Beginning of 2007

The year is starting out slow. My stories to Steven Malk were rejected. I received a personal reject which stated I should join SCBWI. I was a little upset because the editor didn’t read below my signature. Underneath my signature on every query or cover letter it plainly states, “SCBWI Member.” Just before sending that editor another query, I looked back on my previous query to her. The notation about SCBWI was missing. Oh my! I renewed my SCBWI membership a bit late this year, end of January.

As for my writing. I am still a little burned out from December. Not really burned out, but focusing on another form of writing. I began writing a book titled Purple Ducks: Reflections on our Eternal Need to Belong. The book includes stories on my need to belong and how it relates to the spiritual journey many of us travel. I’m including lots of personal anecdotes and mixing it with thoughts on Christian spirituality. A friend in my critique group is looking at it one chapter at a time and helping me tremendously. Any of y’all got some good stories on belonging or not belonging, espeically if it is in a church context? No picture book writing this month. I don’t think I subbed anything during January.  

Lesson Learned: I can write something other than picture books. If I can finish something larger than a picture book is an entirely different story.

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2006 in review

I finished out 2006 with a busy month of writing. All of my spare time went into new stories, or actually old story ideas that finally were written. Still unemployed. God is keeping our heads above water. We’re talking to a local church about the perfect job, church planting that really isn’t church planting, but really is a lot like it. Confused yet?

Books written in December: 16 (4 of these circulating Feb 2007)

Books written in 2006: 44 (9-11) of these circulating as of Feb 2007, might retire 2 of these until they get re-critiqued and re-written).

Best rejections: Reka Simonsen spending Henry Holt’s money to personally send a rejection. Their guidelines say they won’t respond unless they are interested. She replied anyway. I liked that. By far the best reject was in the beginning of the year from Cheryl Klein.  

Lessons learned: Thought I should already be published by now. Sometimes my expectations are a little too high. Remembered that I love writing so much that I cannot stop.

New thing: Wrote and submitted article to SCBWI. Nice rejection and then saw a long thread on Verla Kay about my subject.

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A busy November

Went to my first local SCBWI meeting in two years. Had some great critiuqes of the story Steven Malk wants to see. He actually requested two of my pbs. I was only able to get one critiqued at the meeting. I had never been part of an in-person critique group before. It was fun.

I spent this entire month trying to re-write and re-write both requested pbs. Nothing new written. I began praying hard for Steven Malk to like these manuscripts.  

Lesson learned: Personal critique groups are fun and very helpful. Re-writing can be terribly agonizing at times.

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Officially unemployed

I lost my job at a church in the beginning of August. We had a church planting workshop to attend in late September and arrived back in Dallas, in a state of what I call, “officially unemployed.” So as you can imagine, I took this time and wrote and wrote and wrote.

Wrote 11 pbs: Three of these, I consider treasure. These three are making the rounds in Feb 2007. One of these was requested by agent Steven Malk for consideration. Unfortunately it was turned down.  

Lessons Learned: Take advantage of unexpected time off and remember, life changes quickly.  

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Dry spell for me

May, June, and July produced one pb manuscript, and that one wasn’t very good.

During the same time, received my first magazine rejection. More personal rejections “clever and fun but not strong enough for this maket” type of rejects. Oh well. Received an answer to a query saying, “send it.” I had sealed that query with a tear. I must have been emotional the day I sent it.

Lesson learned: A writer can be rejected from both ends of the country on the same exact day. I didn’t just receive the rejections on the same day. They were typed up on the same day. Oh my!

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