How I Became a Writer - And How Associated Content Helped Along the Way

So, I'm sitting in an airport in Houston, and I am waiting for my connecting flight back to Colorado. I am on my way back from New York and my appearance on the Today Show. But, I am getting ahead of myself. I should back up a few weeks.

I teach writing to middle school students. A few months ago, I was speaking to some colleagues of mine, and I was commenting that, "Writing teachers should be writing."

"After all", I said "how can we expect students to see the relevance of what we teach if we aren't doing it? We can't expect our students to see writing as an art if we aren't personally treating it as one."

Since I opened my big mouth, I figured I needed to do something about it. Winter break was coming up, and I had some spare time to write, so I did. In fact, I wrote a lot. I submitted articles to dozens of media outlets, responded to dozens of writing gig ads on Craigslist, and I answered as many calls for content as I could find. I was writing again, and I loved it. I am not the world's greatest author, but it felt good to be exploring my passion again. I had hoped that my rekindled love of the written word would somehow become contagious to my students.

The days went on, and I didn't hear anything. Although I was passionate, I had started to think my skills did not match my enthusiasm. My desire to create slowly gave way to my need to be vindicated. I wanted to believe that I was good enough to be published; I wanted to know that, according to my own rules, I deserved to be a writing teacher. That is when I found Associated Content.

I joined Associated Content and submitted my first article with trepidation. Twenty-four hours later, I was welcomed to Associated Content, and offered a humble but satisfying $3.14 for my first article. It wasn't the money. I never said that writing teachers needed to be rich; I said that they needed to be writing, and in my opinion, writers need to be read. Associated Content offered me both a purpose and an audience. It was official; I was a writer.

As the weeks passed, I submitted another article (another $3 and change), and then another. I was bold now; I responded to a call for content. It wasn't the Great American Novel, but it was fun. I wrote a piece on How to Throw a High School Musical Themed Birthday Party. After all, I have a daughter and she loves HSM, and writers should write what they know. This time I was paid $4.50 and had over a thousand page views. Associated Content was working out for me. I was ecstatic because I was a real-life published author.

I kept applying for writing gigs along the way. As my Associated Content Library grew, I was able to offer it to perspective employers as a portfolio. Sure enough, I was offered a position to write for ContentQuake. They wanted me to be a blogger for ABC's Lost. This wasn't just a gig. I had a writing job.

My passion was ignited, and I began to flip through my journals looking for ideas that I could pull from. I came across some old journal entries (yes, I make my students journal, and now, I will never stop). A number of years ago, I had made some financial mistakes, and my wife and I experienced a tough time together. I wrote about it. I authored a piece entitled "Financial Infidelity - I was a Cheating Spouse". I wrote the piece as a redemption story with the hope that someone would read it and learn from my mistakes. I wanted to use my passion for writing to make a difference.

Meanwhile, across the country, a syndicated author for Yahoo!Finance, Laura Rowley, was researching for an article on spouses that hide financial matters from their other halves. She found my Associated Content piece and thought it fit her story. She looked up my number and called me. Based on my AC piece, she interviewed me over the phone for a piece that was going to be featured on Yahoo!Finance. I was staggered, after all, I thought my High School Musical Birthday Party was my "Leaves of Grass."

That brings me back to the present moment. Like I said, I am sitting in an airport waiting to return from the Today show. That's right, NBC's Today Show. My wife and I were whisked away from our suburban life in Colorado and rushed to Manhattan, where Natalie Morales interviewed us about repairing a relationship after Financial Infidelity. You see, Laura Rowley picked up my story from Associated Content, and NBC picked up her Yahoo!Finance piece. So there my wife and I found ourselves on that famous studio couch, sandwiched between a national television show host and a nationally syndicated author. Now, I'm just a teacher, but I am pretty sure that counts as success.

I don't know if I will ever be able to top this experience, and I certainly don't know what will happen next. I do know that I will go into my classroom next week, and the next week, and the week after that. I will tell my students that writing is important. I will teach them that if they can learn to use their words effectively, amazing things might happen, and I will be able to prove it.