I'm Confessing!

Okay, while my little camera is refusing to transfer pictures to my PC today again, I had to come up with an alternative subject to blog about. So, I decided to do some confessing, with a recent, perturbed looking, confessing type of picture of me to go along with it. Haha! I'm in a silly mood, so why not?

Ten days ago, I sold a short inspirational piece to, True Confession Magazine, for their, That’s Incredible Department. I even forget what the title of my piece was, and I can’t seem to find my record of it. But it will be published in January 2008, so I guess I will find out what it was when I see it in print. (Got to read that Organized Writer book, one of these days!)

I have written for the Confession market many times. I have had stories in various Departments like, How I know I’m in Love, The Life I Live, My Moment With God, Women Are Wonderful, The Experience of a Lifetime, etc. I have, in the past, even written full length confession stories. But I usually don’t like to tell people about my secret life as a confession writer. Not because the stories are risque, in any sense, but because people think of them that way. But to a freelance writer, they are just another paying market!

I remember when I sold my first, full length confession story, and debated whether I should tell my writer friends about it, at the monthly meeting I used to attend. This was ten years ago, when I was a youngster of 60, and most of the other members were my seniors by several years. Would they be shocked or happy for me, like they were when I sold something to Chicken Soup, or Good Old Days, or Angels on Earth, or Guideposts ?

So I went to the meeting with a copy of the contract from True Confession, and after everyone had a turn to read their latest piece of writing, I announced nonchalantly, "I have a surprise for all of you."

"Oh, did you make another sale?" one of the more enthusiastic members asked, excitedly. "What did you sell, an article?"

"Yes, I did make another sale, but it wasn't an article," I replied.

"Oh, was it a short story," someone else asked.

"No, it wasn't a short story either. At least not a traditional short story," I said, finally showing them my contract.

"Why, this is a contract for a confession story! It says here, it will be published in October, for a payment of, $195. Isn’t that wonderful, girls?" the enthusiastic one said, all a tither.

After more questioning, the girls wanted to know how they could try their hand at a confession story, too.

"Go to our local Country Mart and buy several Confession Magazines. Read them thoroughly, then try writing one of your own," I told them. "That’s what I did."

"Buy a Confession magazine?" our oldest, most timid member said, in a shocked tone of voice. "This is a small town, what if someone should see me?"

Everyone chuckled at her remark, but that’s exactly what they all ended up doing, after I reminded them that most of us have been around a long time; we should have plenty to confess!

A confession story can be about anything true to life, and although written in the first person, it is always fiction, and it's written anonymously. The Department pieces are short, inspirational non-fiction, and the writer gets a tagline with them. All the Confession magazines have monthly Department sections that pay rather well for these short, inspirational pieces. Check them out and you may be confessing too!