Shooting My Shot

Greetings and salutations!

I’m trying to write more regularly since during the pandemic, I apparently have all the time in the world. Anyway…getting right to it.

I saw this guy on Star Trek: Discovery, and he looked familiar. I’m very good with faces, so it looked like a guy who went to the same gym as I did. After some digging, I found out it was one and the same.

So, I was thinking to myself–what can I DO, to start achieving some of the dreams I want to succeed at? Ideally, it would be tied in with the stuff I like doing right now: writing and photography.

I’m good at both. At least, I think I am! And while I think I am, there’s nothing like some external validation that comes from people publishing your work, or purchasing it.

To that end, I’ve decided to branch into e-commerce. Maybe Shopify or Wix, or one of their competitors, but I want to operate an online store where I can show people my work, and let them purchase it. I want to actually earn money and even make enough to augment my income in a meaningful way. I’ve got the photos, I’ve got the talent, all I need is the hustle to actually go out there and work for what I think I deserve.

As I alluded to in my previous post, I wrote a submission for the New York Times’ Modern Love column!!! Basically they want stories that detail how one deals with love, romance, heartbreak, etc. Maximum 1700 words. I took them up on their challenge and submitted a piece. Now, they only pay about five hundred dollars for the column, but that’s not why I did it. If I want to be succeed as a writer, if I want to get some legitimate credibility, then I need to get published. The NYTimes is still a paper of record, and still a glittering example of fine journalism that means something.

The piece that I wrote was vulnerable, hard hitting, and brutally honest. I confronted some hard truths about my own behaviour. After I read it–all 17 major edits later, I felt happy with my story. Naturally, a story about modern love needs to be about two people. Readers of this blog can probably figure out who the other person is. LOL.

Don’t get me wrong. My chances are tiny. Apparently there’s an acceptance rate of 0.5% for Modern Love submissions. The chances of a novice writer crafting something that will get published in the NYTimes are slim to none. To be honest, I poured myself out onto those “pages” I submitted. I held nothing back. Talked about hurt, pain, mental health…all the big things because I wanted my submission to be real and authentic.

I’m proud of what I’ve written. I’m proud that I had 2 good friends who helped me with the editing process. I won’t lie though. If I’m chosen, 5 million readers of the NYTimes print and digital subscriptions are going to read my words. That scares me. It will complicate my life. But I have to shoot my shot.

Now, I’ve jumped the gun a bit, because I like having my ducks in a row…but the NY Times story did raise a thorny question of ethics. You write a story describing a relationship you’ve had. It’s not mean, but it is honest and doesn’t break any libel or slander laws. The person involved hasn’t spoken to you in over a year since everything ended horribly. You submit the story to a newspaper with a readership of 5 million people. You get an e-mail saying…”We have decided to accept your piece for publication.” You scream, tell all your friends, etc. Here’s the question….

Do you give a warning to the person in the story that this is coming down the pipe? Or do you say nothing?

Well, this is my story. In my words, from my viewpoint. He doesn’t get a say. Not after a year and a quarter of saying nothing to me. So, my answer is….”NO”.

Should I be lucky enough to get published, he can find out from a friend.

That’s all for now. Wish me luck!!!!!!