Hi there!

I'm brand new to the She Writes community.  Three weeks ago, I underwent major surgery (a hysterectomy, at the age of 26) in the hope that it would cure me of the chronic pelvic pain I have endured for many years, eventually reaching the point where it prevented me from working, or going to school.  The news...?

It did cure me! :D I am finally pain-free, and feel like I have a new lease on life, thus, I am looking for employment in my field of choice and expertise - freelance writing.  I have a B.A.(hons) in sociology, and I attended graduate school for one year, but I realized very quickly that I was not interested in writing for an academic audience.  I had no desire to write in "academese", using jargon that only a select few with advanced degrees in a very specific field can understand.  I want to write things that are accessible to "the masses".  I am still interested in various activist circles, especially mental health activism, and creating social change for the better, but do we not need to capture the minds and imaginations of the people to do so?  I, for one, strongly think so.

This fall I will be returning to college to get a photography degree (it's a one year program), however, I am more than ready to start looking for a writing job, for almost any type of publication, including local, national, or international newspaper or magazine.  Give me a topic, and I can write about it! 

I am wondering if some more experienced freelance writers may give me advice on the best way to begin my search for an employer or two.  I really have no one to offer me any guidance, but throughout my life teachers and professors that have read my writing have told me that this is my destiny, and I agree, as it is what I enjoy doing more than anything.

Please comment if you can offer me any advice - I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Best Wishes,

Jen (a.k.a. scarsarestories)

http://www.practiceofmadness.com