was splattered across pulp magazines.
These early gigs may not pay the bills, but they act as stepping stones. You get your name out there. This is the best way you build a portfolio. You learn how the publishing world works. The best thing here is that this is achieved without setting yourself up for Titanic-level disasters by aiming too high too fast.
Pitch these first, for these are often more approachable than the big leagues: Small-town newspapers, regional magazines, and niche blogs.
Big Wins from Small Beginnings
You don’t have to be Murakami. You just have to start. My journey began with a short poem published in a magazine nobody had heard of. Today, I look back at that moment like it’s the first stone in a pyramid—tiny but essential.
So, writer, aspiring, start small and this article is your permission slip. Write that essay. Pitch that article. Enter that competition. Yes, it’s like assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. Yes, it’s a grind. But remember those little wins? Trust me; they’re the foundation of everything that follows.
Bio: Sabyasachi Roy is primarily a Bengali poet from West Bengal, India. Writes in English from time to time. His poetry has been published in Stand, Poetry Salzburg Review, FourWsixteen, Linq, Quintessence, Voicesnet, Dicey Brown, Mindfire Renewed, The Potomac, 13th Warrior, and several print and online magazines.
