I Don’t Despise My Humble Beginnings as a Writer by Julie Guirgis

I Don’t Despise My Humble Beginnings as a Writer by Julie Guirgis

“If you work just for the money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”

-Ray Kroc, businessman, philanthropist and founder of McDonald’s System Inc.

At the beginning of my writing career, armed with a few publication credits, I convinced myself that it was the right time to take on higher paid publications. I eagerly scanned through magazine markets willing to pay top dollar. My eyes lit up whenever I came across listings that paid high rates.

Full of enthusiasm and confidence,I put pen to paper and sent off several submissions. But after many attempts at making big bucks failed, I felt discouraged and ready to give up. Rejection took a huge blow to my ego. What was the use of spending hours slaving away only to be rejected? I lamented. Blinded by the limelight, it never occurred to me the higher the pay, the greater the competition.

Too busy chasing publications solely because they paid large amounts of money caused me to lose focus of why I loved writing in the first place. My motivation to write was no longer to teach, share, or inspire others, but to make money.

After some soul searching, I re-evaluated my priorities and reason for writing. With this new perspective, I realized I would have more of a chance, and less competition, sending articles to smaller publications. I managed to sell my writing to these publications, and built a rapport and working relationship with editors that I still have to this day.

I also discovered another way of making money was to sell reprints. Like a pair of second hand shoes collecting dust in an attic, I gave my writing a good clean and polish, submitting older articles and stories to various magazines. Although they didn’t pay as much, the small milestones helped me focus on the product, not on the price, teaching me not to give up, and that success comes in many forms.

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Julie Guirgis is a freelance writer living in Sydney, Australia. Her writing has been published in Australia, America, Canada and New Zealand. Her writing has appeared in several publications, including War Cry, Creation Illustrated, Insights, Alive Now, Now What?, Majellan, Leaves of Ink, Significant Living, Signs of the Times, Back Home, The Aquarian Online and Vibrant Life.

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One Response to "I Don’t Despise My Humble Beginnings as a Writer by Julie Guirgis"

  1. pamelaallegretto  September 27, 2015 at 5:30 pm

    Such a great, inspiring article!