Writing: The Highs & Lows & 'Dislike' Button

This past week has been a week of extreme highs and moderate lows. Most of you know a major blog site -- BlogHer.com -- featured several of my blogs. As of this writing more than 4,000 people have viewed (and hopefully read) my words. What a rush! Do I care that I'm not paid for this? Heck no! Just as I bask in every post y'all share on your Facebook pages and/or Twitter feeds -- not to mention your comments -- I've reveled in this small success. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm proud -- and as an extra perk, my dopamine levels have been off the charts!

And then we have the crap. Although it didn't bother me as much as it would've several months ago, having comments such as, "Do women really stress over this?" and "Where is the 'dislike' button?" ...well, it kind of sucks. My favorite one is from Mollie H. who wrote, "This article made my blood pressure rise… I assume this woman also still uses baby talk… Act like an adult!!!!!!" <---- Note the six exclamation points.

In addition, I received my first rejection letter from a major consumer magazine. Although I never expected to be given an assignment on my first try, it still hurts to have an editor say that my work "doesn't fill their current editorial needs." My dad told me over breakfast this morning to save it. "It will mean something to you one day when you're published."

Thanks, Dad. Kicked the dopamine back up a bit.

The truth is, there's a silver lining in both the hurtful comments and the rejection letter. For the first time, I'm gaining the confidence to submit query letters. I interviewed a doctor from Loyola University, for crying out loud, and spent hours researching my subject before carefully penning a proposal. Sure, it might not ever come to anything, but already my research for the next proposal is proceeding a little more smoothly. For the first time, I'm thinking like a journalist when I overhear a conversation or read an interesting story in the local newspaper.

And as for the comments? Let's be realistic: My article is making waves! It has more than 1,800 views, 43 comments (most of them encouraging), and it's been shared on Facebook 86 times. It's still in the top 3 most popular posts on the home page, and it's 72 hours old! That's ancient in the blogosphere!  Although I never anticipated the controversy that surrounded this -- and definitely want to avoid it in the near future -- I've made a name for myself in a tiny section of the web.

So I'll take the good with the bad. It may not always be the case, but more often than not life gives us both, probably to balance us out.

I'm lucky to have a life that doesn't often require a "dislike" button, and especially lucky to have readers like you that don't request one from me -- at least not out loud! So thank you for that, and especially to the ones who shared, tweeted, and/or commented on any of my posts, not just the ones this week.

I absolutely "Like!" (with six exclamation points)

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