writer – Page 4 – My Pilgrimage to Publication and Beyond

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”

Illustration Experimentation

Water color paintings by Jennifer Anyong including a great blue heron, a turtle, a duck, and a monarch butterfly

Seth Godin is to blame. He gave me the confidence to visually bring life to my picture book. I began reading Godin’s book, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work at the beginning of the summer and my creativity just got away from me! I started with these nice colored pencils I got for my birthday aContinueContinue reading “Illustration Experimentation”

Whimsy and Whiskey Part 2

An Old Fashioned in a beautiful crystal glass at the Hamilton Superette in Oklahoma City

The next logical step: Google. I already knew I’d need a literary agent to get things going, but how do I find one? I searched picture books similar to mine for information on representation. Didn’t get much from that. But after some deep-diving, I stepped into a sort of time warp, back to my collegeContinueContinue reading “Whimsy and Whiskey Part 2”

Whimsy and Whiskey Part 1

Now to my writing journey… I got my big idea for a children’s story about a year ago now. My muse was this unique bird who I saw every morning on my walks around the pond in our neighborhood. I let him and his little story live in my head for months. I remember heContinueContinue reading “Whimsy and Whiskey Part 1”

Another Cinderella Story

Jen with her daughter Jemma, at Jemma's 7th birthday tea party

The other day, I snuck away for a much-needed pedicure at my favorite salon, just before I had an important event at my sorority house (Alpha Gamma Delta at University of Central Oklahoma). Knowing I only had about an hour, I asked the gal behind the desk, “Are you very backed up?” She said no.ContinueContinue reading “Another Cinderella Story”

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”