I Wrote 45 Articles for 39 Publications in 30 Days

Closing out my whirlwind of a 30-day writing challenge

Aaaaand that’s a wrap for my 30-day writing challenge!

Kindly motivated by David Majister who offered me a helping hand in ensuring I stay on this writing train.

Because I am a writer! And you are a writer, and you are a writer … if only Oprah could give us writing confidence with the ease she gives out cars!

It’s been a whirlwind of a month but as the dust settles, I’m proudly looking at my list of published articles like one fondly gazes upon her children. All 45 of these “children”!

The Quantifiable Stuff

Articles: Achievement unlocked ✅ Goal: 30 stories Achieved: 45 stories

Publications: Achievement unlocked ✅ Goal: 30 publications Achieved: 39 publications submitted to (31 published with)

Follower growth: Achievement unlocked ✅ Starting point: 0 followers Goal: 200 new followers Achieved: 319 new followers

Income: Achievement unlocked ✅ Starting point: $0.01 Goal: $15.00 Achieved: $46.57

Reflections On The Quantifiable Stuff

Why did I go above and beyond the 30 article requirement?

Because some of these stories just needed to be written.

I was hit by this sudden inspiration to write and I couldn’t let that opportunity slip past me. I’d read about this happening to other writers and when I felt it, I was giddy with excitement because it felt to me like I was really becoming a writer!

Why did I go above and beyond the 30 publication requirement?

This speaks to my imposter syndrome cross over-achiever personality.

I really wanted to be able to say that I was published in 30 pubs by the end of the challenge and, as we all know, you might not get published with every pub you submit to.

Did I sandbag my follower and income targets?

Maybe? Not exactly but I also didn’t give myself a stretch target? Because I didn’t want to fail so early on in my writing journey because I have imposter syndrome?

These are the conversations I have with my inner writing demons but even as I put them on paper now, I’m saying them all with question marks at the end. So here’s to tossing a heavy dose of doubt onto my inner doubts!

I joined this challenge formally near the middle of the month. So in setting my targets, I simply extended my trend linearly. I excluded the “snowball” effect or the impact of those pesky algorithms finally working in my favor because I’ve become active enough to warrant their attention.

The Qualitative Stuff

Identify as a writer: Achievement unlocked ✅

Find my voice as a writer: 50% complete

Believe that I can write: Achievement unlocked ✅

Prove that I could stick with writing: Achievement unlocked ✅

Reflections On The Qualitative Stuff

How did I come to identify as a writer?

I wanted to stop saying, “I’m starting to write” and transition to saying, “I’m a writer.” As many would expect, the more I wrote, the more confident and comfortable I became.

Writing “Of All the Identities I Wear in Life, Calling Myself a Writer Has Been One of the Hardest” was like my own personal debut as a writer.

Why didn’t I find my voice as a writer?

Finally calling myself a writer is like putting on a brand new leather jacket. It fits and I’m wearing it, but it’s not quite comfy yet. It hasn’t been broken in and the leather hasn’t been softened with use.

I see that “breaking in process” as finding my voice as a writer and I don’t think I’m quite there yet.

I kept receiving comments about my use of humor in articles that I didn’t intend to be funny. So then I tried my hand at writing humor only to be rejected by two humor publications. So maybe I’m only funny to non-funny people?

I also had four articles rejected by the same publication under the generic, “We are going to pass on this one as it’s not quite right for us, but we really appreciate you sending it our way” line.

I begged the editor to tell me why. Acknowledging that editors have a lot on their plates, I pointed out that telling me once exactly why these stories aren’t a good fit will take less time than me persistently sending articles to him. He told me very nicely that my writing sounds “bloggy”, which isn’t a bad thing but isn’t what he’s looking for.

Cool. Maybe my writing voice is “bloggy-funny-but-not-funny”?

The “30 different publications” is a really important part of this writing challenge.

It felt like speed dating on steroids with different publications and editors. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and got me writing about things I’d previously dismissed, thinking “I know nothing about that; how am I going to write about it?”

Some of these editors offered me a warm home — a community of fledgling writers like myself — and I wanted to settle down with them. I wouldn’t have gone exploring without this challenge and I’ve discovered some pretty cool connections along the way.

How Am I Feeling After a Hardcore Month of Writing?

This is an important question. Important enough for me to give this train of thought its own section.

Earlier this year, I signed up for a 40-day yoga challenge. I’m really bad at yoga and had been dabbling on and off for years with limited progress and lukewarm feelings. So I figured I’d give it one really solid, consistent try to see if I could feel excited about yoga.

I couldn’t.

The 40-days felt like forever and I even cheated with some “meditation” yoga. Every couple of days, I wanted to just quit — but I didn’t. So “yay me” for finishing the challenge, but I didn’t get on my mat again for several months after because I could confidently say that I don’t like yoga.

I don’t feel like that about writing.

Instead, I feel energized and excited! I have all these ideas that I want to explore through my writing, and I know I have more potential to discover in myself.

When I wake up in the morning, I’m pondering which story I want to work on next. I can’t wait for my workday to be over so that I can continue my writing.

When I’m going about my day, I’m musing over words and how they can be arranged to make impactful sentences. When the words finally fit together, it’s like a symphony of instruments that are finally in tune with each other.

When I’m going to bed, I sometimes can’t fall asleep because these wonderful ideas keep popping up in my head. I have to write them down and ask them if they can please wait quietly in line till I can get to them.

Allison’s Small Hall of Fame

I said these articles were like my children — after all, I created them. But unlike children, I get to play favorites without their feelings getting hurt, which seems like a pretty good way to wrap up this challenge.

Happy reading (if you care to) and I look forward to bumping into more of you fellow challenge-accepting writers out there!

Top three performers:

Top three by reads:

Top three most underrated:

Top three from the heart:

Top three in humor — you tell me if I’m funny!