Since becoming a blogger, product reviewer and general freelance writer, seeing my (or Sassy’s) name on the Internet doesn’t carry the same excitement that it once did. Oh don’t get me wrong… if I get ANYTHING published ANYWHERE, I am proud as punch and I get pretty excited. But when your name (spelled correctly too!) gets in print in a national beauty magazine?…. that’s the freaking BOMB!
…… and that’s exactly what happened to me today.
About three years ago, a big fashion mag wanted to use a letter I had wrote them in an upcoming issue. They even called me to fact check my name and info. I walked around on cloud nine for two months waiting to see this small-town girl’s name in one of THE biggest glam rags of all time! When the issue came out, I read it cover to cover, inch by inch. Nothing. I even called the editor thinking I was reading the wrong issue. Nope. No luck. “Sorry…..we had to edit for space and your piece had to go.” Wow. Tossed aside like a bad piece of lettuce. I was crushed. I was back to being just a reader and not a contributor. It SUCKED! But did I quit? Hellz no! I kept on writing.
Two months ago, I received an email from Allure Magazine regarding a collection of articles I had wrote in my blog about tattoos, their care and a tattoo expo I had recently attended. They liked a reference I had made in a post in relation to an article Allure had just done on moles and beauty marks, and wanted to use my comments in their letters section. I said “Sure!” and gave them the information they needed. Oh, I was thrilled, but I had been let down before so I shielded my enthusiasm in case I got “cut” once again.
Today, the August issue of Allure came in my mailbox and I couldn’t help gasping as I thought maybe–just maybe–this would be my chance to have my name on magazine stands across America. With shaky hands, I began to flip each page. One, after another, after another, after another. When I got to the letters section, my stomach dropped as I saw my name was no where to be found on the page. I looked up and down, left to right, at least a dozen time. *sigh* Screwed over again. Unless… unless…. maybe they carried the letters on to the next page? I held my breath as I turned the page calmly, like a slow-motion action scene from a Bruce Willis movie.
…and there it was. My letter in all its glory with my name and little home town plastered right under it. It was exact, it was quoted perfectly, and everything was spelled right! Me–Sassy!–in black & white on the pages of one of my all-time favorite magazines. I felt like a star! I don’t care who saw (or didn’t see) it…I knew it was there and I knew it was my experience and my writing. I did it!
So, for those of you who aren’t sure if you should stick with what you love to do–or wonder if you should give up on your goal or dream–from the mouth of experience….don’t. You do not have to give up everything to follow your heart, but you must do a little something every day to pursue it. Whatever it is. Cook something, paint something, sing something, build something. WRITE SOMETHING! Keep your dream alive and close to your heart…
And never, ever let it go!!
(If you would like to see my letter, grab the August issue of Allure magazine at your favorite store or newsstand. Or, for you gadget gurus, download this issue from the App Store.)
