It’s been an all-consuming January! Every free thought has been devoted to how can I get this year started off perfectly?
StoryStorm headed up by Tara Lazar has been a joyful, daily reminder to keep ideas flowing and has introduced me to tons of Picture Book authors I didn’t know. All in all, a very good experience.
12x12PB Challenge headed up by Julie Hedlund is a whole other animal! I’m less than a month in and I’m still trying to figure out if I’m doing it right. LOL! The Forum, the FB Page, the Bookstore, and more, I’m sure! I’m sure this will be a consistent topic throughout the year.
#PBParty is the thing that’s most consuming, presently. Here’s what I know: On March 1, I will submit the first 70 words of my most promising picture book manuscript for the contest. What happens after that…I have NO idea. But, I do know that it’s a very big part of the Picture Book world and how many others have found success. Now, I’m trying not to put all my eggs in this basket. But, it feels really important.
I’ve been placed in a #PBParty ranking group with three others to rank and critique each others’ two best manuscripts. Then based on those results, we’re supposed to decide which manuscript to send for the contest. So there’s a give and take. I have to help three others decide which piece to submit and they’ll help me too. So that’s where I am. Today is the day we swap with our Ranking Group. It’s going to be a whole thing and I’m trying to be excited. Yay! Here I am, EXCITED!
This month, I wrote a Christian Picture Book that I’m feeling really proud of… And, I attended our SCBWI Critique Day via Zoom. That was really fun/exhilerating and I felt I connected with a few new members of our chapter. I also registered for the SCBWI-OK conference that’s coming in April. I’m very excited for this! I even registered in time to buy a critique from a Literary Agent who will be working at the conference. Hooray!
Then, I had a very disheartening Zoom call with a professional editor. She went line by line, destroying my confidence and stealing my joy. Like, rocked my world and brought on a wave of bitterness and despair unlike I’ve experienced. But, it got me thinking maybe I should write a memoir too. I’ve got stories. So, I began reading memoirs. To learn them. I’m about to finish the first one and it has been emotionally wrecking, but profound. It’s called Stray by Stephanie Danler. I recommend if you are a very emotionally stable person who doesn’t absorb others “energy” too much.
Here’s what I DID NOT do this month… I didn’t QUERY agents. I didn’t go to DISNEY WORLD.
WHAT? You wonder. We had a BIG family trip to Disney planned, but due to a COVID exposure at school, we decided to postpone. ALWAYS buy trip insurance!!! Made that decision SO easy. We’ll re-book for early April, I hope.
Instead of querying agents this month, I worked really hard getting my Heron story down to a proper picture book and I submitted it to small publishers around the country. Starting with one very local publisher…who required me to send it by MAIL! That was a first! Cross your fingers I get a good response from that! Please please please!
I’m ending this month with a very strange rejection email, that I received yesterday, and this long blog post. Here’s to the next month! May it be full of progress and success!
Featured Image: A Flight of Cool Chardonnays from Metro Wine Bar. Me and my BFF went for an extravagant lunch last week to just celebrate life. It was refreshing!
My Pilgrimage to Publication and Beyond 