Less than a month after completing Writing Short-Form Nonfiction: Your Pathway to Publication with Norman Kolpas, Cary Lawler took the plunge and submitted her first article for publication. A few hours later, Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine contacted her; they wanted to publish her piece! Her essay, My Turkey Baby: The Birth of Savannah (about a Thanksgiving surprise) is now up on the Pregnancy & Newborn blog and will be published in print this November.

If all that wasn’t exciting enough, Cary launched her own blog, Mama Lovejoy, in December, and within two months had more than 4400 page views. Mama Lovejoy is a collection of new moms’ stories, challenges, and surprises, as well as articles with expert advice on postpartum and pediatric topics.

“After a whirlwind of surprises as a new mother, I decided to write a book, but it was hard to get started,” says Cary. “I’m so glad I enrolled in Norman’s class. He taught us how to write short-form and pitch magazines. My classmates and Norman offered critique of my work, and really helped to get me started and improve the quality of my writing. I’m thrilled that this is coming together.”

Congratulations, Cary!

If you have a success story, we want to hear about it! Write to writers@uclaextension.edu.

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