I Just Want To Be Me Today.

Letting loose for a day.

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

I am writing this story for myself because I needed it. I wanted to experience the freedom of writing what I want to, without receiving any private notes from editors. And for that matter, rejection emails. I understand that it is necessary to improve my craft daily, though there are times where I needed to do things my way.

We work for our keep. We write to grow a side income, and in the process, getting to know people in the circle and carve a niche for ourselves. And because we write, we have to play by the rules of the game.

Introduction, what is this story about, why is this story worthy of attention, what is our takeaway, conclusion & recommendation. There is a structure that facilitates the flow of eyeballs from left to right, and top to bottom.

That said, this structure is not a rigid one. Sure, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors have to be eradicated before hitting the publish button. Citations need to be in place, copyright-free images must be used. There is ample room for creativity beyond that.

That’s that.

I choose to self-publish this story because I am not writing for anyone else but myself. I have decided to type what is relevant to me, for me. This is a way to release the inner tension and emotional distress in my head. Hopefully, after publishing this piece, I would be able to purge all self-destructive thoughts from my mind.

This week is tough for me for both writing and business. Let me start with my writing hustle.

I have tried relentlessly to knock on the doors of large publications, submitting stories for publication. Quite naturally, this is a hit or miss because either I meet their editorial standards or I do not. And sometimes, whether my story is worthy of consideration or not.

I take a deep breath each time I hit the submit button. Many times, many weeks later, I would receive their rejection emails explaining why they are not considering my story for publication. They have gone one step further to explain why so. All is good, and their opinions deserve to be respected.

That said, reading rejection letters one after another magnifies that sentiment of negativity like piling…