As a stay at home mom, I had been out of the professional workforce for several years. During that time, I wrote a collection of humorous poetry about parenting, but had hit several roadblocks in my quest to publish my book.

I hesitantly reached out, and sought advice on self-publishing options from my friend who is a successful freelance writer. She read my book, and gave me a lot of encouragement and positive feedback. Beyond the “feel-good” feeling I got from her validation of my book, our connection opened a fantastic door for me.

She wrote for a boutique public relations agency that was looking to expand their team of writers, copy editors and project managers. My friend, remembering my book, recommended me as a writer and copy editor. I signed a contract as an independent contractor with the agency, and have been presented with many exciting writing and copy editing opportunities.

Initially I was given small writing tasks. Two months after I began, however, the agency signed a lucrative contract with a national company. We quickly launched a quirky and fun campaign for one of their new products. Our client asked us to write 1,000 (yes, 1,000) inspirational taglines to use in their collateral marketing materials. Because of my offbeat collection of poetry, I was asked to tackle the assignment.

The company was pleased with my work and I was next given the task of writing massive amounts of copy for their new website. Not only did I get paid to write but I was also working on a project I loved, and had fun doing it.

That particular project has ended but my writing success continues. I have been given a wealth of opportunities to write in many different styles for different clients and projects, all due to my book! I would encourage other writers to share their work whenever and wherever they can. You never know what doors might open for you.

Ali Mathis is a freelance writer, copy editor and marketing guru based in Pittsburgh, PA. She is a featured contributor at 30secondmom.com. Her first book, Stay At Poem Mom is (still) awaiting publication. You can follow her on twitter @alimathis.