I just wrote and edited an article for InScribes Fellowscript magazine regarding the rewards of persistance in writing. Being only allowed 400 words, I tried to make it as concise as I could. What do you think of what I wrote? ITS SO MUCH FUN WHEN THE WORK IS DONE Persistence and Passion Provide Pleasure (Ecclesiastes 7:8 KJV) Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Good writing requires exacting work. Every person who attempts to write professionally knows that. What some dont realize, because they quit too easily, is that the reward for a finished piece is great. Too many writers wilt after the first dozen rejections. They might find that the thirteenth time is the charm. In many cases, the work wasnt rejected because it was rubbish. During my first year of freelancing, not a single piece I wrote sold. Query letter after query letter went from my hand into the mail box but no acceptances came back. I observed the writing guidelines religiously and made sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope with proper postage. I even paid friends in America to send me U.S. postage stamps to make it easier on American editors. Then a query to New Age Journal about a newly-formed blind choir in Edmonton, Alberta received the go ahead from its editor. As I was limited to three-hundred words, the work was difficult. When the magazine and cheque arrived in the mail, I felt as if I were dancing on the clouds. As Solomon wrote, the end was better than the beginning. Had I yielded to my pride, I would have quit after the first eleven months of continuous rejection and searched for a regular job. The desire to make my writing into a profession drove me on. I had been laid off from the government and a disability counselor suggested I write professionally. This was my golden opportunity and I didnt want to cast it aside. With the aid of a talking computer, partially provided by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, I wrote dozens of articles and hundreds of query letters. Researching on the Internet also helped me find many potential publishers. I began writing professionally in 1996 and I hope to keep doing so for many years to come. The thrill of listening to my computer reading my finished article or story is worth all the hard editing choices. If my work sells, that makes my joy all that much greater.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 23:33:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015