Anna Shults Held
@ajshults
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editorial director @scalevp , essays editor @The_Rumpus , writing in The Cut, Buzzfeed, Electric Lit, Catapult, Vox, and other publications both dead and alive
San Francisco, CA
Joined April 2009
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The thing I can't stop thinking about for Simone Biles is the narrative that she withdrew for her mental health, which is true, but she withdrew because her mental health put her physical health in real jeopardy. That's how mental health works. It's not just being nervous.
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My grandmother died this morning. I don’t know how to describe what she meant to me. We were so lucky.
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Thrilled to announce that I’ve joined
@The_Rumpus
editorial team as an assistant features editor ✨
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Sent a pitch, didn't get a response, saw the article written by a staff writer. (I'm not saying they stole it, I'm more mad at myself for not pushing harder to place it at another publication.)
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We’re open for nonfiction submissions through the end of the month at
@The_Rumpus
! Send us something, make me cry (it’s not hard).
If you’re like, shit, I need more time, members get access to a special Submittable portal and can submit yearround.
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I just got rejected from something I did not even apply to, which I did not know was possible.
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The steaming thing was mostly a joke because I would rather commit to a bit than be earnest about how my marriage is the best thing I’ve ever done but I’m grateful to all of the photoshop wizards out there!
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I got an idea accepted yesterday that I’ve been pitching for literally three years.
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I’m editing a themed month at
@The_Rumpus
on mental health and the things that get us through. Submission details plus a mini essay here!
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I’m editing a column! I’m so psyched. Sign up to be a member
@The_Rumpus
to be the first to learn how to pitch/submit.
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Starting this new thing where if I work on my book two hours every day, no matter what, I get a reward, and the reward is not hating myself.
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I got promoted at the Rumpus! I started as a reader in 2019 and am thrilled to still be on this ride.
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My personal brand is so strong that my mother-in-law went to Paris and got me the same glassware that I’d gotten for myself in Barcelona four years prior.
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If you need a little joy, I can't recommend going on Chewy and looking at the comments on their pet Halloween costumes enough.
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We are spending a week with my niece at the end of the summer. She's almost five. I'm buying a tie-dye kit but what else should we do? The goal is to be a cool aunt and to give my SIL a break.
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My brother called me last night and told me he’d had a bad day and remembered what I told him about trying to experience joy in things vs. achieve happiness. He had an iced coffee and sat outside and he said it helped. If this is my legacy I am cool with that!
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How many essays can I write about crying in suburban parking lots
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I was really hoping not to have to do this but I need a lawyer to help me hunt down a five figure overdue freelance payment. Anybody know someone good?
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@mariskreizman
Penny writes quiet yet heartbreaking domestic fiction. June is her publicist.
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I’m getting a ton of rejections (pitching more, applying for jobs) and to make sure I am not persistently miserable, I’m doing a lot of fun things like making stuff and taking my dogs to the beach. It’s been a terrible year, I’m having a delightful time!
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The women next to me left the manicure place at 12:38 for a 1:15 flight! Braver than I could ever be.
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The most uncool thing about me is how much I love being married. My husband is making pie crust while I sit on the couch and read with the dogs. It’s lovely.
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It's been four years since my first essay publication and while I am sometimes mad at myself for not doing more—both not starting earlier and not doing more in that time—it's also wild that I totally changed my life just because I wanted to.
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@weischoice
She gave me her email address at a bar so our dogs could be friends, and now our dogs are best friends and so are we!
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The biggest marketing tip I have is that no one cares why anything is important to you, only why it’s important to them. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s still the most common edit I give on copy.
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What if I published a book of essays and it was about mental illness and money and addiction and family but was maybe also a little funny and not as depressing as it sounds?
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We got good news about Penny’s heart yesterday! She has stabilized and, most importantly, has a dramatically reduced risk for heart failure. The best news for the best pup!
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We’re going to the dog cardiologist today. We’re feeling good about it but maybe send our Penny girl some good vibes anyway.
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Because they both have stunners of books out now or soon, here's an interview I love about grace between
@lsjamison
and Kaveh Akbar
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I’m at the Palo Alto mall and every woman, independent of age, is wearing the Diana
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A bit we’ve committed hard to is having a bathroom poll at parties
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Did I buy a daybed for the backyard instead of individual chairs so the dogs could nap on them and live their best lives? Of course I did!
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Why is Catapult cutting their publicity folks? They are the best in the game! Shockingly shortsighted.
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I’m putting together my docs for taxes and can say for sure that I cleared five figures every month as a freelancer. I don’t know a lot, but this is what I do know (thread)
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Some of the meanest shit that’s ever been said to me has been under the guise of this. Honestly it makes it harder to actually hold boundaries because I never want to be this person.
For
@bustle
, I interviewed people who've been on the flip-side of "therapy speak" — ghosted, bailed on, friend-dumped — and spoke to experts to see how we can avoid hurting others in the name of self-care. Give a read!
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The honor of a lifetime (paid, obviously): Artists to commission to paint or illustrate my grandmother's 100th birthday party invitation?
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I took an exercise we do in class and made it into a craft essay. Inspired by a conversation between
@taffyakner
and
@lizweil
, it gets at what you’re actually trying to do with your essay and the questions that help you get there.
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Just got an email that an essay I wrote is assigned for an undergrad creative writing class this semester 🥹
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100% of the reported pieces I pitch are because I had a question and couldn’t find the answer on Google.
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A few years ago a no-longer-friend made fun of how I wrote dialogue in a draft and it’s been stuck in my head since. Last night my writing group said I should only write dialogue. So, maybe I’m writing a screenplay and also don’t listen to people who aren’t on your side!
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I tell this story every year but Richard and I got together because my roommate broke up with her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day so we went out, drank too much tequila, and I called him for a ride home. Be young and stupid, but never drink and drive!
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I love this approach and apply it to literally everything. Jobs, fellowships, friendships, etc. I do my best. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t exist anymore!
I wrote about ghosting and why I encourage everyone to assume the person who ghosted them simply died
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I slipped and fell and landed in the perfect high school senior picture pose.
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@blktinabelcher
I’ll be 32 next week. Since I was 28, I published for the first time (so you’re way ahead where I was), got married, changed careers twice, and more than doubled my salary. But more than those things, I feel like I know myself a lot better, which makes so much more possible.
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I am the friend you call when you want permission to do the thing you want to do. Adopt a puppy? Yes. Quit your job? Yes. Cut a person out of your life? Do it. You’ve already made the decision! I will help you rationalize it.
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I talked to Leslie Jamison about friendship, genre, and the durability of hope.
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@ambernoelle
Yeah, if you don't need to go to the woods for a few days after publishing, I don't know what to tell you.
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My grandma was born in 1923 and just woke up in 2023. Wild.
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I just got a particularly brutal rejection before a cross country flight, giving me 5.5 hours to really sit with all of my failures. Or maybe I’ll watch a movie!
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Everyone knows the sluttiest thing a man can wear is a crochet shirt, so I made one for my husband.
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If you're a freelance writer or editor looking to expand your skillset, I highly recommend looking into instructional design. It capitalizes on the same skills, you learn a lot as you work, and it's generally more chill than other content work streams.
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@svershbow
I’ve gotten disparagement on fiction vs. nonfiction (a little from women, too, the girl boss types) because novels are for leisure (??) and nonfiction is to better yourself (obviously, I disagree with the premise!).
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Six weeks in Albuquerque and sadder to leave than I thought I’d be! But, we have three dozen frozen tamales in the trunk so we’ll be okay
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Two years ago, my grandmother fell, and we thought she was going to die, but she didn’t! We’re planning her 100th birthday party 🥰
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A friend asked me for essay submission advice, and this is some of what I said, in case it’s helpful!
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It remains a marvel and a privilege to get to read beautiful unpublished work in the slush and to give my little thumbs up. Truly a thrill!
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My local pet psychic charges $350 an hour. You are not overcharging for your freelance work.
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Looking for unusual hobbies and unusual takes on usual hobbies. Surprise me!
#ParallelPractice
is a new monthly column at The Rumpus edited by
@ajshults
!
We are looking for essays on the things we do that are not writing but that inform and illuminate how we create.
Guidelines:
#callforsubmissions
#submityourwork
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To be clear, even though it always feels sketchy, I truly don’t think they stole my story, I just think it was a good idea I could have placed elsewhere and didn’t. That’s on me and something for next time.
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If you saw someone sobbing on 101, it was me! Turns out, progressive diseases progress sometimes. We’re making some changes and have more aggressive treatment options if those don’t get us anywhere. In the meantime, snuggles, treats, beach trips, etc.
We’re going to the dog cardiologist today. We’re feeling good about it but maybe send our Penny girl some good vibes anyway.
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I very much agree with this. After I wrote about my, I don’t know, breakdown?, last year, a lot of friends reached out to say I could have talked to them. It’s sweet and appreciated, but what I needed was medical attention.
I’m not saying that folks who are depressed don’t need friendship and support, they do, but that friendship is terribly insufficient. I think we as a society owe a more supportive community of care. Good access to free/affordable therapy, medical care, and treatments that work.
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One of my 2023 resolutions is to tell at least one person a week how much I like their work. It costs nothing, it feels great, and it takes five minutes.
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I wrote about my complicated feelings toward having kids and how my perspective on love shifted after caring for my grandmother for
@romper
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I was on Team Kwon at Tin House Summer 2019 and it actually changed my life! Apply apply apply!
will be back teaching at beloved
@Tin_House
this fall! & there are various scholarship possibilities, including the below 🫀
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Submissions call for Parallel Practice + some thoughts on being bad at knitting
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I wrote about trying to feel better with plants and Lexapro and what happened when the Lexapro failed.
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A year ago this week I left my full time job to freelance. I am generally happier and make a lot more money! The most unexpected thing is that it feels more secure than FTE. I’ll probably do a learnings thread at some point but for right now I’m just enjoying the moment.
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I'm teaching a workshop on writing about family with
@CatapultStory
! We'll talk about ethics, form, craft, feelings, and so much more. More info and how to sign up at the link!
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My dad found all my essays, if you need me I will be walking into the ocean.
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Got a new job in the worst market of my adult life, started a new book, made a bunch of great knitware, generally abandoned what wasn't working for me and found other things that did.
BRAG ABOUT SOMETHING YOU’RE PROUD OF ACCOMPLISHING IN 2023 ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
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Completing my dressing like a 12 year old boy style transformation with the Levi’s my brother wore in middle school that I stole from my parents’ house.
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I know a lot of freelancers take Friday afternoons off but hear me out: Take Monday morning off.
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If I did a tech writers who also do creative writing meet up or book club or writers group or whatever, would that be fun for people? Like, would you come?
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My parents’ neighbor asked me if I was visiting from college. Omw to becoming a skin care influencer.
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Maybe tonight we fry some artichokes and dip them in a lemon-y mayo and eat them with a cold dry white.
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The only thing you have to do to make friends is not cancel plans. I will die on this hill.
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My dad is telling everyone I’m a Times editor. It’s Wirecutter and only for the next four months, but he doesn’t care.
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Nothing happens for a year and then I get three editors in my inbox asking me what I'm working on in two weeks. Yes, I do have some book projects, let's talk immediately, let's be best friends forever!!
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Selling out is harder than you'd think, according to my inbox full of emails asking me how to do it. Also, I am a better writer now that I don't have to sell my work to cover my basic needs.
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