Dreams of a Doubtful Writer

I am asking myself the hard question, "How do I plan to jump start my writing career?" And to be honest, I don't have a writing career, yet. I'm still a struggling writer that no one has heard of except friends, family, and classmates. I don't even know if I have enough credentials to call myself a writer, but I am one (I've been one ever since I was in elementary school). I dream of penning a book that becomes a best-seller. I want to earn tons of money and travel the world promoting my book. I want to be interviewed by the best journalists and have my photograph donning the front cover of Poets & Writers. At least, that is what I want, but will it happen? Right now, I'd be satisfied with having one of my works be published in a major literary magazine, but I don't know if this is achievable. Right now, I know that I need to write more, but I feel blocked. Like the blank page is a challenge. A test. And I don't want to fail. To put it bluntly, I'm a very practical person, and sometimes the idea of being a fiction writer seems too lofty. To write a well-written piece of work takes a lot of time and effort. And in spite of your hard work, there are no guarantees, and it is this realization that is preventing me to write. For example, I really want to turn in a manuscript to The New Yorker, but there is a huge part of me that feels it is a waste of my time, but we never know unless we try, right?

What's behind the doors, MFAers?

The deadline is looming. You feel antsy. You've had this feeling before. The fear of what's on the other side of the door...is it wealth and stardom? Your name on The New York Times Bestseller? Or is it a bag of regrets and broken dreams? A nice little note with the word, "Sucker," scrawled across it? What am I talking about you might ask? Graduation. In 2007, when I graduate from college, I just knew my Bachelor's degree was going to get me a job ASAP! Wrong. As a result, I learned that you have to plan early. I'm beginning to think about the transition from school to the workforce. What should I do with my MFA? Teach? Write? Purse owning my own publishing house? Who knows? So that leads me to my next question, what are your plans after earning your MFA?