A short story for you

Today I take off my self-promotion cap so that I can talk about another's work.

Typically I turn away from literature with the tag chick lit. Why, I guess because I'm not a chick and dudes don't read chick lit. Kind of like eating quiche.

But a couple months ago Bethany Hiitola, a member of my writers' group and creator of the Mommy Writer Blog, bravely posted a short story she'd written titled "Postpartum Euphoria" for anyone who wanted to read it.

Call be a sucker but I'll pick up almost anything if it's for free. So I downloaded her story.

I took it to bed with me that same night and read it in one sitting. The next day I composed an e-mail telling her how much I liked her story. But I also pointed out to her a few typos and offered to give it a more thorough edit.

It turns out that Bethany is also one who grabs anything that's offered for free. She took me up on my offer.

So began our relationship by e-mail in which I became Bethany's editor/mentor/coach/cheerleader and she made me feel good by writing these gushing thank-yous in return. This lasted for several weeks and consumed a lot more time than I think either of us foresaw. But, in the end, it, I think, was all worthwhile.

I hope you'll think it was worth the effort, too. Read "Postpartum Euphoria" and find out for yourself. You'll see my name right next to "special thanks" (okay, so I didn't completely take off that self-promotion cap).

It won't cost you a thing. And you might just find, like I did, that sometimes the best things in life are free. 

Comments

[Bethany]

And of course I took him up on the comments... and rewrote the thing (with some guidance and hand-holding! *smile*). I can't thank Randy enough for taking the chance on a story labeled with Chic. :-)