| 2007 First Prize Winner - Entry Fee Division A
Passionate, Risk Taking Year
By Rachel Gurevich
With a grant for the bills, and my regular gigs on hold, this will be
year of risk, without the risk. A year to ignore the should's, and
instead, a year to focus on passions. A year to live out my writing
dreams.
Of course, I realize this year will look, from the outside, like my
current life: me at my computer, derriere in chair. I know when I send
off work, there will be no cheers and confetti, no standing ovations.
Just the subtle hum of my laptop's fan, perhaps followed by a solo tap
dance, staring moi, in the privacy of my office.
This year of magic won't include any of the following:
writing for markets just because they're seeking material, writing for
small or medium markets just because they're "easier", writing a novel
(except, perhaps, in November) just because it will make me a real
writer in grandma's eyes, and, certainly, no writing for big markets
just because they pay exceedingly well.
This year will include writing articles because I'm interested in the
topic, writing personal essays (some that grandma would not approve)
because I am an essayist at heart, writing short stories because
that's where my passion with fiction lies, and writing poetry because
I love it.
I won't let the market dictate my work. If Railroad Lovers Weekly is
looking for articles, that's fine – but not for me, not this year.
This isn't to say I will ignore market research. But I won't be
writing on topics just because they are in demand. I'll write what I
want to read, what I want to explore. My ideas will come first, and
then, I'll seek out an appropriate market, slanting my idea for
publication.
And I won't be querying based on pay, either. If there is
a topic I want to write on, but the highest paying market is offering
a generous $0.01 a word, no matter. The bills are covered, so why fret
on the pay rate? In the same spirit, if the perfect market for an idea
is a top-paying, $2.00 a word, dream pub, I'll be sending my query
there. If a medium market is looking for the same topic, they will not
be receiving first dibs. No, no. The better paying, more prestigious
publication will come first. Why query the safer market, if I don't
need to worry about money? Why hold myself back?
Of course, there are magazines and journals that I dream of breaking
into – The Southern Review , Yoga Journal, Self, and Glimmer Train, to
name a few. These markets I will study, and work on the best essays,
poetry, article ideas, and stories I can. And if I send off my crafted
queries and receive a rejection, that will mean one thing – that I
need to come up with a better, new idea, and try again. I will try
after the first rejection, and after the third, and after the tenth.
And, eventually, I will get through. I'm not a newbie writer, I've
been published. I've just always been afraid to take the risk. Not
this year. This year I will query, and this year, I will break-in.
Because I am determined, because I know I can -- if I persist.
To stay on track, I will have a schedule. I will hire an eager teen to
keep my house clean and children entertained, and I will write
full-time hours. I will not stand on my head and moan about misplacing
my muse. I will summon her with candles, incense, and force. I will
not wait for inspiration. I will create my own. I'll find time for
(off-hours) Artist's Dates, Julia Cameron's brainchild. And daily,
before hours, I will enjoy nature walks and meditative yoga. I will do
whatever it takes, no matter how crazy it looks, to create inspiration
from within.
I will spend half my day on non-fiction, and the other half on fiction
and poetry, interchanging the time of day I spend on genres, to give
each a reprieve from my afternoon sleepiness and a chance to benefit
from my morning bursts of energy.
And I will write, with or without the muse.
This year of passionate writing will be a year of hundreds of
rejections and pages and pages of crap, along side hundreds of
acceptances and pages of writing gems.
It's going to be a great year.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rachel Gurevich, Freelance Writer and Editor
Email: rachel.gurevich@gmail.com
http://www.rachelgurevich.com/
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High Hope for the Freelance Writer