This has been a work in progress over the past 10 months, from finding out about the submissions to submitting, to finding out I got accepted and now in just about a month to a month and a half my first fantasy short story is getting published in a real book.

It has been such an amazing process to go through. If you write for Odyssey, it is kind of similar, but on a bigger/ more detailed scale in the sense of how the process goes. If you don't, here's pretty much how it goes. It started with me hearing about it and then I had to decide what I wanted to write my story about. This call for submissions had the overarching idea of taking fairy tales/folk tales and re-imagining them with a sci-fi twist. From here it then went on to the story getting accepted to working with the publisher/editor to edit and round out the work. It then involved signing the contract and solidifying all of the legalities which then went on to a introduce Kickstarter which allowed for pre-orders of the book to be made and then it will go into print and be available for purchase.

This has truly been such a wonderful and eye opening experience because something like this allows you to be able to get your foot in the door of the writing and publishing world. Not only does something like this give you experience, it also gives you something to put on your writing resume and it's just insanely cool!

But in all seriousness, this opportunity is something that is truly incredible, especially for me while still being in college. The other authors in this anthology are all adults with jobs, families and lots of other stories that have been published. So for me, it is such an honor to be a part of this.

If writing is something that you want to do, do it! Create those characters and worlds. Go to conferences or conventions, make friends and make connections. They are some of the most wonderful and valuable things you can do in this industry. And most of all do not be afraid to put a story out there. Even if you start with something like Odyssey and do it to get started that's amazing. Any kind of platform you can use to write, use it. Whether it be a short story or a full novel, write what you want and share your works. Writing allows one to be able to create so many worlds, adventures and characters and that is a special magic in itself.

I have learned so much from this process of getting my first story published. It is something that I am incredibly proud of and I can't wait to see the book actually published and continue my writing career from here. Following your heart and your passion is one of the best things that you can do, so dream it and do it!