I am making more bold decisions than I used to.

#3: PITCHING TO BIGGER PUBLICATIONS

When I stepped away from full-time employment last summer, I had one contract gig and some vague notions about where I'd seek more work. Where do I begin since I'm not great at self-promotion?

I started by simply staying in touch.

Background: One of the teams I'd previously met through my old job was a PR firm. They invited me down to Atlanta to interview some speakers at a large Christian conference. 

Changed plans: But then some things went a little askew the day before the conference. Schedules shifted, and the list of people I was to interview dwindled. I felt a smidge of disappointment. But I went anyway. 

I tried not to cave to old negativity. I viewed the hours spent with my husband in the car as good bonding time. And I hoped that something unexpected might come from this trip.

Results: The results were interactions that became a blessing. The people I interviewed were super inspiring. I reconnected with a writing friend, ate dinner with another friend's colleagues. And I met an editor of a larger publication who told me to pitch her some article ideas. 

My reconnected relationship has given me new freelance camaraderie, and she introduced me to a new magazine I didn't know existed. Faithfully Magazine has been a blessing to read, challenging my perspectives. I submitted interviews, and the editor published one. 

Months later, a piece I pitched is in the works with the large publication editor I met. Also I was recently contracted for a writing project with the friend's colleagues I had dinner with. New audiences, new ways to use my skills. 

Attitude check: God's plans are not my own. There are hidden blessings behind earlier disappointments. I have to trust His timing, His ways. I have to expect God to be moving—He is all the time, if I will only open my eyes to see. He will use me if I remain available. 

It is definitely a new experience to work on the writing end rather than being the editor. I'm gaining from it. Ever onward!

Find out my other three bold moves: my tattoo, my audition, my project.

Photo by Bianca Isofache on Unsplash