I Finally Got My First Byline

Look, Ma. I made it.

Image by Nicolas Menijes

Six months ago, I quit my full-time job to pursue my childhood dream of being a writer. I was apprehensive. A big old bag of nerves, really. I didn’t know how to make this writing thing work, I just knew I wanted it. Queue me throwing my all at cold-pitching to write content for publications, and feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration and dejection with every ignored pitch and every rejection.

I didn’t know if I’d ever get a piece accepted. The rejections stung, and made a writing career feel so distant. Getting a byline seemed like a faraway dream.

Giving up wasn’t an option, so for two months I wrote draft after draft, submitted pitch after pitch and heard… nothing. Plenty of nothing, and the odd ‘no’ mixed in for good measure.

Then one day I received an email that made my heart pound.

“We like the sound of this… but could you add a few more points?”

A maybe. I had received a maybe.

Eagerly, with shaking hands, I responded with a yes. Of course, I could expand on my piece! I’d initially had extra points included that I’d cut out. And they wanted them back, which seemed like a complete no-brainer.

And then I sat on the article. I didn’t write a single thing for a week.

Imposter syndrome hit hard. I had gone from expecting — and receiving — the no responses and outright no’s to this maybe. I hadn’t been prepared for a maybe.

Suddenly, I couldn’t write anything, and I thought, well, this is it. That’s my writing career over before it’s even begun. I can’t even write this one thing.

I took a step away from that writing and focused on legal contracts work for a client. The article was constantly at the back of my mind.

Maybe.

The word floated around in my head day after day.

Maybe.

That meant they liked what I’d written, surely?

Maybe.

Was I so afraid of failure that I’d throw away this chance?

I sat down, wrote and hit the ’send’ button.

Weeks passed back as I anxiously awaited a response. Eventually, I assumed it was a no or I wasn’t going to get a response. Then the miraculous happened.

“We really enjoyed your piece & we’d love to publish your article”

They said yes.

Yes to my article.

Yes to my first-ever byline.

Yes, to a paycheck with my name on it.

I was elated.

And I’m beyond proud to say that I’ve now finally got my first-ever byline.

Thank you, from my fifteen-year-old self.

Image © Rebecca Holland

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