Returning to my First Love

By Edward Wills, https://www.clippings.me/wordmonarch

Rebooting myself as a writer has been an adventure. After a career in journalism in the 1970s and 1980s, I questioned whether I still had the skills? Was my voice still relevant? Would anyone buy what I wrote?

It has been nearly 40 years—and several careers—since I earned my last regular paycheck as a reporter (The South Bend Tribune, The Toledo Blade and The Indianapolis Star) or assistant editor at Kiwanis Magazine. Jobs as CEO of an Indiana nonprofit, a public relations staffer, and an executive at United Way took me from my 30s through my 60s.

Then, forced by a crippling stroke, I retired. One day I was a leader in the business world. The next, I was struggling to walk. Today, I type only with my left hand because my right arm hangs limply at my side. I walk slowly with a cane, but at least I can still walk. My speech—which I’m told is 95 percent understandable—is slurred, making it a little tough to do phone interviews.

Because of my desire to be productive and earn a little extra income, I decided to return to my first love: writing. I knew that a full-time, out-of-the-house job no longer worked for me. Writing was perfect. It could be part-time. My office was in my home.

At first, I tried writing for the mills advertised on the internet that say they pay writers for stories. It was easy to get assignments and they offered a wide choice of topics, but the pay was abysmal: $5 or $10 for 500 words. I refused to diminish the profession for long at those wages, but articles on investment banking, aging, and financial planning provided me with new clips. My anachronistic writing samples from the ’70s and ’80s were old and brown in an age of electronic, online clips.

Fortunately, I was already a member of a Wilmington networking group where I meet weekly with an assortment of leaders and business owners. The goal of the group is to serve as a “sales force” for each other’s business by providing referrals. The publisher of a local magazine is a member of the group. She started giving me regular assignments. Then, the owner of a local roofing company joined my chapter. They had a blog, but no blogger. She hired me for posts and other writing tasks. Other chapter members provided lots of other leads. Some referrals led to business. Others did not. However, the support and confidence of the members have been invaluable.

The networking group (Business Network International) is organized so there can be only one member per profession in a chapter. Writers are rare. This organization has more than 9,500 chapters worldwide. I think more writers should explore membership.

The Triangle Association of Freelancers (TAF) also played a big role. I was surfing the internet more than a year ago and stumbled upon TAF. After looking a little further, I saw that membership was $15. For about the price of three cups of coffee at Starbucks, I could be a member of a professional writers’ group. I knew that I’d probably not attend a meeting in person because I live near the ocean—two hours away. But membership wasn’t expensive, so I decided to give it a chance.

Through TAF, I was hired as an occasional freelance proofreader from a job post and received tons of valuable ideas and support through membership emails. It was encouraging to hear about the books and articles members had published. Of course, I did not predict this pandemic, but as a result, I attended the annual Write Now! 2020 spring conference and the May and June meetings through Zoom.

Another key to my writing success has been the Topsail Writers’ Community made up of scribes living near Topsail Island. Though much smaller and less organized than TAF, I learned a lot through them. I’m most grateful for the close association with my peers. It is a fun group made up of novelists, tech writers, editors, and Christian writers. Because it’s local, I’ve made stronger connections. We meet regularly to talk about the craft of writing, current projects, and ways we can support each other.

I found the answers I was seeking, the keys to my adventure.  I still have the skills to be a successful writer. My voice remains relevant. And there is a market for my work. It has been through the support of friends and peers that I have made this journey, thanks to groups like TAF.

Edward Wills is a freelance writer living near Wilmington, NC, where he specializes in penning blogs and web content. A native of Indiana, he is a former journalist. Samples of his work can be found at www.clippings.me/wordmonarch.