The Garden of Writing Delights
“Ommm at Home: Can Humdrum Housework Be Holy?” “The Lure of the Painful Childhood” “It’s Not Just Hammocks and Margaritas: My Life As An Expat in Mexico” “6 Life Lessons From My Month In Post-War Bosnia” “How Bicycling Along a Dusty Country Road in Morocco Saved My Marriage”
Great variety of themes, eh? Such is the richness of my writing life. Oh, what fun I’ve had the last few years returning to my early writing roots.
I sold my first article in 1976 — about traveling around England with my then-boyfriend Barry Evans — to an airline magazine for $75. I’ll never forget the afternoon a month later, sitting on the steps of my co-op house in Vancouver, B.C., speechless: Glamour magazine had just offered $750 for my article on running.
I kept writing when Barry, by then my husband, and I lived in Bellingham, Washington, where I also led weight-loss groups (I sold “Self-Esteem: The Best Diet Pill There Is” several times). But when we moved to Palo Alto and our rent jumped from $265/month to $1,400, I needed to earn a serious living for the first time in my life. It didn’t take me long to discover that corporate training paid far better than writing.
So writing faded away until about five years ago, when, while sitting at a café in Guanajuato, Mexico, where Barry and I live part of the year, an editor at International Living (and fellow expat) explained that the magazine had five editors, each with separate budgets. I had already sold one article to them, but didn’t realize how many editors there were.
I fired off a query to the “Postcards” editor called, “Help Your Wallet and Your Waistline: Tips for Cooking on Airbnbs.” When he accepted it, I was off and running.
When COVID hit, I decided to dedicate myself to my writing. I’m now writing articles on topics such as language exchanges, where I practice Spanish and my compañero/a practices English. Other articles include annoying myths and misconceptions about Mexico; insights from 50 years of backpacking; Lamphere Dunes, and how my centenarian dad spends his days.
Compared to the ’70s, today’s freelancer pay sucks. The most I’ve been paid recently was $540 for an article on elder care. I’m lucky if I get $200, whereas in 1989, the now-defunct New Woman paid me $1,000 for an article on communication.
Así es*. I’m happy to be writing, merrily thinking of ideas in the shower, on my bike, in my dreams.
Hey, I have to get cracking. My article on backpacking is due tomorrow. Off and running, again.
Louisa Rogers is a writer and speaker who offers workshops and coaching on pitching, marketing, writing and speaking.
Visit louisarogers.contently.com or email louisarogers51@gmail.com.
*Así es = That’s right.
https://louisarogers.contently.com
