Tomorrow marks the four-year-anniversary of “I Brake for Moms” and I want to express what a pleasure it is to join you each week. Often people ask me how this column came to be, and I thought I’d fill you in on the history.
When my kids were six and two, I noticed that our free community newspaper only had columnists that were much older than me. There was nobody voicing what it was like to be a modern Snohomish County mom. So I wrote up four sample articles, crafted my query letter and pitched the newspaper my idea. Then I waited, and waited and waited.
I never heard back from that newspaper. I didn’t even get a “No thank you.” Crushed, I shoved all four columns into a drawer.
A month later, I picked up a copy of The Weekly Herald which served Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. It was smart, thoughtful and shared stories that were important. The Weekly Herald was so impressive I thought there was no way they would consider my idea for a parenting column. The smaller newspaper had completely ignored me. But I already had those four columns written and they were dying in my desk unread. I took them out, breathed new life into them and emailed them away.
The answer I got back a couple of days later was both thrilling and terrifying. I don’t remember the exact words but it was something like, “We’ve been looking for a concept like this. Show us what you’ve got.”
I had one week to write up a bunch of columns. This involved farming the kids off to Grammy, tearing through a ream of printer paper and asking numerous friends to give me honest opinions about what I wrote. Then — and this was the hardest part — I had to buy an interview outfit because everything I owned was preschool-chic.
Neal Pattison, executive editor of The Herald, made one of my biggest dreams come true when he said yes to “I Brake for Moms.”
The four months my column was in The Weekly Herald were some of the happiest of my life. I was flattened when I received the news that The Weekly Herald was closing.
“Won’t it be a relief to not have to write something every week?” my husband asked me.
“You don’t understand,” I said. “I still have more ideas.” It’s a good thing too, because the very next week they moved my column to The Herald.
Little ole me in The Everett Herald!
Now it’s four years later and some more of my writing dreams have come true, including my novel, “Genesis Girl,” debuting next month from Month9Books. It sounds cliché, but the thing I’ve learned from all of this is the importance of not giving up.
Just because the first person ignores you, doesn’t mean you have to take “no” for an answer. Rejection might be the push you need to succeed.
Jennifer Bardsley lives in Edmonds. Her book “Genesis Girl” comes out June 14. Find her online on Instagram @the_ya_gal, Twitter @jennbardsley or at teachingmybabytoread.com.
By Jennifer Bardsley
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