Hayat spoke with rising writer and journalist Ayan Artan about her career in journalism, working on her debut novel, and more.
How did you get started in journalism? What’s your journey been like?Â
I’ve always been a writer. I have an incredible mother who saw my inquisitiveness and rewarded it as I was growing up; she’d buy me expensive journals and diaries in an attempt to get me to archive my life. She would also buy me books from all genres and just kept trying to keep my mind engaged because I struggled to settle down if I wasn’t being intellectually stimulated, even as a teen. I’d read all of these authors work: everyone from Malorie Blackman and Jason Reynolds in my pre-teen years to James Baldwin and Roxanne Gay as I entered my young adult phase, and I would hope to be able to do what they do for myself when I was older. I think my love for storytelling specifically came from there. My mother also encouraged my writing because it probably reminded her of my grandfather (her father), who was infamous for being a moving orator and writer. So, as I continued to write, it became a way to not only pay homage to my culture and religion, but to pay my respects to his talents too.
I just kept writing until I realised that there should be a way for me to get paid for the work I was producing, and so I started reaching out to editors with my ideas. It all sort of grew from there, and it’s been upwards since.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?Â
There is absolutely nothing that feels better than covering something and having people reach out to tell you that you helped them feel seen. That you helped to remove a cloud of invisibility or oppressive silence from their shoulders. I write for us and I have always been explicit about that. It serves the systems at work against us as Muslims, as Black women to stay silent and so it has been encouraging to see so many people actively seeking out voices like mine in attempts to see themselves reflected. It’s been a privilege to receive that trust from the community and it has served as the wind beneath my sails. I know I can’t fail!
I also love the researching process, I love learning, and what I do know is a hundred times outweighed by that which I do not know, so there is something so cool about being asked to write and research about genres, events and people that I may not have paid heed to unless I was being asked to. You end up being able to talk to most people somewhat intelligently about most things because of it, and so that’s been another blessing.
What’s the most difficult part?Â
It can get frustrating to see just how much of trying to build a career within the creative industry is dependent on how much free work you are able to subscribe to, an industry expectancy that in turn rules out an entire class of talented writers who simply cannot afford to gain that experience. I’m lucky; I’ve stayed at home and so at the start of my career, I didn’t have the same financial pressures weighing my creativity and work down. I could afford to take up those training internships, but I know many people who have given up on their dreams in this industry because it has been built to be simply unviable unless you have money. And if you do not have money, then you have to have connections.
What are you working on now?Â
Ha! What am I not working on might be the easier question to answer! I’m currently working on and writing my debut book and when I’m not doing that, then I’m either working as Life Editor over at Labaatan Magazine or as a staff writer for 14 Magazine. I’m still freelancing, and so you’ll still see my writing popping up for other publications from time to time. I hope to get my Masters and PHD soon so that I can at some point become Dr. Artan.
Honestly, I have a bit of an aversion to rest, only because it feels ungrateful to receive all these blessings and not capitalise on them now while I still have them. It’s a feeling that I’m working on, as I’m aware that it comes from some kind of imposter syndrome, but until I’ve got it on lock, I’ll accept the blessings coming my way and keep working to make sure I make the most of them.
What advice do you have for other young people, especially women of color, who areÂ
interested in breaking into the writing field?Â
General advice that I have for anyone trying to be a writer? Determine what is important to you: is it money? Is it job security? Accolades and visibility? Is it to be able to have complete ownership of your work and voice or would you want to work for a massive media conglomerate whose coverage you may not always agree with? No answer is better than the other, but the more honest you are with yourself, the easier it is to decide in which capacity you want work in this industry. I picked three guiding words that I measure all opportunities by- what are your three guiding principles? If whatever I am about to write doesn’t fit at least two of those three words, then I have veered from my personal mission statement and I know to reel it in.
My second piece of advice would be to connect with likeminded creatives either online or face to face. It sucks but connections do really make all the difference. If there’s a writer you are following who you admire, shoot them a DM. You’ll be surprised by how many are willing to answer your questions. The world is your oyster and though social media is the toilet of the internet, you have so much access now that it’s be silly to not take those chances.
My last piece is a more specific for minorities. Know your worth. Know that your story is vital, and that it is worth writing. If you feel like a publication is not paying you your dues or are diluting your truth, I can guarantee you that there is a magazine or journal somewhere that would love to have you. Don’t let the overwhelming whiteness of our industry put you off. There is an active resistance happening and we would love to have you!
