Taking on the Writing World: The Ups and Downs of the Writing Life

By Latresha Byrd

Taking on the Writing World: The Ups and Downs of the Writing Life is my personal journey of the challenges and lessons I had to face regarding the publishing business and what it takesI want to share some of the lessons I have to learned over the years about content mill sites, contest scams, blogging, writing, and self publishing. The intent of this book is to inspire all writers to continue moving forward in reaching the goals and dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Latresha Byrd
• Release date: Jan 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311654120

Latresha Byrd

Hello and thank you for stopping by. I have been an avid reader and writing since childhood. I started writing seriously in 2010, by contributing articles and web content for several sites including Yahoo Contributor's Network, Helium, Suite 101, and Knoji. I also write for my personal blogs YA Books Etc., and Write Latresha. I have always dreamed of writing stories and books, and thanks to self publishing my dreams can finally come true.

Book preview

Taking on the Writing World: The Ups and Downs of the Writing Life

By Latresha Byrd

Published by Latresha Byrd at Smashwords

Copyright © 2015 Latresha Byrd

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Introduction

Back Story: Why I Write?

Why do I write and why am I so eager to be a published writer? It’s because I was told by a teacher that I didn’t have what it takes. I understand that some people can’t imagine a teacher telling a student such a thing, but it happened. The statement has been both discouraging and encouraging. It has been discouraging because every time I have been rejected, I believed that she was right. This statement has been encouraging because it lead me to enter contests, start a blog, take classes, and write for different websites.

I should properly introduce myself. My name is Latresha Byrd and I was born on June 22, 1983 in Greenville, South Carolina. What makes me unique is that I was born visually impaired. In addition to being premature, I was born with glaucoma and cataracts on both eyes. Also, my eyes didn’t fully develop while my mother was carrying me. If I didn’t have surgery immediately, I would be completely blind today. The doctors here in South Carolina wanted to wait to operate on my eyes when I was older. My family decided to get a second opinion. My great grandmother worked at Howard University Hospital at the time and connected us with a doctor. So we went to Washington, DC to have the surgery.

Fortunately, the doctors were able to preserve some of my vision. I can see out of my right eye but nothing out of the left eye. For the most part, I can see well enough to walk around on my own without the help of a white cane. However, I might misjudge the distance of objects and miss a step. I can see colors-especially bright colors and objects. The downside is that I don’t have enough vision to drive.

I enjoy reading books, and my parents and brother can tell you that. When UPS drops off a package from Barnes & Noble, my brother would give me the look, and say, You bought another book? I have a special appreciation for books because I had to have books read to me or listen to them on cassette tape before I could receive them in large print. I received my textbooks in large print, but unfortunately not all books were available in this format. I recall receiving a Dick and Jane book. Over time, I was tired of reading the book because I was bored with the story. In elementary school, my class would go to the library to check out books. I remember checking out an audiobook about a little girl name Jenny who wore glasses like me. Through the years, checking out books from the school library remained a constant. Even as an adult, I occasionally check out books from the public library. I have library cards