I'm Baaccckkk

Did I really neglect this blog for two years?!  You don't have to answer me, because the true answer is yes.  So, what have I been doing the past two years?

Well, parenthood has totally consumed me.  With a small child, it can be difficult to clear your mind and find time to write (or write anything that is remotely good).  Enough of the excuses.  I'm back.  Yes, life gets hectic at times, but I'm ready to come back to the writing world and continue to pursue my writing dream.

I hope you will still join me here :)

Social Media Overload

Have you ever noticed that many writers tend to participate in too many forms of social media?  It's true, writers want to put themselves out there.  By out there I mean they want to have a presence in the world of social media so they can form a large network of friends with similar interests. But why bother to participate in so many, especially if you don't update them frequently?

As a picture book writer, who hopes to be published one day, I only participate in blogging and Twitter. Last year I was a ghost in both worlds, as I took a break during my pregnancy.  I like to blog so I can discuss lengthy topics. I like Twitter to try to lead people to this blog by tweeting little tidbits that might catch ones attention.

In how many forms of social media do you like to participate?

Back in the swing of things

Happy New Year!  Let's get this show on the road.

I'm working on a new manuscript and it feels great.  It's a manuscript I barely started last year, but the plot is cute in my eyes so I'm moving forward with completing it.  Who knows how many drafts this manuscript will see? lol

In other news, I found a new literary agency for picture books and submitted there.  Before submitting, I touched up my query letter, revised the manuscript just a tiny bit, and said a little prayer.  It's so hard to completely shelf these old manuscripts, even though this particular one was rejected about 25 times.  It doesn't hurt to try though.

I hope your new year is off to a great start too!

If you were a bird

Imagine you are a bird.  Not an eagle, but a small little bird like a robin.  You find a place to build a nest for your little ones.  After deciding that big shrub in front of the white and green farmhouse is perfect, you begin collecting items to build that perfect nest in the perfect location.  You collect twigs, shreds of candy bar wrappers, pieces of wiring, strands of ribbons, and are well on your way to assembling that nest.

Day by day, the nest gets a little bigger, a little bigger, until you feel that one more day is all you need, and that nest will be complete.  You fly high and low to collect just a few more twigs, and begin your final descent into the shrubs where your new home is waiting.  Zoom!  Into the bush you fly, only to find that your home is... well, where is it?!  You know you are in the correct bush.  You've been flying into that bush every day for days!  But no, your home has vanished.  Gone.  Now what?

This exact story line plays out in my head every time I have to remove a bird's nest from my property.  Unfortunately for the birds, they choose the worst places to build nests on my property.  One year a bird even built one in the Christmas wreath hanging on my front door.  Umm, no, sorry birdie, that's not going to work.  Each time I wonder if the bird is going to freak out.  Will the bird go bonkers trying to figure out where its home is?  What exactly goes through their mind?  I think I'd freak out if I were the bird and my home just disappeared in minutes.

What would your reaction be if you were a bird?

Overdue

Sadly, this is my first blog post of 2014.  Ouch!

This year has been one of non-writing for me.  Not that I'm finished with writing, I just wanted to put it down for a while.  Though, trips to the library and local bookstores always reminded me that I must press on (didn't Willie Wonka say that?), and keep writing.

For now, I am going to submit old manuscripts to new agents.  That will hold me over while I write some new books.

The End of 2013

I sit at my writing desk and notice the clock reads 9:06pm.  Year 2013 is almost over, and another year passes without an offer of representation from an agent.

This year, my #1 goal was to snag an agent and be on my way to getting published.  But it didn't happen.  Life got in the way.  I look back now and wonder, "What in the world did I do this year?"  The answer is easy.

See, I have many hobbies.  I love to sew, and at times that's ALL I want to do.  It's easy to get swept away in sewing projects.  I also love learning graphic design, and I have an amazing digital camera that requires a Ph.D to use.  Not quite, but it does take devoted time to learn all its functions.  Given all these hobbies, PLUS trying to write manuscripts and study children's books... PLUS having a full time career, house and husband, it's not easy.  But, I must say that I still am not giving up.  I will resume writing more this year, and I'll try, yet again, to land an agent.

Recently, I've been out of the writing mood.  I haven't written a new manuscript in months.  I haven't really studied a children's book in a few months, yet I still dream about getting a call from someone.

This year, I tried querying publishers, and chose two to begin with.  One rejected me after a month, and the other still has not replied.  It's been two months... I don't feel very optimistic, but we'll see.

Regardless, I'll keep moving forward.  Nothing can happen if I just sit home and wait for an agent to stop by my house to see if I'm a writer that wants an agent.  Haha, nope!

I hope the last moments of 2013 find you as hopeful as I am.  After all, hope is what keeps us motivated.

Please join me in 2014 as I continue to pursue my dream of finding an agent and a publisher.

All I Want for Christmas...

is an Offer of Representation.

This round of queries is very uneventful.  Agent responses are slowing down, drastically.  For the first round of queries, I chose agents with very quick response times, and saved the slower folks for last.  Yeah, that might be totally backward, but that's how I did it.  Sue me. {lol }

Two thousand thirteen has been a LONG year for me in terms of writing.  I began the year querying agents, as usual, and attempting to write more and more picture books.  Also, I finally broke down and got a library card to take advantage of freebies.  This allowed me to do a lot of picture books studying, and I quickly learned how different the picture book market is compared to when I was small.

These days, picture books are much more bold.  I see PBs featuring monsters (I guess all the parents got together and decided it was okay to admit to monsters being real), zombies, and other freaky story lines that parents would NOT have allowed back in my youth.  But, we live in a changing world, and that's just how it is.

Although it is always disappointing to get a form rejection (that's the only rejections I have received), I will keep pushing.  I'll keep writing, reading, and finally one day I'll make it there.

More Rejections

What does it mean when an agent rejects your work and says, "We cannot offer to see more of your work?"

Does it mean they do not like your writing style?

Of all the rejections I have ever received, this one particular agent is the only one that uses the impersonal "Dear Author" greeting.  Then, I get the part about not wanting to see more of my work.  Ugh.

Rejections for Almost 365 Days

It's been almost one year since I received my first manuscript rejection and I'm still hanging in there... or, err... here.

Last year, I wrote my first real manuscript.  By real I mean the first story I ever worked hard on, edited to death, researched and submitted with hopes of seeing it in ink.  Though, I hope everything I write will eventually be in ink.

Here I am, almost a year later, with many rejections under my belt.  You know, something I often here is, "Such-and-such was rejected 10 times before they got a book deal."

Really?  Just 10?  Ten is nothing!  If you tell me your story got rejected less than 20 times, to me that is the equivalent of zero rejections.  I'm pushing 50 total rejections on multiple stories.  But, enough of the bragging.  Back to writing...

Back to the Waiting Game, Eh?

On September 29 I queried one picture book agent in particular.  It was the first query with a new picture book that has been in the works for over 6 months.  I still haven't heard from the agent, and he's one that responds to all queries, too.  Today makes two weeks, so I decided to go ahead and query a few more agents.  I queried four more, all of which have the record for responding quickly.  Who doesn't love speedy responses?  Also, my "dream agent" is closed to queries until November 1.  That particular agency quotes a 6-8 week response time, but when I previously queried them it took 3 months to get a response.  Whew!  I guess their mailbox really is overflowing.

How's your WIP coming along?

Starting Up With Queries Again

Ten minutes ago, I submitted another PB query to an agent.

I chose this agent because he represents children's picture books (duh!), and last time I queried him he replied within nine days.  I was quite happy with that response time, plus he gave me a tad more feedback than the typical form rejection letter that most people receive.

I chose to only query this one to see if he provides different feedback, or any insight.  Why?  Because this time I queried a book that features inanimate objects as the main characters.  So, if I'm way out of my league here, I hope he'll tell me, and maybe I can work on the revamp of the query.  Not a revamp of the story.  I really like the story, but sometimes it's all in the way you present it.  Or, I'm just crazy.

I remember starting this blog early this year, setting a goal for myself, then getting totally burned out on obsessing over the queries.  No more.  It'll either happen, or it won't, but either way, I'm keeping my sanity.  But I reeeeaalllyy hope I get an agent soon :)

On Track with Queries

It looks as though I've changed my mind... again.

In a previous post, I mentioned only querying publishers.  Well, the problem is that MANY picture book publishers will only accept queries from agents.  So, for a better chance of getting published, it looks like I HAVE to query agents first.

So, here's the new game plan:  I am going to query EVERY agent I have ever queried before.  This is about 35 agents.  If I give all of them time to respond, that will mean I must wait until early December to query publishers.  That's exactly what I am going to do.  You know, my 2013 goal was to get an agent, and I must remain hopeful it will happen before January 1, 2014.  But, there's nothing wrong with getting an agent next year either :)

I'll be honest, though.  I really don't want to query agents, and it's because agents are only one step of two very important steps (those steps being 1) get an agents attention and 2) get a publisher to agree to publish it).  But, whatever, I guess I need to just be patient and get in line like every other person who queries agents.

Before I query, I am going to make a promise to myself.

I PROMISE that when I begin querying agents, I will only check my e-mail twice a day.
I PROMISE not to lose sleep over wondering if an agent is going to contact me or not.

Two promises should cover it.

Is anyone else out there as fickle as me?

Do you believe in signs?

Earlier today I sat down to create a spreadsheet of the publishers I plan to query.  As I was creating the spreadsheet, my computer went black.  My first thought:  "Is this a sign that I am not ready to submit this story?  Should I wait?"

I shouldn't jump to conclusions, though, because my computer does this from time to time.  Plus, today when I tried to do a Java update, some weird thing was installed on my computer, which I believe is causing the problem.

ANYWAY... is this silly for me to believe in signs?  Do you have thoughts like that too when important work is interrupted?

Writing Means Reading

Part of writing must include doing a little reading... right?  Well, I've been doing a lot of that recently, but I don't always restrict myself to picture books.

A week ago, I checked out some PBs from the library, along with a book I've wanted to read for a while now.  The Lovely Bones is a sad book, but one that grabs your attention within the first two sentences.  It's one of those books that you struggle to put down.  A book that causes you to sacrifice sleep, just so you can read an extra 50 pages.  Now that I'm finished, I'm craving another grown-up book.

Do you read a lot of books outside the genre in which you write?

Revising an Old Manuscript

This week, I am going to submit another manuscript to Rate Your Story, I just don't know which one.

Rate Your Story is a free online critique service that allows writers to submit manuscripts (or parts of manuscripts) the 1st-7th of every month.  The judges are published writers who simply offer their opinion on the quality of your work and they tell you if they think it will appeal to agents.

The scores range from 1-10.  One being the best score, and they urge you to submit to agents/publishers, and a 10 meaning... well, not so good.  In the past I have received a "6", another "6", a "7" and once I even received a "?" because my picture book was about a specific body function (I'm not revealing the exact story here since agents still have my manuscript).  Then again, the judges always tell you that the business is subjective.  One agent may hate your manuscript and another may call you immediately because they want to represent it.

Also, RYS has rules.  For example, you can only submit one story at a time, and your MS cannot exceed 2,000 words.  Oh, and you can only send the same manuscript to them total of three times.  Typically, they allow writers to submit the first week of every month, and before the end of the month, you receive a critique.  Like many other things in life, you have to take what you are told with a grain of salt.  After all, it's the publisher who is the ultimate rejection, not necessarily an online judge or even an agent.

I have a manuscript I am crazy about, though, I believe it will be a hard sell.  So, I'm considering doing my 3rd round of revisions for RYS to see if I can get better feedback.  Then, I might move forward with submitting to agents to publishers.  You never know until you try.

This coming week will prove to be a busy one for me.  We have house projects in the works, and a four day weekend!  I'll try to keep you updated with my decisions.

My Mascot

Earlier, as I browsed my Adobe Illustrator files, I found this little guy.  He was an early attempt at trying to draw an elephant using AI, without looking at a picture of one.  Okay, okay, he's a special needs elephant.  So?

When I saw this picture, creativity began flowing through my veins.  Creativity that I have been lacking the past month.

I guess the smallest things can give us inspiration.  But, it looks as though the dinner dishes will have to inspire me first, as they await me in the kitchen.  Blah!

Targeting Agents/Publishers

We all know that our manuscripts must please a publisher.  If an agent is queried first, the manuscript has to please the agent and the publisher.  Since the ultimate goal is to please the publisher, do you think it's smart to research a publisher's bookshelf and write a book to target their tastes?

As I complete a manuscript, and revise it a zillion times, I come to realize what the book is about.  Does my story teach a lesson?  If so, what type of lesson?  Is my story just a fun-loving, good time kind of story?  Does my story feature funny topics that children laugh at, such as body functions (peeing, pooping, etc..)?  Once I know these answers, I try to find publishers that handle books that are similar to mine.

But... what if the process were reversed?  What if I researched a publisher first, then wrote a story I believed they would take on?  Is that... bad?

Don't get me wrong, I'd never write a book I didn't enjoy writing.  But, there are times when I feel like I should write to a publishers liking and maybe I'll have an even better chance of getting published.   Once I can get published, maybe I can have more flexibility to publish other things I have written. It seems as though debut writers have to walk the tight rope until they are published.

So, what do you think?  Is it bad to write a story to just target a specific publisher?

Writing Goals for 2013

Ten.  That's how many agents I'm waiting to hear from.  Ten agents who might possibly reject my picture book manuscript (if you are curious, 18 have already rejected the manuscript I'm referring to). The question is, what do I do after that?  Query publishers?  Move on to the next picture book manuscript?

The querying process is a lot like the weather.  Feeling great about a manuscript is like looking into a cloudless sky.  The sun is shining bright and the world looks beautiful.  But then, doubts arise as agents reject the manuscript, and those rejections are the nasty gray clouds that move in front of the sunshine.

Year 2013 is half finished.  Half finished!  Writing and submitting to agents makes time fly, and it flies because when you wait to hear from agents, you wish time away.  Days turn into weeks and before you know it, it's time to write another manuscript and get it ready for submission.

My 2013 goal was to get an agent, and considering the time it takes agents to respond, I feel that goal might not come true this year.  I still have hope, but in the publishing world, I come to realize how short a year really is.

On another note, I am trying to gear up for the Cheerios New Author Contest.  Hey, it might be a stretch, but it doesn't hurt to try!

What are your writing goals for 2013?

Sibling Rivalry in Picture Books

In the midst of querying manuscripts and waiting for replies, I have created a draft of a picture book on a subject of which I know nothing.

My picture book began by just being funny, then I realize it was about sibling rivalry.  Well... I'm an only child.  What do I know about sibling rivalry?  Not much, but I will share a story that may interest you.

Mary and Ruby were sisters.  Mary was 4 when Ruby was born.  Mary was very jealous of Ruby and didn't know how to handle it.  So, Mary completely ignored Ruby.  Yep, she pretended like Ruby did not exist.  It was her way of coping.

As the years went by, Mary's jealousy did not subside much.  In a family portrait, Ruby touched Mary, and Mary had a fit:  "She touched me!!!"  As if Ruby had a disease.  It took many years before Mary could come to terms with Ruby's presence in the family, but she finally accepted it.

It seems as though picture books about sibling rivalries are a bit depressing.

Can't these picture books plant an idea of worry in young children preparing for a sibling?

Author-Illustrators

Many famous writers are/were author-illustrators:  Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter and one of my favorites, Mo Willems. I tend to think these people had an unfair advantage as opposed to the plain ole authors, like myself.

Sometimes when I write a manuscript, I have very vivid ideas for illustrations.  The problem is I can't put those images on paper because I'm not an artist.  This usually makes me think, "Aww, man, if only an agent could see the story's potential, they would want this manuscript!"  But, no, here I am, only with text to offer.

I imagine people like Dr. Seuss and Beatrix Potter simply handing a complete book to an agent or publisher, and the agent being blown away by the awesomeness of the complete product.  This makes me feel like author-illustrators have such a huge advantage of just plain ole authors.

Do you think there are picture books that wouldn't have been published without the illustrations complete from day one?