It's official.
I am proud to announce that I am now represented by the fabulous Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management. She has a great blog for writers here.
I am so excited to be working with Vickie. I'm still pinching myself to see if this is real. (It is!)
I'll be posting a longer, more coherent post with the details of how it happened and more about my book and the query that attracted Vickie. But I want to scream it from the rafters, and posting it on my blog is the next best thing.
:)
I'm a writer. A writer with a literary agent. Oh. My. Goodness.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Happiness
I'm in a particularly good mood today and wanted to share this link (thanks to my sister for sending it to me!):
The Happiness Project
It talks about what makes us happy. Friends, family, good works. Feelings of accomplishment. A good book.
What are your happiness triggers?
The Happiness Project
It talks about what makes us happy. Friends, family, good works. Feelings of accomplishment. A good book.
What are your happiness triggers?
Friday, February 25, 2011
American Idol - When the Journey is Over
I'm a fan. There, I said it. I loved Simon--I didn't think the show would survive without his brutal honesty. But, you know what? Who knew Steven Tyler (who, by the way, I saw in concert in 1988 with Aerosmith--that doesn't date me too much, does it?) would be so warm and fuzzy. And nice. But honest. I love J.Lo. And Randy.
But really, do they have to tell the kids "your journey ends here"? Seriously, the journey is just beginning for some of these singers even if they're not moving forward. Granted some of the early contestants won't be pop stars. They should sing to their kids or in the shower and move on.
It's great the way they've been telling some of the contestants who are going home to keep singing. And to come back again next year. But every single time they said "your journey ends here" last night I cringed. Because there are so many times that I could have stopped writing. With every rejection, I could have thought "my journey ends here."
With a picture book contract in my pocket and some exciting new nonfiction freelance work, I'm feeling like my journey is just beginning. I couldn't have predicted the direction my writing career would take a few years ago. And I know there is more to come.
My advice today for aspiring authors (or anyone aspiring to do anything)--don't let anyone tell you your journey ends here. There might be a twist in the road that you haven't anticipated, but the journey isn't over until YOU say it's over.
Now seriously, any predictions for AI winners? I'm going with Jacob Lusk or Casey Abrams.
But really, do they have to tell the kids "your journey ends here"? Seriously, the journey is just beginning for some of these singers even if they're not moving forward. Granted some of the early contestants won't be pop stars. They should sing to their kids or in the shower and move on.
It's great the way they've been telling some of the contestants who are going home to keep singing. And to come back again next year. But every single time they said "your journey ends here" last night I cringed. Because there are so many times that I could have stopped writing. With every rejection, I could have thought "my journey ends here."
With a picture book contract in my pocket and some exciting new nonfiction freelance work, I'm feeling like my journey is just beginning. I couldn't have predicted the direction my writing career would take a few years ago. And I know there is more to come.
My advice today for aspiring authors (or anyone aspiring to do anything)--don't let anyone tell you your journey ends here. There might be a twist in the road that you haven't anticipated, but the journey isn't over until YOU say it's over.
Now seriously, any predictions for AI winners? I'm going with Jacob Lusk or Casey Abrams.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
MY Picture Book...Yes, I said MINE!
I can now officially announce that I've signed a contract with 4RV Publishing for my picture book THE WORST CASE OF PASKETTI-ITIS. Scheduled for publication sometime in late 2015, the story was written as a result of my three-year-old daughter's refusal to eat anything except pasta. I took it a step (or two) further and gave my MC THE WORST CASE.
As a bit of background, the original text was written in 2006, revised as a result of two separate critique groups over three years. In 2009, it was revised again as a result of an editor critique at the 2009 NESCBWI conference in Nashua, NH. It's been a long road for this story.
From my query letter:
On a whim I sent it to 4RV during their submission window in October 2010--I knew of several people who had published with 4RV and I thought THE WORST CASE might be a good fit. On a snow day in early February 2011, I got an email saying they were interested in it. First I hyperventilated. Then, I composed a calm and professional email about how excited I was about working with them. I had a contract in my inbox later that afternoon.
Reading the contract took a few days. I had a few people help me decipher some of the legal language. I asked some questions of the editor. I signed it, notarized it, and sent it back to Oklahoma.
Today, I received my executed contract. My first contract that isn't work-for-hire. My own work. My own character. My own idea. I'm going to have an illustrator bring my character to life.
::SQUEE:: !!!!
My daughter is now 8 and eats slightly more than just pasta, but the story still resonates. She'll turn 13 just after the book is published--I hope she's won't be mortified! On second thought, hopefully her culinary palate will be broader by then. :)
For those of you wondering, I'm still working on my work-for-hire. And I'm still querying my YA novel. And, yes, I've got a few more picture book manuscripts up my sleeve. You never know what's coming next!
From my query letter:
Pasta is the perfect food to Petunia! There are so many different varieties! Why should she eat anything else? Her mother, her teacher, and even the lunch-lady, warn her that she might turn into pasta if she doesn’t try something else. Could she really turn into pasta? Would it be farfalle? Or maybe fettuccini? Petunia finds out, to her dismay, that “you are what you eat.”
On a whim I sent it to 4RV during their submission window in October 2010--I knew of several people who had published with 4RV and I thought THE WORST CASE might be a good fit. On a snow day in early February 2011, I got an email saying they were interested in it. First I hyperventilated. Then, I composed a calm and professional email about how excited I was about working with them. I had a contract in my inbox later that afternoon.
Reading the contract took a few days. I had a few people help me decipher some of the legal language. I asked some questions of the editor. I signed it, notarized it, and sent it back to Oklahoma.
Today, I received my executed contract. My first contract that isn't work-for-hire. My own work. My own character. My own idea. I'm going to have an illustrator bring my character to life.
::SQUEE:: !!!!
My daughter is now 8 and eats slightly more than just pasta, but the story still resonates. She'll turn 13 just after the book is published--I hope she's won't be mortified! On second thought, hopefully her culinary palate will be broader by then. :)
For those of you wondering, I'm still working on my work-for-hire. And I'm still querying my YA novel. And, yes, I've got a few more picture book manuscripts up my sleeve. You never know what's coming next!
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