Second Chances

When I was a college student I had a couple poems and articles published. Nothing major and my "pay" was basically a certificate of congratulations. I was supposed to be satisfied with merely the "prestige" of being published. To be honest, at that point in my life, I was. I was an English teaching and writing major so it was something that came fairly naturally to me and something I enjoyed. It never felt like work (well, at least not most of the time).

I’ve posted before about my recent reflections on whether or not I should have accepted a technical writing job out of college instead of the teaching job I accepted. At that point I had plans to teach for two or three years and then go to law school. A plan that was put on hold after my daughter was born. I thought that it might not be too late to pursue what I had once let go. There were certainly more writing opportunities out there for me to explore.

So, I’ve spent the past four months writing new pieces and editing older pieces. I’ve made it a point to set aside time everyday for myself, usually really late at night since it’s the only time my house is quiet, to focus and write. I figure I’m still young (30) and the likelihood of another career is not out of the realm of possibility.

While I still want to be home with the kids while they are young I figured I’d be able to do most of the job, if not all of it from home, and during hours when the kids were asleep or days my husband was home. So, I applied for three positions and am contemplating applying for one more (what I would consider my "ideal" at this point in both content and pay). All were mostly contributing writer positions for publications. The type of writing varied from short stories to articles to reviews on various topics. I ended up being offered two of the jobs, one of them being the one I really wanted, and my first article, for which I’ll actually be paid for in cold, hard cash (or check), was published this week.

While I know that everyone who writes dreams of writing the next great novel (myself included) I also acknowledge that I have to start somewhere. I am excited about this opportunity because I am able to write about issues I feel passionately about and enjoy and I’m hoping this might lead to other opportunities. I’m looking at this as a good way to gain experience and get my foot in the door.

So, I guess in some ways I have rejoined the ranks of the working world. Wish me luck.