Yesterday I had my 500th published piece of work placed on https://go2tutors.com

I’ve written a lot in my now 11 year career. I’ve genre hopped. Played with science-fiction, fantasy, and even literary fiction. I’ve written children’s picture books, and have a bunch of unpublished children’s chapter books and middle grade just waiting for the right moment.

But nonfiction is where I started. It’s where I am at home. It’s where my audience has cheered me on, jeered at me, and where the publishing industry has said, “Sure, why not?”

Yesterday I had my 500th piece of published work go out to the public. I love writing education news. It isn’t the best paying job I’ve ever had, but it is the most rewarding. Even the tragic stories teach me something.

I’ve been homeschooling for nearly 11 years now. It’s a big part of who I am. Education matters so much to me. It’s a never ending process that doesn’t start and stop in a classroom. My best lessons were learned outside and offered by people who never earned a teaching certificate.

I just keep plugging away. Yesterday my husband just looked at me and said, “You know, you’re the only real writer I’ve ever known.” As a former comic book artist he knew plenty of writers who wanted to make it big, but all of them struggled to finish, they often lost battles with self-doubt or addiction issues. Now, I’m nothing special. I just wake up early, take care of myself, my family, and my home. I don’t like to sit still, I don’t watch much TV, rarely have time for movies and distractions. I’d rather go hiking, swimming, fishing, or experience something new in order to unwind before I have to tackle my next assignment.

But when it’s time to write, I get to it. I don’t fiddle or make excuses. Anyone can do it. A good work ethic is needed to properly foster talent (and my talents in writing are few since I’m a dyslexic sillyheart).

This needs to be said because writing is too often romanticized. People act like it’s a fantasy life, but it’s not. It’s hard and painful and worth every tear, just like any other career. The work is what matters. The work and those who take the time to read it, and today I just had to sit back for a moment and thank everyone for reading this, and any of my other pieces. 500 is a HUGE number. Walter E Williams wrote way more. Ron Paul could out-word me in a second. But I’ve been in such good company in my time as a journalist, author, and writer all this needed to be said.

Who knows what we can create when we put in the work. Maybe I’ll even reach 1K or 10K works published.

Who knows?