Five years ago today I began my freelance career. So much has happened during the last five years that it feels like a lot longer. In all, I've been working in the equine magazine industry, writing and taking photos, for ten years this year. But as a freelancer, I've written a huge amount of articles--I just did an inventory and kind of blew my own mind at the number.
But for each article, I spend a lot of time planning, interviewing multiple sources, transcribing, writing, editing and taking/editing/writing captions for photos. Each story is a labor of love, and I work really hard to make it entertaining, educational and compelling for the magazine reader. Plus, hopefully avoiding massive editing headaches for the magazine staff. :-)
This last month was a heavy workload. I was very happy to turn in all my stories, but 24 hours later, as I was driving to visit the gelding I get to ride once a week (My reward!), my mind was planning future stories and contemplating sources. I get so much joy spending time with my children during the day and pressing in to my work when they're asleep and on the days when we have childcare. I'm still jazzed to sit down with a cup of coffee in my office to craft a good story. Especially when I can work in my house shoes and pet my cat sitting on my desk! I love to talk to sources and hear their expertise and tales, knowing it's going to turn into a good solid article. I love when a photo shoot has magic light, pretty horses and everything just comes together. Even when it doesn't work perfectly, when I get the shots I need, it's still a success. And I'm so appreciative of the relationships developed with editors, sources and colleagues. The horse publication world is a niche in the journalism industry. It's been such a good home for me and I'm proud to be able to contribute to these magazines.
This has been a wonderful five years, and while I don't know what the future holds, it's exciting to plan, dream and work hard every day. At so many points on this journey, I see God's hand. He's provided for me, given me these talents and continually opened doors. I give Him all the glory for anything I've been able to accomplish. Thank you for reading. I do this for you!
