Anjali Enjeti is a former attorney, organizer, journalist, and MFA instructor based near Atlanta. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed books Southbound: Essays on Identity, Inheritance, and Social Change, and The Parted Earth. Her other writing has appeared in Oxford American, Boston Globe, Poets & Writers, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and elsewhere.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I have always loved writing for myself but came very late to consider that my writing could or should be published. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties, after I gave birth to my first child, that I felt the need to get my words out into the world and that others might be interested in reading them.
Which genre are you most passionate about?
This is a tough question for me to answer. I love writing fiction (novels) and criticism (critical essays, reviews, etc.). I love personal essays, too. Essay writing is how I got started. I love any kind of deeply told story regardless of the genre.
What is one of the most surprising things you learned while publishing your work?
How long it takes! For the majority of us, getting a publishing contract, then receiving edits, copyediting, etc., takes a while. From the time I signed my book contracts until my books came out took about 1.5 to two years. There’s a lot of hurry up and wait!
How has being a former attorney influenced your work as a writer?
It’s absolutely helped me with research. I did some pretty immersive research to write my debut novel, The Parted Earth. Drafting briefs, looking through boxes of evidence, and sorting case files helped me figure out how to tackle the process of boiling down a lot of information into a cohesive and compelling narrative.
What advice would you offer new writers?
Publishing and writing are two different realms. Don’t let publication metrics (certain bylines, book contracts, etc.) determine your worth as a writer. Your voice is valuable, and your words are important because of your craft and your practice, and the blood, sweat, and tears you pour into your work, not because someone in the publishing industry tells you so!