Don't Stop Believin'

Thank you to all of you who sent well-wishes while I was fogged in last week. It actually turned out to be a fairly mild head cold. The fog lifted, I caught my connecting flight and forged a clear-headed Christmas. I hope you all did the same.   

With the close of 2011, a lot of bloggers are doing their resolutions for 2012. Although I find reading them entertaining I've never been a serious contender for such things. Probably because I'm pathetically proficient at breaking resolutions. 

So I'll just reflect a little, if I may.

2011 served up a delightful array of new opportunities. One of my favorite online endeavors was getting acquainted with Pinterest. If you're not familiar with the site, it's a lot like bookmarking a website only on Pinterest you're bookmarking images. You create virtual bulletin boards to "pin" photos or drawings that trip your fancy. I like to scroll through other peoples' boards while watching TV with the Hubby. It's mindless, easy and enjoyable. Click on the link and you can see what's on my "boards."  

I thought I'd share some of the cute images. And accompany them with a short New Year's missive. Here goes: 

2011 was a good year. Yes, there were a few instances where I catapulted into some dark recesses.  

And, yes, there were certain things I could have done better. But I suppose that's true for all of us, right? 

Sometimes I'll read that regret is pointless and tends to drain us of our energy. I disagree. I think regret is a God-given emotion to help us make amends where we need to.  

Forgiveness and humility go a long way in spreading the love.

Is it really that difficult? Most of us are more alike than we are different anyway.

I think it's good to remind each other that they're not alone and that this too shall pass. 

Especially while we're on the cusp of a new year. 

This is not the end. Great things are ahead. So...

2012 is a good year to have a good year!

We're going to do some pretty epic things in 2012.

Naturally there will be obstacles. They're what build our stamina and hone our creativity, right?

But if this is our mantra, there'll be no stopping us!

And when 2012 is over, in a year from now, we'll be content with saying...

And just like Mary, we'll toss our hat into the air with a victory smile across our face because through it all, we're going to make it.  

And at this year's end, please know that I'm honored that you took the time to visit my little ole blog.

Happy 2012!

As always,

'Twas the FOG Before Christmas

Well, it finally happened. 

(No, not that. My manuscript wasn't accepted. I can't quite fall down and worship The Famous New York Literary Agent who has sold it at Auction to Random House and promised to make me a millionaire. That fantasy is still safely sequestered in the back of my cerebrum for times when I need a little mental amusement. But thank you for that gasp of breath you took when you made such a wonderful assumption. I'd hug you if I could.)  

No. What happened is far less newsworthy and exciting. The only reason I bring it up is because it affects my general performance and I thought I'd give you a heads up before you think I've lost my mind entirely. 

So what happened? (You're getting pissed off now because I'm taking too long for The Big Reveal. See? You already think I've lost my mind. Or at least my point. Bingo on both counts.)

Well. It started at the end of the hall, two coworkers and their considerable hacking.  In tandem, it emanated from adjacent doorways like a frog on Dolby. (Is Dolby still around? I might be revealing my age.) Anyway, despite the best intentions of said coworkers, the microscopic meanies made their way downwind, riding the unseen thermal to my desk and up my nose. And now I'm thick headed, with a box of Kleenex at the ready for the considerable wiping of the already tender spot just below my nostrils. Ouch. 

So, my flag is flying at half-mast. The power has been shut off and my airplane can't get off the ground. It's fogged in. My concerns with publishing my memoir are somewhere out there beyond my brain's capabilities. It's kind of a blissful ignorance. Things could be worse. But they're not. 

I suppose I'm still coherent enough to know that Christmas is just a few short days away. My hope is that each and everyone one of you has the perfect holiday and that you know you're loved. Cherished in fact, because isn't that really what it's all about? 

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!"
(All photos from Pinterest)

The Bumpy, Baffling Road to Publishing 3

Hi and welcome back. Last time, if you recall, I spent several hundred words discussing the agent query potholes littering the road to publishing. Contrary to how it must seem, my goal really isn't to rant about how I've been "wronged." It's really not a "poor me" tale. In fact I find it rather comical. Frustrating but comical. And I know it's just business. Everyone is trying to pay the bills, put food on the table. Even agents. And rejection is just part of the meal. It's the Lima beans. (When you were little didn't you just hate seeing those nasties on your plate? Especially when your protestations did nothing but piss off your parents? Anyway... 

Before I launch into my next dissertation, I know you've all been awaiting the Big Reveal, right? Unless, of course, you already went to Google and checked for yourself. If you did, you saw this: 

The "Big 6" with their most familiar imprints in parentheses:

public domain

MacMillan (St. Martin, Holt) 

Simon & Schuster (Scribner, Free Press, Pocket) 

Hatchett (Little & Brown, Grand Central) 

Penguin (Riverhead, Dutton, GP Putnam, Viking, Portfolio) 

Harper-Collins (Collins, William Morrow, Amistad, Avon)

Random House (Doubleday, Knopf, Bantam Dell, Crown)  

Here is a site that has the most detailed information. 

So these are the publishers that produce the bulk of what is on the table at Costco. And these guys don't like to get "unsolicited manuscript submissions" from the likes of me. They insist that newbies to go through the proper channel--the agent. Once you get an agent to agree to represent you, (a gargantuan task in itself) she then pitches the manuscript to publishing representatives with the hopes that one of them will buy it. Sometimes, if your manuscript is really, really attractive, there might an auction. This means that several reps bid on it. This is when you're in fat city. Usually this happens with celebrities--those aforementioned Sure Bets. 

I'm not a sure bet. At least to the publishing world. And this brings me to the second road to publication. Two words: Independent Publishers. These are the small presses that publish only a handful of books per year. Google "Independent Publishers" and it's like Christmas with columns of possibilities on the screen. One of the cool things about indie publishers is that you can send a query letter directly to their acquisitions editor, bypassing the Literary Agent altogether. The down side is that Indie publishers are just as inundated with queries as agents are. This is where patience becomes a virtue.   

I don't have a lot of experience with querying indie publishers yet. But I'm encouraged. And if it turns out this road leads to a dead end, I'll turn around and head back. I've got one more road worth exploring. 

PS Wednesday, December 14,  I am guest blogger for Women's Memoirs Blog. If you're contemplating writing your story, Matilda and Kendra's blog is THE place to begin. It's chock full of inspiring writing ideas and regular features about the craft of writing memoir. I hope you'll check it out. 


One more news item: I just found out from my editor that book one in the Reflections From Women series is available for the Kindle for 99 cents! Just go to Amazon. 

As always, 

The Bumpy, Baffling Road to Publishing 2

In Part 1, I wrote how the lowly wannabe author (me) tries to attract a Literary Agent by crafting a catchy and cool query letter so that said agent will help me get my book published, remember? Now, I’m going to (piss off PETA) and whack the dead horse a few more times, just for emphasis, if you don't mind. 

In my quest to become a published author, I did my homework. And believe me, I’m no fan of homework. Actually, that’s not true. I like homework now. In fact, I’m addicted to homework, spending many, many hours on the couch, munching on junk food, expanding my waistline while expanding my knowledge of the publishing world and how I might be able to grab a tiny piece of it for myself. Just an eensy tweensy piece, please?

rgbstock.com

Fortunately publishing information abounds on the Internet. In addition to a gazillion websites with lots of up to date information, many literary agents have their own blog. One strategy is to make yourself one of the several thousand or so regular commenters in hopes that maybe the agent will get familiar with your name, thereby upping your chances of getting a hit on that (impeccably written) query letter you sent her. I tried this and when I was rejected anyway, I said, “[bleep] them” and unsubscribed myself. But you might have better luck.

Sometimes, I’m a glutton for punishment, visiting sites like, “How I Got My Literary Agent” for instance. On this site, writers who’ve been successful at scoring an agent that landed them a contract with one of the Big 6 (more on that in a minute) share the query letter that made the grade. The premise being that we can learn from the successes of others. Good premise, right?

rgbstock.com

Want to know what I learned?

I learned that agents like to go with Sure Bets. They’re more likely to notice writers who already have an expansive list of literary accomplishments under their belt. If the wannabe writes on her query letter, “I took first place in the Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor & Tangle of Cords Writing Competition six years straight” she’ll probably get noticed. Further, if the writer is already a published author with six best sellers to his credit with pending movie rights on five of them, the agent will probably want to see the author’s manuscript. Agents like to go with sure bets. If you think I’m being overly dramatic, well I am, but that’s beside the point. Consider that on December 5, it was announced that Amanda Knox had already scored agent representation for a book deal. And with the same literary agent that represented President Obama. See? Agents like sure bets. Famous people who write books are sure bets. Most wannabes aren’t sure bets. 

Now that I’ve gotten all of that out of my system, I’ll be ready to discuss Option 2, the second fork in the road to publication next time. Hopefully you’ll be back if I haven’t bored you to tears.

Just for fun, see if you can name The Big 6 New York Publishing Houses. No cheating, ‘kay? If you get them all, you’ll win………………high praise from me.