Lesson of the day - It's all good.

I got an email message last night from a stranger. He said that he had recently read one of my articles in his local newspaper and that it touched him so much, he was wondering if I could send him a personal copy of the article.

I hate to say, that my first reaction was a negative one. I knew I hadn't sold that article to any newspapers and it appeared that someone was printing it without my permission. As a freelance writer, that is equivalent to stealing.

I was in quite a huff! Most newspapers and magazines would certainly know better! I wanted my just deserts (yes, that is spelled correctly. Look it up).

BUT, then I started thinking about it. Someone across the country was so touched by something that I wrote, that he tracked me down (googlewise) to send me a compliment. How cool is that?

It is nice to get paid for things that I write, but it is much nicer to know that my words can have that affect on someone.

I mean, I'm still trying to track down that newspaper, but it was a cool lesson from a stranger. It made me refocus my whole day and get back on the right track with the CURRENT articles I'm writing.