publishing – Page 3 – My Pilgrimage to Publication and Beyond

Cornucopia of Continuation

A glimpse into The Funny Women of Kidlit Confab where Tammi Sauer and Francis Gilbert talked with Bethany Hegedus

So much has happened the past few weeks! Nothing HUGE but a conglomeration of little things… I completed a significant round of querying for GG and have had only a few rejections. It’s been several weeks now. Hopeful. I also queried a very personal, sort of historic in theme, Young Adult Poem to a handfulContinueContinue reading “Cornucopia of Continuation”

Onward & Yonward

A cup of coffee in a teal-colored coffee mug, a "cinderella" pumpkin, bright orange with some green, a container of candy corn, and a pumpkin apple candle burning, surrounding a book titled Illustrating Children's Books

I feel better when I’m moving forward. It doesn’t have to be much, even baby steps in what I think is the right direction gives me complete satisfaction. Sitting and waiting I can survive. Not a big problem. But when I have a perceived set-back, no matter how small to someone else, I stumble intoContinueContinue reading “Onward & Yonward”

Death of the Storybook

Jen's vast collection of Little Golden Books, Board Books, and other Story Books, most of which were from Jen's childhood. Divided out semi-organized on black shelves.

Yes, it’s very dark and depressing. And, no. No one told me until now. I completely missed the funeral. There was no kindly written obituary or eulogy. Just a collective decision among the publishing world, I suppose. Apparently, the concept and therefore the genre of Storybook is dead. Extinct. I grew up reading storybooks. TheseContinueContinue reading “Death of the Storybook”

Bad News/Good News/Great Views

Jen riding the Ferris Wheel at the Wheeler District in Oklahoma City with the Devon Tower standing high in the background above the Oklahoma River

I went to bed last night mid anxiety attack. I received a rejection email yesterday in the early evening on this new, very personal picture book manuscript, and there was some feedback that I struggled to understand. It wasn’t until the middle of the night that I actually made sense of her words. Then IContinueContinue reading “Bad News/Good News/Great Views”

Rainbows and Rubato

A beautiful rainbow shooting out from a cloud on a dark blue and grey day in our neighborhood

Last time, I briefly mentioned my Dangerous Hope. Well, it continues. My inbox is nothing but crickets. No rejections, but also no offers. It’s hard to feel motivated to query when there’s so much out there just dangling in the wind. “What is Rubato?” you’re wondering. It’s a Musical Symbol for when the musician disregardsContinueContinue reading “Rainbows and Rubato”

Season of Hope

Jen's favorite pond, that is short on water due to the hot summer conditions. Jen and her neighbor were trying to add water from a nearby well but really we should have prayed for rain.

When I comes to my Pilgrimage, I’m in a season of waiting. For just over a week I’ve been querying agents again. Averaging maybe two a day, with a very slow trickle of rejections coming through…which fills me with dangerous hope. In the meantime, I’ve been obsessing over our backyard pond. It’s drying up andContinueContinue reading “Season of Hope”

Fortunate Finds

Jen's laptop computer with a stack of picture books from the library with two new books, "Guide to How to Hook an Agent" and another new book about writing for children

Now, back to my Pilgrimage… I mentioned in Whimsy and Whiskey Part 2 that I’d discovered some helpful resources. They were things I found along the way that then brought my querying to a halt – at least until I could say, Ok, I am educated on this matter now. Because apparently, I didn’t haveContinueContinue reading “Fortunate Finds”

The Shocking Illustration Negation

Water color by Jennifer Anyong including a great blue heron in a cowboy hat and a lasso and a turtle with a hankerchief

And in a strange turn of events, I just had a literary agent give me FEEDBACK, which completely negated my last post, Illustration Experimentation! She said, “I would continue looking at ways for you to illustrate your own work – that would be a great tool for you as you build your career.” WHAT!!!!!???? IContinueContinue reading “The Shocking Illustration Negation”

Prelude to an Author

Six year old Jen, in a cowgirl hat, brown cowgirl boots and a comicaly mis-matched flowery vest and black skirt

Hello! My name is Jennifer Mason Anyong, but most people end up calling me Jen. I like that. As for that last name…well, I married a man (Keith) whose father is of Chinese descent but was born in the Philippines. I’m not sure if that makes my husband half Chinese or half Filipino, but heContinueContinue reading “Prelude to an Author”