Living from one Not-A-No email to another

As most freelancers will attest to, the next best thing to getting a “yes, go ahead and write that amazing article/story/book” email or phone call is getting an email that asks for further clarification of a query or proposal, says that they’re considering it, or that they are still discussing the upcoming calendar. That means… it’s not a “no” yet!

I received one of those emails yesterday. A couple of months ago, I sent a query to a magazine that I would love to write for. I hadn’t heard back so I sent the editor a follow-up note two weeks ago. She responded, telling me that they were going to be meeting soon to discuss calendars. Great, I thought. That’s a not-a-no. :-) Yesterday, I received another email from her asking for some more information about my query, which I promptly sent off. That’s another not-a-no. :-) So, even now if she eventually comes back with a no thanks, although I’ll be disappointed, I am happy to know that at least my query had enough merit to catch her attention and maybe I’ll come up with a more fitting idea to try again. Notice that I didn’t say a better idea – I think my idea is good and obviously she thinks it has merit too. If it is refused, it’s because it doesn’t quite fit and that’s ok.

I don’t mind the rejection notes, that’s part of the freelance life. In fact, I prefer a rejection note to sheer silence. That’s frustrating because you never know if your idea was ever considered. I know that my writing isn’t a good fit for all magazines or journals and that not all topics are what they want at that time. Not to mention, I’m not exactly a household name and my publications in non-health related stuff is pretty slim. So, rejections are all part of the game. But I’m just so tickled when I know that my ideas are being considered at least.

So, some people live paycheck to paycheck – I live from not-a-no email to not-a-no-email. Works for me.

News for today:
HPV vaccination plan should be halted, reviewed: researcher
New breast cancer type has poor prognosis
Research suggests 1 joint equals up to 5 cigarettes
Rotating shift workers have lower levels of serotonin
Hostile Men Could Have Greater Risk for Heart Disease, Study Finds