It's not technically my first time, but in many ways it is. Several years ago, I wrote a letter to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News about the Exxon Valdez settlement issue. At the time, Exxon had requested the courts to dismiss the $5 billion they owed to fishermen and others, and I wrote a letter against it. Apparently it was a good letter, because the editor of Outdoor America, the magazine of the Izaac Walton League of America, asked me if I would write an opinion piece to be published in one of their issues. They would even pay me! Of course, I said yes and I had my first moment in print.
This month, however, I've achieved another publishing milestone. I wrote an article about Trek Over the Top, the snowmobile ride Thane and I did from Tok to Dawson last winter, sent a query letter to a couple of magazines trying to sell the story, and actually sold it! This all happened months ago, and finally, finally my story has been published in the March 2012 edition of American Snowmobiler! I received two copies in the mail today, and I couldn't help but take pictures of my story. (As soon as I figure out how to scan it and post the .pdf, I'll add it to this post so you can actually read it). The photos they used are all mine, too.
As proud as I am of this small acheivement, I can't help but have a few mixed feelings. I've learned so much about writing since I wrote this article that I know I could do a better job now. Of course, if I could have had more than 1200 words to tell my story in, I could have told it better, too! Se la vie. I'm confident this won't be my last time in print; the next time will be even better. But maybe not as sweet.
March 14 addition: It only took four attempts at scanning the article to get it into one file, but I managed it. You should be able to open it as a .pdf with this link if you want to read it. Download March 2013 AmSnow article
