Surprised By Success

Author: Linda Hull

In 1994, I began writing a discipleship newsletter called Words of Encouragement. It was my first attempt at a home-based business, but with few subscribers, it was definitely a fizzle. Sympathetic to my disappointment, my husband suggested that I continue my newfound writing hobby online. He’s a computer whiz, and thought the World Wide Web would offer a larger readership. With his help, I created a web page and published Words of Encouragement as a ministry to women all over the world. While I enjoyed writing, I never believed my writing would become a viable profession until three years ago when my best friend went back to college.

Her college professor, a freelance writer, encouraged her to submit her essay on mentoring to Leadership Journal magazine. With his help, it was accepted and published! Heady with success, she exhorted me to try submitting my work, certain that I too could be published if I just followed her professor’s tips. She was right! Much to my surprise, my first professional writing attempt was published in Frontline Magazine.

The next year I too went back to college. Coupled with my home and church responsibilities, I had little time to write, but I did manage another article for Frontline Magazine, while continuing to write and publish Words of Encouragement. After my own graduation two years later, I decided to pursue writing full time, but I barely got started. I kept losing my focus. Once again my friend encouraged me to get busy, suggesting I set a goal to write one piece a day. She reminded me that if I didn’t do it now, I never would. Bolstered by my friend’s encouragement, and a lot of prayer, I began to write and found the courage to submit my work.

Over the next year, a couple of my articles were published in local newspapers and smaller publications. Then a Google search for "writers wanted" led to an author in Australia looking for stories on dementia for an anthology. I was thrilled when my story was accepted. While I was experiencing a measure of success, I wasn’t comfortable calling myself a professional. I was still adjusting to the fact that people were interested in publishing my work! At the same time, I realized that I needed more information about how to write.

Books purchased at our local library thrift store on writing and publishing were helpful and inexpensive. I also took Barnes & Noble’s free online writing courses. In Thinking Like Your Editor, I learned how to create a proposal and a query letter, plus I got valuable feedback from my instructors and classmates. Another one, Writing for Quick Cash, identified opportunities available for freelancers and provided more feedback.

This past summer I purposed to really give my writing a chance to pay off. I began by going through The Writers Market, The Christian Writers' Market Guide, and The Best of the Magazine Markets for Writers to find publications needing articles I could write. In addition, I searched the internet for opportunities. I was very excited to discover that my contact in Australia had posted a website ad for travel writers. Since I grew up in a military family I had lots of travel experience, but had never written a travel piece. I was thankful she was willing to take a chance on me! We agreed that she would edit my pieces, cutting out American idioms, and changing American spellings to British. With practice, I was able to create interesting articles on U.S. locations for readers in the UK. At the end of the summer, I had written over twenty travel articles, plus other pieces published in the fall.

When I started writing twelve years ago, I hoped to create a home-based business. Instead I created a ministry reaching out to women all over the world. Finally, my business goals are also being realized. I have a suspicion that eventually the two aspects of my writing career will merge. I’m still a little surprised. My advice to other writers is to write. Don’t put it off. Read as much as you can about the craft, then, just do it.