Reality is just setting in, now. Got an email and went online to accept payment for my first published short story. Thank you, Neo-Opsis!
For the first time, I can say I’m an author who earned money from a story I wrote. That’s not saying I’m a pro, compared to SFWA’s definition of a pro. But, for me, this is quite an achievement.
I’ve been paid as a newspaperman, for a column in a journal (a small stipend), and some piece work over my lifetime. But, this is my first commercial story sale.
It has been years in coming. New Kid survived a number of submissions and rejections. But, I had faith in it and I kept sending it out. It found a home!
Never get discouraged and never give up.
Keep writing.
