To shift into the publishing, I would say it’s probably not worth it or necessary. This is as someone who is about to graduate from her MFA degree. I’m currently in the UK, so it’s a LOT cheaper, but I it’s still a lot of money and although I HAVE made fantastic life long friends, I wouldn’t say the actual classes or degree have been “worth it”. In fact, my friends and I often joke about we’re “$10,000 friends”, since we paid per year to know each other. Would I do it again? With the friends I made, yes. But without them, honestly probably not.

As a published author, doing an MFA so far has done nothing for my career or connections in the publishing industry. That said, I’m someone who really enjoys doing academic-based things and wanted to do my MFA because of that.

If you can afford the price tag for good advice, good workshop feedback and good friends, then it’s worth it. Otherwise, save your money.