It comes and goes every year and I always forget to celebrate. I’m not even sure if I should. I mean, in writer years I’m only 8.
Yes June 18th was my writerversary or really, authorversary. Do columns and non-fiction articles count?
Who cares? I’m making up words anyway. I guess I can define them as I please.
8 years ago this month I was gifted my own column with the St. Louis Examiner. I had no idea what I was doing. I never even knew I could be a writer. I was a singer who found that every “big break” came with a price I wasn’t willing to pay.
I had just walked away from one dream and stumbled into another. Now, I had always written. This is not some dumb-luck tale. Stories, journals, storytelling were always a part of me. Songwriting gifted me the ability to put rhythm and lyrics to my imaginings and sometimes true rememberings, but when I stopped actively pursuing gigs and the limelight a hole opened up.
My daughter and my community helped me realize what I needed. It took one conversation with a woman at the annual St. Louis Pagan Picnic to get me started. She simply appreciated my views on parenting, spirituality, and life. She said, “You should write about it,” and went on to tell me that others would love to hear what I had to say.
I have no idea what her name was, where she was from, or if I’ve ever crossed paths with her again, but when I discussed it with friends and neighbors they loved the idea. My daughter constantly asked me to make up more of my silly stories for her.
It fit.
I submitted an idea for a column and BAM! I suddenly fell into the publishing world.
It’s got a lot of tunnels and doors. It’s not easy to navigate, but I think I’m doing okay.
This year alone I was published in my city’s # 1 newspaper, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, am being featured as the SCBWI’s author of the month in August, and just gained a place with Lit Reactor (my first article goes up July 2nd and guides male authors on how to write female characters without angering actual real-life women).
Not bad.
I can do better.
I plan to.
I always have more projects in the works, but for now I want to thank every single person who has read my work. Especially the lady who told me to write. Some of my material was just plain crap in the beginning, some needed time and polishing.
I’ve been working on my craft.
Upping the game is always a must and I can’t wait to display all I’ve learned along the way.
Jessica Marie Baumgartner 
How are you doing Jessica??
Happy writer birthday! I’m glad you’re here!
Thanks haha
Yay! Keep at it!
Thanks haha I will
Happy anniversary
Thanks
Writers can get down on themselves, and it’s important to do what you’ve done here, Jess: to celebrate all you’ve accomplished and congratulate yourself on doing something many talk about but few actually get around to!
Thanks haha I try. The ups and downs of publishing are very real, but always worth it 🙂
and for some reason WP hates me today and won’t let me comment on any of your blogs haha
Happy writing anniversary and many blessings. All the luck for you with even more achievements. Yes, it’s great how God sends us strange people sometimes to say or write something to us that might change a lot of our life…
Just gotta let the fates see what comes next 🙂
Happy writer b-day! Perseverance and elbow grease definitely required to stay the writer course. May you continue to forge new paths.
For real. Here’s to 8 more and who knows what beyond that!
Happy Belated Birthday! What a fun post. I never thought of writing in terms like this before. So clever! (Also, you have a good voice. Super fun wordsmithery going on here!)