A few years ago, I was writing an identical article for my own blog, theo-cracy.com, celebrating the acceptance of my submission from a print magazine. I had written for many popular websites until then, but never for a REAL magazine.
And it wasn't just any magazine; it was Games World of Puzzles, the world's most popular magazine of its kind with millions of copies sold worldwide each month.
They liked my work so much that they commissioned from me two more articles for later issues. I also wrote for Cruise Industry News, XXL Mag (Hip Hop's "Bible"), Strange and Τρίτο Μάτι.
My work has also been included in two books so far: Listverse.com’s Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Top 10 Lists and Best Rock Writing 2014, funded by Mojo and edited by LEGENDARY rock critic Reverend Keith A. Gordon!!!
A lot of awesome things (to me at least) have happened during my 5-year "career" as a freelancer writer: I worked as a staff writer for GIANTS of the web world as List25, Today I Found Out, Ancient Origins, Listverse, American Express, and Ranker, while my work has also been published by TITANS as Ars Technica, Ozy, Mental Floss and High Tech's DEITY Gizmodo.
Even though I am not an atheist, a piece I wrote about atheism for Gunaxin, was republished by Richard Dawkins Foundation. The man was so impressed with the article that found me on twitter to congratulate me and invite me to New College, Oxford for coffee and chatter. Maybe one day...
How It All Started
It all began back in 2013. It was a Saturday in April when I decided to submit an article to Listverse. It was accepted that same day and published two days later. I was SHOCKED!!! Nothing had gone my way for an eternity and a day. A long living hell had preceded that small victory.
However, I wouldn't write for the next few months as I was busy with my law career. At the beginning of the next year though, I would find myself in a really tough spot.
I had a pregnant girlfriend and a job that paid pennies. I was nearly broke and hopeless, with endless bills to pay – and all this was taking place in a country that made global headlines week after week for its tragic financial crisis. I was plenty desperate. Well...not as desperate as these folks, but you get the point!
Being Greek in 2014, I even briefly toyed with the idea of getting back in the ring to start Pankration/Kickboxing for money, but after a sparring session with a younger opponent, I realized that I was no longer the younger man who had been a State and National champ.
I was like, “Nah… this will cost me more in broken teeth than I’ll ever earn."
(Won this in a Mediterranean tournament in France back in the mid-2000's)
Meanwhile, I worked as a storekeeper for a couple of months for some Chinese businessmen, filed papers for fellow lawyers, and even worked in a friend’s restaurant as a waiter for a few weekends to make some extra cash. My wallet was still bleeding.
I can even recall one cold night in February, lying in bed watching Johnny Depp in Blow, when I had some really intense, tempting thoughts about the theme of the movie.
However, I am a man of law, so I just went to sleep, resolving to find other ways to make money. I was feeling desperate as usual one day when, by a truly Homeric coincidence, I discovered the world of freelance writing, and my life changed for the better. It didn’t change all that much – don’t imagine a Hollywood happy ending or something. And NOTHING was easy.
There were many problems, challenges, and boundaries for me to overcome, including a language barrier. My English is good enough for someone who lives in Greece, but still it’s my third language, not my native tongue.
The truth is that I was discouraged for a while, but then I faced the Do or Die question… can you make it as a freelance writer if English is not your mother language? But that’s not the subject of today’s post. It will be the main topic of tomorrow's post ;)
Notice - Wacky Facts Will Return on Thursday Again. Not that you give a shit, but oh well ;)
Notice - I won't be voting comments for 36 hours so I can boost my Voting Power a bit. It's not personal :)
References: https://theo-cracy.com