Random Ramblings and Muddy Monsters

Okay, so I am going to send in my revisions tomorrow. 

Whew.  

Thanks to all my cyber critiquers (as well as my in person critiquer, Katie).  Whatever happens, this whole process has made my manuscript and illustrations SO MUCH BETTER.  

And, now I feel like I can come up for air.  

Kind of. 

 I still need to totally revamp my website and get kickin' on my middle grade.  Oh, and did I mention that my children are here, there, and everywhere?  It is a desperate clutch for time around here, and I'm learning how to be "on" for fifteen minute blocks--jumps and snorts, basically.  

My older girls have been at camp this week, so Julia and I are home.  Just the two of us.  All day.  Every day.  And, she's five.  And, really doesn't like to be alone.  Yesterday, we both worked on illustrations for my book together.  

Mine:

Hers:

I think I'll frame hers.

Last night, I worked on one of my illustrations, and the monster in the picture kept turning into a muddy orange mess.  I finally fixed him, but Corey Schwartz pointed out that my facebook update which said something about "making muddy monsters" sounded like a great picture book.  Hmmm.

And, Christy . . . guess what I scored today.  

Give up?  Tickets to see David Sedaris.  He's going to be here in October, and I got an extra ticket (on the fifth row!) if you want to hitchhike down here and join me!

How's that for a brain-fried post?  Yum.  Fried . . . pickles anyone?

sf

Forever

I was standing in line at the post office earlier this week, and the woman in front of me asked the postal worker when the next rate increase would be.  "May" was his reply.  Good grief!!  I guess stamps are going to go up a couple of cents every year from here on out, and since the last rejection letter that I got was from a submission that I had sent in almost a year ago . . . the "forever stamp" is my new best friend.

I'm loving the new trend of agents and editors going paperless and allowing email submissions, but some people still want to use snail mail with an SASE.  A couple of years ago, I remember sending in a submission without realizing that the rates were changing the next month.  I frantically emailed the editor wondering what to do  . . . what to do?  At first, I thought, "Hey, maybe this will give me an 'in' with the editor--a legitimate reason to touch base."  The reality was that I never heard a word, even after I snail mailed a new SASE with proper postage and I drove myself crazy wondering "what if".  

So, writer friends who are still in the "pre-published" category out there--buy a roll of forever stamps and pat yourself on the back for using such brilliant foresight.  I've still got some very old, presumed to be stale, submissions out there--but I used my forever stamp, so I can still hold out hope that I will hear from one of them.  Someday.

I just hope I don't have to wait forever.

Licking my wounds

Last Tuesday, I got four rejections in ONE DAY!   Two of those rejection letters were particularly crushing because they were from an editor and an agent who had shown "interest." And, I received advice in two of the letters that was completely contradictory.

I barely had time to process these blows to my ego because I immediately had to rush to a PTA meeting (and now, btw, I'm kicking myself for not throwing my name in the hat for the vice-presidential nomination--I mean . . . PTA, soccer mom . . . I could totally do that job). Anyway, I didn't get to spend time wallowing in my misery until Wednesday when the noise of my life shut down for a bit.  I read back over my submission letters, manuscripts and synopses.  I looked over my notes about dreamy, pie-in-the-sky editors and agents.  And I sent my babies back out into the world.

So there.

I also indulged in a little retail therapy (thanks Michael Stars) and unhealthy indulgence (oreo Sonic blast).  Plus, I watched a great interview that Newbery Award winning author Kate diCamillo did for Adlit.org and WETA  (you can download it for free on itunes).  She said that she didn't know why she kept sending her work out after receiving so many rejections--she just knew she didn't want to die saying "I think I could have done it."  She also said that she had attended hundreds of writing workshops with super-talented people whom she knew would never be published because they didn't have the persistence and tenacity to keep putting their work out there.  

Persistence and tenacity.  Yeah, I can do that.