Eventhough I've been writing steadily for about five years, I've never considered myself a published author. I wrote an article for the Brantford Expositor back in 1998 about adoption. I wrote a poem about adoption called "Did I Ever Thank You?" published in a vanity poetry anthology in 2001. I've taken writing courses online at Mohawk College in recent summers. I've participated in NaNoWrimo (National Novel Writing Month) for the past three years where I (along with my writers' club friends)wrote a novel of 50,000 words in the space of a month. And this year when I attended the Christian Writers' Conference in Guelph, they asked me if I was published or not and I said "No". They hold a writing contest for attendees each year and the top three winners have either all or some of their registration fee paid. I was intending on entering the contest, but I can't. If you've been paid for your writing, you're considered published and therefore ineligible. What a great problem to have!
While I haven't had the ever elusive book published, I'm still working on that project. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to be recognized for my work. While I may not win a Pulitzer Prize, I will keep tapping away at the computer keys as I edit my book, add posts to my blog and write newspaper articles and poetry. Thank you, Christian Courier and Maranatha News, for giving me the opportunity to showcase my writing!
Photo courtesy http://i.istocking.com.
Way to go Linda!
ReplyDeleteAre you going to frame the cheque??