I Am a Writer

Let's talk about... my...

Writing Career.

See, I haven't talked much about it I don't even have a proper label for it in this blog! Well okay, my day to day job is a copywriter which consists of, of course, writing. And the other side of me is a book author which, again, writes a lot. So what the hell did I mean by "writing career"?

Well it's something else, that involves me and my ambition to write articles. Not short copies for ads, not long passages lengthy enough to be books—not all that, no. Articles. In which I'll be wearing my mask as a

Journalist.

I dreamed of becoming a copywriter at an agency, then I became one. I used to dream of becoming an author and have my own books, then I became one too, many times. Being a journalist had always been a dream to me as well. To see my name printed on magazines, or linked in web articles, create a piece good enough it is accepted by professional editor, to be a part of the journalistic world!

Well honestly, I've already had some achievements in this. I've written several travel guide articles in some printed magazines, but then, it's not so much different with the ones I wrote in my books.

The ultra-ambitious guy inside me had been thirsty for more opportunities, more acknowledgements, and more names put in more media and by media of course, BIG, media.

From there on, the journey to win the hearts of big magazines had been going on ever since I graduated from college. Dozens of topics and ideas were sent to editorial teams, starting from the biggest names all the way to, when hopes went thin, mediocre ones.

And I've always had my eyes to this super prestigious travel magazine, in which had rejected my earlier pitches many times, but the fact that the editor-in-chief responded to my proposals even with a subtle "no" made me think that,

"Well, at least he's got concerns in me—it's just the matter of picking the right theme."

So whenever I returned from a trip, and had some brilliant ideas I'm sure would be worth to tell in an article, I turn to this editor, over and over again, with yet another rejections, that would soon turn to more suggestions, and more rejections, until finally, I made a jackpot.

I'm finally writing for DestinAsian Magazine.

The topic was about Macao, in which I got full access and sources and pics and many more, from my amazing trip with the government board. Easy start, yes, but the process afterwards wasn't. To be honest, it was a bit stressful because this was my ACTUAL first time writing for such big name, so I NEVER want to show bad qualities.

But you know what, I enjoyed every bit of it. Following the editor's brief, recontacting sources to get more infos, reaching out to hotels and restaurants officials as if I'm a real journalist—well you know what, hell yeah I am! Then comes the writing part, self-editing it to meet the required maximum words, sending it to the editor, then him returning the piece for I need more infos to fill, back and forth, with pics and words, super long and draining but again, I. ENJOYED. EVERY. BIT. OF. IT.

Then the magazine came to public. Holding the copy in my hands seemed unbelievable. Looking at my face on the line-up of the contributors and my name on top of the article felt surreal, yet amazingly satisfying. Reading those words which several times ago were on my laptop, whoa, so this is how it's like to be a journalist!? I couldn't get enough of the rewarding sensation!

Crazy, huh?

Five years ago, back when I was so fresh from the uni, I once had this super big dilemma of picking which path to dive into: copywriting, or travel writing. I was so clueless I claimed to myself "I don't even have strong bases on both fields it's like, I only commit to fifty fifty in each".

Who would have thought that today, I commit to one hundred fifty in each?

And you know what makes it even better? I am an author of actual books as well, on top of those two paths I was unsure to choose in 2014.

The cover of glory. DestinAsian Indonesia, Oct-Dec'18 Issue.

Short copies for ads, check.

Long passages for books, check.

Decent writing for articles, check!

I've done all other wordsmiths do,

I really am a writer.