Writing - A New Freedom? Yes Indeed...
I'd already done it though.
I'd saved enough money to be able to pay my rent for 3 months along with
providing for myself food, laundry, transportation, and anything else I'd need
to sustain myself. I took the plunge and
leaped through my fears. I’d decided
that I was a writer and I was going to write.
No more working to make others rich, no more doing jobs in customer
service which I'd grown to hate after 30 plus years, no more ignoring my
feelings of depression and anxiety. I
decided to walk by faith and believe in myself.
A Snap Decision – Really?
It all started when I was walking to work after getting off
the bus. I saw my building just up ahead
at 3:30 AM just as always. My mind was already
on drinking a cup of tea upon entering the cafeteria as I would wait until my 4:00
AM clock-in time. I'd probably even
watch the rest of Smallville on HULU while I waited, that was a fun way to
relax before beginning my stressful job.
But suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
Without even thinking twice about it, I turned around and went back to
the bus stop, waited 5 minutes, jumped on the bus heading home, and never
looked back. I'm a writer, and I was
going to be a writer even if it killed me.
It took me only a month to write “The Shelter of the Shade
Tree”. I was practically in a daze while
I wrote it almost as if I were being driven.
When it was done, 54,500 words later, I was amazed and troubled. What
was I going to do next? I Googled "How to publish your novel". I recognized the name, Nicholas Sparks, the
writer of the novel turned movie, “The Note Book” in the responses, so I
clicked on his website. On it, I found
exactly what I was looking for. He had
advice on the craft of writing itself, notes regarding the business end of it,
finding an agent, query letter writing which is how you pitch your book idea to
agents and publishers, and so much more.
He even had an actual sample of the letter he wrote to pitch his book and
the story of how he was found and published.
To me, it was a sign from the Universe saying that writing
was for me. That was the beginning of my journey into a new realm. I had absolutely no experience what so ever,
but as it is with anything else, we all must start out clueless right? I was determined to be the writer which I
knew was already deep inside of me, and there were so many sources out there to
assist me in my trek, I wasn’t alone.
I’ve Arrived, and I’m Doing It…
After doing my research into writing careers, I no longer
felt that I had to be a cog in the system.
This was my way of breaking free, and even though I was scared out of my
mind, I took this leap of faith because I had to. I'm still searching for that opportunity to
begin earning a living through writing, and I hope to bring a little insight of
my own to the table, but for now, as I continue to struggle to keep the faith, my
writing has improved by leaps and bounds, I’ve published my novel which is
available on Amazon, and I’ve been compensated for blogging and website development.
I’d say that that’s a pretty good beginning.
For my book, please click the link below. Enjoy.
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