It’s Saturday, and I’m joining up with Ruth Ayres and the #celebratelu community to celebrate life’s everyday joys and successes. The world is complicated, stressful, anxiety-inducing and in need of so much love and change, but there are still moments worth celebrating, even if you sometimes have to dig a bit deeper to find them.
Well, I’m a little bit behind schedule this week – we’ve had a very rare snowfall here in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s just about thrown everything for a spin! Trains delayed, buses stalled, traffic snarled – it’s been a right old mess. Beautiful, but a mess.
But that’s neither here nor there at the moment, because I’m here to celebrate a major (albeit small in the grand scheme of things) victory – I’ve sold my writing! Oh, I feel like Jo March in Little Women….
Yes, I’ve sold three short poems to a children’s magazine, and I feel like I’m floating on a cloud. I’ve been writing for years on and off as a hobby, but being both very shy and of limited self confidence I’ve never been confident enough to share my writing with anyone.
Thanks to the incredibly supportive Poetry Friday community I’ve fallen back in love with poetry, and I’ve never been more inspired, excited and motivated to hone my skills and develop my craft.
On a whim, I decided to submit a few poems to a children’s magazine, and they were accepted. They were accepted! Someone actually thought something I’d written was good enough to spend money on, and to put their brand name on.
I’m delighted, thrilled, excited and motivated. Three poems down, countless more to go! Believe in yourself, because if you don’t, who will? You never know what you can accomplish until you try.
Isn’t this snow an unexpected thing? I am so impressed with your news! HUGE congratulations!
Thanks so much, it’s super exciting! I won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon, but it’s a fun moment, to be sure.
And oh dear, I thought we were done with the snow!!
Congratulations! This is so exciting!!! I love this part of your post, “I’ve sold my writing! Oh, I feel like Jo March in Little Women….” Perfect.
Jo was always my inspiration when I was a little girl, so she immediately came into my mind when I found out that my poetry had been accepted! 🙂
I can totally relate to this feeling of ecstasy. Congratulations! We have to keep holding each other up. Please post when the magazine comes out.
Thank you, I will! It’s so true – I’m celebrating these little victories, but let me tell you, I’ve had far, far more very politely-worded rejections! 😉
They like you, they really like you! 🙂 CONGRATULATIONS!! That is huge news. Keep writing. More celebrations will come your way!
Ha, yes! That’s exactly how I felt! It definitely does help inspire the writing – sure there were countless rejections beforehand, but…focus on the positive, right? 😉
Congratulations! Quite a celebration.
Thank you, it feels pretty nice. 🙂
That’s fabulous, Jane. I’m happy for you, and look forward to reading those poems! Love the snow picture, but since it’s unusual, I imagine it is a challenge. Glad for the weekend, though, right?
Oh dear, the snow is definitely not fun…we’re just not prepared at all for it, so a little sprinkling is all it takes to shut down this Canadian city!!
And thank you, it’s pretty fun, this is the first time I’ve ever been published, so it’s a bit of a thrill!
Wow! Congrats to you on your publication! Wonderful and so exciting for you! Keep shining!
Thank you, it’s pretty fun! Let’s all keep shining! 🙂
Is the name of one of your poems “On a Whim”? – just kidding. Congrats and so happy for you. I’ve tried poetry and it is hard work.
Oh, I think you’ve just inspired my next poem – “On a whim”! 🙂
The snow is so pretty, but I hate it! Haha! I hope you’re enjoying it though. Congrats on getting published! 😀
Here’s my Weekly Recap!
It’s super pretty – I just wish it wasn’t the week that I’m working six days in a row! 😉
Congratulations, Jane. This is wonderful news and I am sure you are feeling so joyful at this time. I have an invitation for you so you can share your poetry with poetry friends: http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2017/01/invitation-to-winter-wonder-17.html. I am collecting image poems for my winter gallery and your photo is wonderful. If you pair it with a poem, I would place it in the gallery with credit to you. Your name and location should be at the bottom of the image with the poem embedded on it. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks for sharing your great news.
Yeah, Jane! Great accomplishment to celebrate! You picked the perfect character to describe your excitement over being published, Jo March. May there be many more!
YAY! I’m so happy for you and feel privileged to celebrate with you. Congratulations…and now, off for more writing!
Ruth