The first thing I wrote for publication was "My First Case," the story of a severely injured kitten and my trepidations as a new veterinarian. I was taking a creative writing class at the local library in the Oklahoma town where I lived, and spent sleepless nights during my pre-divorce period writing with pencil and legal pad at my kitchen table. I rewrote and polished the short article until I thought it was worthy of publication. Then, I sent "My First Case" to what seemed like a thousand publications--my local newspaper, pet magazines, and Reader's Digest. Rejections came from all, high and low on the publishing totem pole.
When I, post-divorce, arrived in Wisconsin for my new job, I found "My First Case" as I was unpacking the moving boxes, and sent it out one last time to the Milwaukee Sentinel. Weeks went by, and I heard nothing from the newspaper. One day, however, I was in Milwaukee taking the difficult test to become a licensed veterinarian in Wisconsin, and I decided to call the Sentinel on my lunch break.
When I finally reached the correct editor, she informed me that my "piece" had been published--that day, in fact. With pounding heart, I rushed out of the restaurant and bought a paper. And, there it was in the "Good Morning" section of the Sentinel. I felt conflicting emotions. I was proud but apprehensive, elated but vulnerable. Most of all, I felt exposed.
Miracles surrounded that day--I passed the Wisconsin test in spite of having to spot them subjects like silage and mastitis, and the Sentinel gave me my own column titled "Pets and People," which appeared with my byline and a cool line drawing every few weeks in the Good Morning Section of the paper. The story about my first experiences as a veterinarian was eventually published in an altered form in my Saturday Evening Post column, "Vets on Pets," which I started writng a short time later.
I might never have written another word for publication if the Sentinel had not given me a chance. I'm sure you readers would have survived quite nicely, but I would have missed what has been an important part of my life for many years--writing. It takes tremendous perserverence to keep trying in the face of rejection, but that is what it takes to become a writer.
"Pets and People" remains the most gratifying writing that I have done. Although I offered my views about people and their pets, I also attempted to explain my own motivations as a veterinarian. I figure that that's what writing is all about--gaining insights about ourselves and others. |
