So I’m going to start pitching again – pitching stories that is, stories you write, eh, I’ll write.
Can you tell how nervous this makes me?
I haven’t pitched in forever, so forever ago I don’t even remember the last time I did it. All I remember is that every other time I’ve done it, it didn’t work. I’ve either been turned down or completely ignored. Well, that’s not entirely true. There is that one scenario of an exception – when people want me to write for free. Then my ideas are great and they’re happy for me to do it.
Here’s my advice on doing shit for free: Don’t do it. Unless it’s just out of the kindness of your heart and you want to help somebody out, otherwise, don’t do it. Because what’s free for them will end up costing you.
All that free work I did – I mean it wasn’t a whole lot, but more than enough – really did a number on my ability to know my worth as a writer. I basically felt I wasn’t good enough to get paid for my writing, and all those rejections just served to reinforce that belief.
But writing isn’t just something I want to do for a living, it’s also a way of life for me. I got my first diary when I was a kid about eight or nine. I still have my diary from when I was 11. Writing has been a friend, a comforter, a stress-reliever, a source of joy and laughter, a way for me to get to the essence of who I am and yeah, sometimes pain. So you see, it’s not like something I can just move on from. Even though I don’t do it as much as I should. Even though I can neglect it for months. It’s always there, in my back pocket, ready to be released.
So here I go. I’ma give it another try, though I’m still afraid of rejection…but not as much. Because now, I know that I know, that I know, that I’m a good writer, a great writer, for no other reason than that’s my belief, and that’s enough.
Recently, I saw an article, I guess it was, about what type of pitches this publication is looking for, and the first thing that popped in my mind was: Hey I could do that. So I’m going to pitch ‘em and we shall see…
Sooner or later.
Eventually.
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