So I’m in the process of writing my own book. It’s about the decade of my life where my grandmother and I wrote letters each week to each other. It’s an extremely personal and emotional book to write and I am now at the point where I’m putting together the book proposal. I recently contacted a copy editor to look at the proposal to review it for edits. She replied, “Hey, wait, aren’t you one of those mommy bloggers? You know how to write too?”
Gloves on.
Yes, I’m a mommy. Yes, I’m a blogger. But I ain’t no one trick pony.
I started to formulate my reply in my head. I wanted to wave my pointy little finger in her face and say, “Yeah, lady. I’m a writer. I graduated with a B.A. in English, been a freelance for over five years, and believe or not, people pay me to write. People like Nickelodeon, The Chicago Tribune, The Omaha World Herald, blah blah blah. So yeah, I’m a writer. And yes, I’m a writer with a blog.”
However, I decided against it. I took a deep breath and turned the tables on her. I simply said, “Well, you be the judge of that.”
She called me back about an hour later and apologized. She told me that she had no idea that I was a “real writer”. She only read my stuff on Facebook, thought I was funny and wrote one of those “mommy blogs.”
It was then that I explained to her that I’m one of many bloggers who aren’t one trick ponies. Yes, I blog about my parenting adventures with a sarcastic slant. But I also write other things. By calling someone a mommy blogger, I fear that there’s a lack of respect for what we do. I’m proud to be a mommy blogger – damn proud. But I am more proud to just call myself a writer, because that covers it all – not just one part of my life.
So, lady copywriter that I’ll never work with, remember that in life, no one is a one-trick pony. We all wear many hats – even though you might only see us wearing the same one most days. Try not to act so surprised next time, ok?
