Mindy Alyse Weiss ( co-host of #PBParty on Twitter) does this fabulous thing every week - celebrating your accomplishments. This got me to thinking about my accomplishments for July so far. It's been a rather slow month for me in terms of PB writing. I mainly revised existing manuscripts and sent them out for critiques.
I have often seen the question asked, “What would you consider success as an author?” The responses often vary widely but for most authors making a fortune isn’t at the top of their list. They truly want to share their stories with the world. For me, success is being traditionally published. I am not naive however, being traditionally published, if it does happen can take years upon years. Also, you so very much need to have the right project at the right time. Still, it’s what I would consider a success in my book (pun intended). I imagine it’s the best feeling in the world to have others believe in your book just as much as you do.
Meanwhile, back to reality, I had sort of an epiphany this month. I decided to pause on querying. I had three different manuscripts out for feedback from four respected professionals. The feedback was surprisingly good. Of course, there were some things to revise, but all around I got positive comments about my voice, the theme, the characters and the heartfelt connection. Every single one of those critiques made my stories stronger. So why pause? The critiques made me realise that I really want the best possible story before I query. Shocking, I know.
It’s a big deal for someone like me who can be a bit impatient at times. I searched for classes and workshops until I came upon Write Mentor’s Picture Book workshop with the fabulous Clare Walsh. The thing is only 10 spots were available – so it’s quite competitive.
I made up my mind, I was going to get up early and stalk the site when the workshop window opened. Only, I screwed up on the time zone difference and logged on too late – all sold out in one minute.
Needless to say, I was disappointed. The organizer was great though and advised me to sign up on the waiting list.Little did I know in a couple of hours the writing gods would smile down upon me and I would get an email with a second chance. This time I was successful. The workshop isn’t until September, but I am already excited about how much this will improve my writing.
Speaking of Write Mentor, I have been eyeing their flash fiction competition. It’s targeted
at middle grade and older. I have never written for middle grade, let alone a flash fiction piece. On the last day of the deadline I decided to submit. What’s there to lose? I am actually pretty proud of how it came out.
My other wins for this month include attending two very informative and insightful webinars by the great Pat Zietlow Miller and by far one of the sweetest, helpful new agents out there Kaitlyn Sanchez.
I also submitted a short story piece to Cricket Magazine. Boy, for a supposedly slow writing-related month, I 've been pretty busy.
Later on this month, I will know my fate re: PBChat mentorship, but whatever the outcome, I feel more equipped and hopeful in my future writing pursuits and that for me is something worth celebrating.
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