I write blog posts for businesses nearly every day. When I’m not doing that, I write fantasy. Sometimes I write short stories. But I don’t usually write about my own life or share personal stories with my audience.
Today I decided that a personal blog would be a nice addition to this personal portfolio website. I ghostwrite most of the time, so I don’t think I have any following out there. But, just in case, I want to share how I got here and where I’m going.
Thanks for reading, and cheers to you for being here!
How Did I Get Here?
Let me start by saying that I’ve always loved to write, and I’ve always dreamed of making my living writing. My sister reminded me recently that when we were kids, every time we played pretend and had pretend jobs, I was always a writer. I even had my own fake company, “Anna Ink.” Get it?
Somewhere along the line, I stopped pursuing that dream. It might have been in high school, where I was a very confident teen but always self-conscious to let others read my writing. It might have been during career planning, where writing seemed like a fool’s choice. Maybe it was – TBD.
Research Writing in Undergrad
So I went to school for personal and professional communication, learning how businesses work and present themselves to the world. I completed a second major in history (accidentally) by taking so many extra history classes.
I focused on research writing, winning a conference-wide top paper award at the Eastern Communication Association’s annual conference. I wrote extensively, but the thought of being a writer hardly crossed my mind again.
Management & Marketing
After undergrad, I returned to my management role at a designer consignment store. I took two internships in marketing and PR and worked all three jobs at the same time. I moved to New York City for an office management and marketing position that didn’t pan out. I returned to my hometown to work for State Farm Insurance.
I didn’t consider writing a part of my life anymore, although I started a blog to share about the books I read and places I traveled. I never shared it with anyone I knew.
Teaching History in NYC (10th Grade Global & AP World)
Frustrated with the monotony of my work and my lack of interest in what I was doing, I went back to school to be a history teacher. I loved history and had always excelled at the subject. I also loved ELA, but I didn’t want to be an ELA teacher. I felt it wasn’t as professional (not sure why I felt that way at the time), and I heard it was harder to get a job.
I continued working at State Farm, began attending classes at Stony Brook University at night, and earned my master’s and teaching certs in Social Studies for grades 5-12. I moved to NYC to move closer to my boyfriend (now husband) and completed my student teaching there while working for State Farm remotely.
I got a job as a social studies teacher in the city. For four years, I taught 10th grade global history and AP World History. I worked with the ELA teachers to build an integrated curriculum that supported writing skills in all our classes in both buildings where I was a lead teacher. I rediscovered my love of writing as I taught my students to write as an integral part of my history class.
COVID-19 Hits & Life Changes
I was in New York City when the pandemic hit and shut everything down in March 2020. My husband and I lived in Astoria for years, and we watched our beloved neighborhood fall apart around us.
Nearly everyone we knew left the city, so we made friends with our downstairs neighbors, got a dog (Yogi the Bernese Mountain Dog) and enjoyed the quality time together. It was a trying time to be there, but we made the best of it.
In June 2020, we found out we were pregnant with our son. So, we bought a house in Connecticut and left NYC in August 2020. I taught another year remotely from Connecticut. I started to realize that I didn’t want to work in the New York City public schools while raising my own child at home, especially with an hour-long commute.
I started to seriously consider my next move but didn’t know where to start.
My son was born in February 2021. After he was born, I used all my sick days and then took unpaid leave for the remainder of the school year. School was back in person, I couldn’t get vaxxed until June due to lack of info for nursing mothers. The NYC Department of Education COVID policy was unclear at best and frightening at worst.
I couldn’t convince myself that it was worth traveling an hour on public transportation to teach classes in windowless rooms with an infant at home. I went back for three days at the end of June to avoid my paychecks being withheld until October, and then no more.
Blogging for Businesses
Also in the spring of 2021, I started to help my brother with the writing he needed for his radio show. He hosts The Ryan Show and co-hosts What’s Goin On with Nate Brown on Fox Sports. He needed press releases, artist bios, website copy, etc. Helping him got me thinking: Maybe I should look into writing for others. I put in for an extended unpaid childcare leave until my youngest child turns 4 (just in case this didn’t pan out) and started looking into it.
I started working for an agency where I could pick up different blog articles for various clients across industries. I couldn’t believe how much I loved it. I mean, I had loved teaching, but teaching brought many things I really didn’t like, usually related to mismanagement from above. Writing these blog posts was 100% good, all the time.
I loved researching and writing about different topics. I loved making my own hours and having the autonomy to prioritize my son while still working and making some money. I was fortunate that my husband’s career was successful and allowed me to pursue this.
For the first time ever, I was following my childhood dream of becoming a writer.
Becoming a Mother
Before I continue, I need to discuss the impact of becoming a mother on this story. I’d long known that I was a good writer and would be happy with a writing career, but I’d also never believed that I could be a successful writer. I didn’t think it was a “real” job, and even if it was, I was too self-conscious to put my writing out there in the world.
But then I became a mom. I grew a tiny little human, delivered, and then nursed him to keep him alive. He was happy and healthy. I had wonderful support from my husband and our families, but really – I did that. And if I could do that, I can do anything. And this gave me the confidence to know that if I set out to be a writer, I could do it. So I am.
Transcend Main Street
After a few months of writing for the agency, I decided to see if I could find my own blogging clients. I took advantage of my husband’s parental leave to open an LLC, build a website, and start my own business.
I combined my love of writing with my background in small business management and started Transcend Main Street to help small businesses build blogs and websites.
Transcend Main Street is still very new but will hopefully grow into a significant book of business one day. In the meantime, I still write articles for the agency I started at and have no plans to stop. I genuinely enjoy blogging for businesses and it’s a great way to make money while raising our family.
Writing Young Adult Fantasy
Somewhere along the way, I decided to sit down and start writing a novel.
I’ve always wanted to write a book and now seemed like the perfect time. My husband and I were hanging out one afternoon and I brought up that I would love to write a book but didn’t know what to write about.
He shared an idea he had when he was younger that he always thought would make a great story, and we were off! That night, we had fun filling up the big chalkboard in our garage with notes and a story map. I’m 60 pages in now and beyond excited to finish the story.
I’ve heard it’s a wild world out there querying and searching for a publisher, but I think I can swing it. At least I’ll give it the old college try. My fantasy novel is the one area that I still feel self-conscious about sharing with others, but I’m working on getting over this.
I’ve become active on Twitter and actually told people I’m writing the book. Hopefully, they will hold me accountable for sharing it and getting it done.
If you’re still here, thanks for staying with me. This is truly how I got here, starting a writing career at age 29.
Why am I writing? I write because I love to write. I am a writer because I am fortunate enough to be one.
Where am I Going?
Who knows.
Kidding, sort of. But really – I never thought I would end up here, but I did! So, it turns out life is kind of a crapshoot, anyway.
I hope to find an agent and publisher for the fantasy novel I am working so hard to write and perfect. I hope my business, Transcend Main Street, takes off and I find small business clients who want to hire me to write their blogs.
I am excited to continue growing our family and living a wonderful life in our beautiful little town in Connecticut. I can’t wait to watch James grow up and to keep learning from him and his future siblings. I hope we have many years of fun with our giant Bernese Mountain Dog ahead of us. We are so fortunate to be where we are and to have one another, and I hope we can always be so lucky.
Looking Forward: A Personal Blog
Looking forward, I want to keep writing this blog on my personal site. This post is probably the most personal thing I’ve ever put into the world, and it’s nice to share my story. If you’re interested in learning more about me or reading more about my writing career, subscribe for updates (here or on Medium).
You can also follow me on Twitter, where I am having fun getting back into the social media game. I am notoriously bad at my personal social media accounts, but Twitter is great because I don’t need to remember to take photos to be successful (sorry, Instagram).
Well, that’s all! Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading. Drop a comment to join the conversation.
Let’s connect: Website // Instagram // Weekly Newsletter // Medium
Copyright © 2023 Anna Dunworth
Comentários