A struggling writer's journal

Dear whoever is reading: things have been exciting lately.

Last week, as I cracked the necessary eggs to make an omelet for breakfast, I received a rather sudden and surprising DM to my Wattpad account. Turns out, I’d been selected to join the Wattpad Stars program. The message was detailed enough to remind me, as I read it over and over again to make sure I was understanding it properly, of that scene in Men in Black where Will Smith is invited to join the MIB program and he’s taken to the room with all the other soldiers and marines. You remember that scene, don’t you? When Second Lieutenant Jake Jensen says: “We’re here because you’re looking for the best of the best of the best, SIR!”.

Well, that’s kinda how it felt reading the message. It basically said that I showed enough potential to be invited to join the program. Among some of the perks that came along with the invitation, was access to a Discord service to talk and get to know some of the other Star authors, special consideration for Wattpad’s monetizable opportunities and tools to help further develop my writing.

Naturally, I said yes and, I’m not gonna lie, gave several small jumps around my kitchen. This, after all, was a win for me. As you may or may not know, depending on if you’ve read my previous entries, I’m currently attempting to launch my writing career. I am, of course, querying agents (well, only one agent. And I know what y’all will tell me, Don’t query just one agent, what are you, stupid? But something tells me this particular agent is the right fit for me and my voice and I’ll keep trying to get him to notice me, but that’s a story for a whole different day).

Now, where was I? Ah yes. I am, of course, querying agents, and trying to form a network of writers and journalists over on Twitter. I also am furiously searching and applying to every freelancing writing job that somewhat fits my profile. Suffice it to say I’m finding it hard. The fact that I still have no real experience with any proper form of writing, other than my Wattpad achievements and the stuff I write here in my blog, makes it real hard to attract the attention of employers.

Still, I remain positive and optimistic. There must be something out there for an aspiring writer with a Marketing background, right? I’m sure there is. I admit, it’s been difficult staying encouraged. Things like the Wattpad Stars announcement, however, keep me going. I hate to put it like this, because I feel like it sort of simplifies the whole thing, but it really felt like some sort of validation of my talent.

So what’s next for me? Now that I’m officially a Wattpad Star, I’ve sent the necessary information about my one completed book in the platform, the Steampunk adventure A Timely Knight, so that it can be considered for any and every of the current monetizable options available. I should hear in a month or two if my story passed the first filter, but hey, anything can happen. And if I was good enough to earn an invitation to the club, getting through the bouncer should be quite achievable, even if it takes me a few tries.

Having Wattpad’s seal of approval is quite the achievement for my career and it’s something that I’m definitely grateful for. It has also fanned my desire to keep contributing to the platform. I’m currently in the middle of my second story, Dark Hedges, but I already have an idea for my next one. It’ll be Historical Fiction, so I’ll use this time to do as much research as possible while finishing DH. I was thinking of taking December off, but that’s probably out the window.

And the best part is, I’m really excited to start this new story, as soon as I finish DH. It feels really good to have something to look forward to.