No — I Won’t “Add Research” to Backup My Life Story
What the title says.
This is a rant. Kind of.
Okay, you’ve been warned. Moving on.
First of all, I’d like to mention something. I know you’re probably thinking “Omg, but you have 0 followers, what do you know about submitting to publications”. Well, to tell you the truth, this isn’t my main Medium profile. I have another one on which I write about the serious stuff. I just started this new one today because of one reason and one reason only:
I’m sick and tired of trying to make every article perfect.
I’m tired of pouring my heart out on a story for 2 days or more, only to submit it to a publication and hours later find a note from an editor telling me that I need to “add more research to back up my claims”.
Okay, noted. So you’re telling me I can’t write about how seeing baby ducks on the sidewalk helps me get through a crappy day because I didn’t cite someone who wrote a book on animal therapy? B. S.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I understand 100% that when you publish something you are exposing a piece of your mind to millions and millions of people, so, if you’re making claims, better have something to back them up with, right? I get this. It makes sense. But, why does it have to apply to personal stories as well? They are called personal for a reason, for Christ’s sake!
I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind with a freaking line that mentions ducks. I’m not trying to convince anyone that duck-watching will lead them to a happier life. I’m not trying to teach anyone a Marketing lesson inspired by said ducks. I’m not trying to tell anyone how to live their lives. I’m just trying to live mine; and I’m sharing my life journey with hundreds of people in the process, who may or may not relate to my personal anecdotes.
I didn’t actually write about ducks. But you get the idea (I hope).
Not all my stories are personal essays, but when I’m looking to publish one of those, I search for publications that specifically say they are looking for personal essays. But, man, even those have been giving me such a hard time lately…
What’s the point of googling random quotes or adding links to articles that I haven’t even read? I don’t have any points to prove. That’s my story. From my point of view. With my feelings. Sorry, but I’m not backing up my feelings with someone else’s words. Not when I’m not trying to influence anyone into anything.
Sigh
Okay. End of the rant.
I think I will keep this new profile alive for now as an experiment. I’m loving this idea of pouring my thoughts into a safe space; not having to worry about making every little detail perfect or spending hours trying to figure out which title would get me the most views.
Not all of my posts will have pictures. Not all of my posts will have clickbaity titles. Some of them might even be 1 minute long; some of them might be 10 minutes long. You’ll never know what kind of content you’ll get from me that’s for sure. I can promise you one thing though: I will always post when I have something of value to say.
By remaining incognito I’ll be able to make the most out of this. No one will be biased by my number of followers, or my profile picture, or the color of my skin. I’m going to write about whatever the heck I want, however the heck I want to. If people read it, good. If it makes any money, even better. I will just focus on one thing and one thing only: Writing. Because that’s what I came here to do.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. See you soon.