Waaay back in 2004, I “retired” from Home Depot to go back to school. I had an Associates degree in computers, (mostly programming) that I had used for most every thing except what I expected when I was working on it. That degree, however, was prehistoric as far as technology is concerned. There wasn’t even any internet at the time and I wanted to know more about building websites. My brother and I had built a family site and I had discovered a new fascination.
To fill out my schedule, I started taking writing classes. My professors were very encouraging and I soon found myself more interested in writing than computers. I wound up continuing my education at Murray State University and getting a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Journalism and Creative Writing. By the time I graduated, I knew I didn’t want to “get a job.” I wanted to freelance, maybe even write novels. It was a big dream, especially to start at 65 years old.
All the “help” offered by the school was geared toward job searching so I was on my own to find a solution. I had a map in my head, but I was busy with other things for a while and kind of got lost in the forest. Now it’s time to find my way back to the path.
My participation in Robert Brewer’s April Platform Building Challenge was the beginning of that search. It has resulted in a confusing array of branches that has left me bogged down in social media. I’ve made many fantastic contacts. Our group came together with a wonderful joy of writing. We are very energetic and supportive. I have found my creative impetus once more. Now I just need to develop a working path to building focus.
In the next month or so, I will be evaluating the social media venues and deciding which ones are worth keeping. There is no way I can keep up with all of them and find time to actually write. Prioritization is essential. Once I’ve gotten things under control so that I can maintain a workable editorial schedule, I will be facing the hard part.
I must gather my courage and begin polling journals, magazines, and maybe even agents. While I might be happy just writing for myself for a while, I know that I require deadlines to keep from sinking into procrastination hell.
It will require donning armor against the rejection letters, but I am telling myself to keep Stephen King’s nail on the wall in mind. If one hundred rejections result in one sale, the effort has been worthwhile.
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