How I made my writing fly

I realized recently I’d been writing articles for a magazine for a few months now, but only mentioned it in passing on my website. Crazy right? Such a momentous event in my writing career and I’d glazed over it.

The roundabout way I ended up writing articles is pretty funny. I started with the desire to see my book in the Cayman Airways Skies magazine, but the idea grew into more, so I decided my pitch should include other Cayman authors, with a twist.

The good news? The magazine loved the idea. The bad news? They asked me to write the article, and offered me a freelance writing contract. Wait! What?

Little did I  know pitching them meant I wanted to write the article. Thus began my wrap speed lesson about freelance writing.

I’d like to say I jumped in with both feet, but being the over analytical person I am, I didn’t. My personal writing fears plagued me. Your grammar sucks, your sentence structure is a mind field, your writing stinks. Maybe I’m the only one? 🙂

My biggest concern was an already full plate, including setting up the organization CayWriters and trying to write a series for the first time. The thought of adding one more thing made my brain want to freeze in panic and then explode into a million pieces.

Thankfully it didn’t, and I ended up taking the plunge. Since one of my goals for the year was to find writing projects outside my comfort zone, I’d made the right decision. An added perk? I’d get paid to promote other writers in Cayman and CayWriters. Cool right?

To help settle my fears and paranoia the editor would return the article with an email saying, YOU SUCK!, I took an online course on magazine article writing, which helped a lot. I also used the editing program AutoCrit to help with grammar and other fun stuff.

I’m pleased to say the editor has yet to turn away an article or pitch idea and the thrill of promoting local writers spurred more ways to help them through CayWriters.

While I’m not ready for a full-time freelance writing career, I am excited about what my writing future holds and plan to jump in with both feet.

Do you take the plunge or dwell so long the opportunity passes before you have time to act?