It's late at night and I'm having a Carrie Bradshaw moment, sitting at my laptop writing, with a glass of white wine beside me. A writer's life is made up of such moments; our days are weighed out in words, both written and read; our published work gives us the kind of longevity most people only find in their children. Our books will live on for generations to come.
There is something magical about the birthing of a new column, or any new piece of written work that has been created specifically for publication. It can often be a long, drawn out process. First you need an idea, which you outline on paper. Next you do the market research, before making a decent pitch to the appropriate publisher.
Then you wait...and wait...and wait some more.
You need patience. Editors are busy people and there is always a period of time between the pitch and the response - which could go either way; yes or no. It can be a nerve-wracking time, akin to waiting for exam results. All you can do is your best and hope for a new opportunity. Being a writer is never easy, though Carrie does her best to make it look like the easiest, most glamorous profession in the world - and we all want to believe her, don't we?
And sometimes, it is! Sometimes an editor responds right away, full of enthusiasm for your work, eager to sign you up to a contract, leaving you to write your first columns in a rush of gratitude. It feels amazing when that happens. Usually though, these things take time and a new column is brought about through a series of emails and telephone calls where ideas are discussed, discarded, tweaked and fleshed out into something both the author and the editor are happy with. Once you have reached that point, you are free to get on with the job - because being a writer is a real job.
As a columnist and author of several books, I know how hard a job it can be at times. But I also know the thrill of being published and there is nothing to match it - except perhaps falling in love. Branching out into a new genre is much like meeting someone new and knowing that this is going to be something special, something that might not last forever, but which is meant for you at this time in your life. There is always a sense of destiny about being published; it feels like kismet, like you have found your bliss at last.
Being a columnist however, gives a writer this feeling on a monthly basis, because every month is publication day! It's a buzz and once you've experienced it, you want to experience it again and again and again. And of course, the column allows this. There is nothing more wonderful than having a rolling deadline to meet, secure in the knowledge that your column will be published and that people will read it; people you have never even met. They will read it and if they enjoy it, they will start to look out for it each month. They will interact with you on social media, which brings your readership that much closer.
Editors will come and go, but your readers will stay with you. They will follow you from publisher to publisher, from one magazine to the next. Your talent will always be yours to nurture, enjoy and to share in a publication of your choice. And the buzz will always be there to accompany the publication of new work. Once you've experienced the columnist buzz you will be reluctant to give it up - so even if you leave one column behind, you are likely to move onto another column with a different publisher. And the buzz will be just as strong - if not more so, because you did it again and succeeded twice, thrice over! So tonight, in the spirit of gratitude for my work, I raise a glass to celebrate the thrill of goals achieved and the buzz of publication day, because...
Serene Blessings
xxx
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