Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving Yall!

Today is a day to give thanks to the Lord and spend time with your family. Oh and to eat your weight in apple pie...... mmmm pie.......

                                                            uh, moving on

    This is what the Holidays are to me:

Family time.

We should all be thankful for the time we have together and all the things the Lord has blessed us with, because He has blessed us greatly.

    I'm thankful for my friends and my family and the Laughter we always share (I'm blessed to live amongst a lot of funny people).

So what about you? What are yall thankful for? 

Trolls in My Printer

IT'S DONE! IT'S SENT! IT'S MAILED!

My novel has now been mailed to the publisher!

The reality is still setting in.

    I didn't quite know how to feel at first, I mean, I've been living this book for about six months! But I know this:

God is good and life is awesome!

    Ok now I'm getting excited! I'll probably be doing the happy dance for the next week.

    Of course, I had last minute printing to do (having noticed some obvious mistakes this morning) but after removing a few trolls that jammed my printer, we did manage to make it to the post office in one piece.

Overall the process was crazy

                                                                   and hectic

but totally Worth it;

I can't believe I actually did it!

    Now I should probably catch up on the chores I've put off (like Mount Clothesmore slowly consuming my bedroom). If I don't post for a while just assume my laundry ate me, lol.

    Gosh, I can't believe it's sent (and just in the nick of time, too). Now I have a short 3-6 month wait. 

    Lets do it again! (And yes I am nuts). Time to start a package for Disney. : D

Remember: you can do anything

Down to the Wire

IT'S DONE! IT'S DONE! TheLord is so good!

My package is now ready for submission!

Oooooo I’m getting all excited!

Which is good cause the heat is on; I’ve got to get this mailed tomorrow. Because, it was brought to my attention that my deadline might be closer than I thought (possibly December 1^st). Thankfully, I’m near enough I can taste the stamps I’m about to put on the outside of this package.

As I told my mom earlier

I was starting to feel like I'm 738 words and a Comma away from my sanity

(and the edge of the page)

For all you scratching your heads that’s how long my synopsis turned out; 738 words, minus the comma, that wouldn't fit, lol! Actually, my synopsis is now finished and it’s all on one page and it looks really good (though it just barely fits; that one comma would put it over) but I’m calling it done.

    That was the last thing I had to do (after a few last minute corrections) and now we're ready to mail!

A lot of thanks to my friends and family who've helped me so far

this is only the beginning yall!

You never know until you try!

Praise the Lord

Ok the Lord is good! Hallelujah!

 Guess what!

My synopsis is                                     officially one page!

                                 …… wait for it ……

    Ah, I'm exhausted, but I'm too excited to care! Lol, it took five drafts but He helped me through it and although it's not completely done (still needs a bit of editing , you know, grammar and what not) it is one page and I'm calling that a success!

My first Dragon -- tamed

Just Part of My Journey

And so the plot thickens!

I learned this week that one of the publishers on my list has a deadline for submissions!

                                              Du

 du

                                 duuuuuu!

Turns out they only accept submissions between the months of June and December so I only have a month and a half left! Whew, no pressure there.

But that’s ok I work better under pressure.

So far I have my sample chapters printed, and my cover letter is nearly done but it’s my synopsis that’s becoming my nemesis.

Did you know I have trouble writing short works?

Well I do.

And this summery of my novel is supposed to be only one page! Either I tweak the margins (which I won’t) and shrink the font to     microscopic size    (which I obviously can’t) or……… I don’t know. How do I describe almost 300 pages in one?

But I guess I shouldn't Defeat myself before I try.

I should welcome the challenge, I mean, it’s a good workout for my creativity. And I’m not doing this alone; the Lord and my family are here to help me. So I’ll just keep on keepin’ on I guess. My send out date is November 30, and it’s coming quick so I’d better get back to work. Victory wouldn't be as sweet without overcoming adversity.

It’s all just part of my Journey.

Anything is Possible!

Well I did it! I have made a list (small is it may be. But it’s a start!). It’s a list of publishers who I like and who might accept my work, and the plan is I’m gonna start preparing submission packages to send out! WOW I’m so excited! Two of the publishers look really promising, but the third is more of a fantastic ‘what if’ sort of the thing, like, my dream publisher. They’re a pretty big brand name and I don’t know if my chances are good.

    Maybe you’ve heard of them.

Disney.

    Ah, yes, Disney, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Ooo there’s a story worth telling!

A little backwoods girl being published through such a powerful name as Disney.

What an honor that would be!

                                                  I mean,

I’ve read some of their books,

and my sister and I are big Disney Channel fans,

 I love all their MOVIES,

and I like how wholesome and family-oriented they are.

That would be just a Dream Come true for me!

    Wait a minute.

    You know what?

    Why shouldn’t it be a reality?

    Yah, I’m aware that my chances are probably slim but slim is better than None! I mean, wilder things have happened, right? Yah! It could happen. Anything is possible! So I’ll just keep praying and trying. ‘Cause this is only the first step of my Quest.

First Step of a 1,000 Miles

I have a feeling that today was the beginning of many beginnings.

Wanna know why?

Today was my first official day of publisher-searching!

(Even though I’ve been trying to get published for about 4 years)

Anyways, I went into today with one goal:

to find at least one publisher who might accept one of my novels.

And my search began in the library.

    Libraries are labyrinths of possibilities and adventures!

                                                    With halls

and corridors,       

                                                   all lined with books;

shelves just harboring vast amounts of

worlds,

knowledge

and

adventures …

ah, there’s no place like home.

I was in heaven and if I hadn’t had a job to do, man, I would’ve been scrounging through the teens’ section like a hound dog on a scent!

    The library is great for school and for reading assignments,

(and for adventure-seeking : D),

but did you know it’s also an invaluable tool for publisher-research?

    Indeed, there’re entire books that list publishing houses! You can find a publisher, get one of their titles, look it up in the computers, and find that book on the library shelves so you can get a feel for what that house publishes.

Way convenient!

    So I sat there at a table with my nose in a writer’s guide slowly sniffing through the listings, but I felt like a Dragon just freshly hatched trying to fly yet her wings were too heavy to lift. The number of houses seemed

eeeennnnddddllleesssssss

and suddenly I was feelin’ real           small         and overwhelmed. I was getting the feeling I was way in over my head, and that this was just the beginning of something

                                                                                           big.

    But I kept on keepin’ on and even though I was practically cross-eyed by the end I read through about half that book before we had to go. I’m pleased to say that there seems to be a rise in Christian book publishers. But I was having trouble finding someone who published my genre.

(I mean, who would publish someone without an agent. I am, currently, flying this trade wind solo right now... well, not entirly solo I do have a lot of support from family and friends – thanks guys!).

    When I finally am published I’ll probably look back on this beginning day and just laugh and smile.

Mostly because there I was,

                                                    a little

blond

                                          18-year-old

hunched over (another) book with goose bumps on her arms (it was f-r-e-e-z-I-n-g in there!). But mainly because I’ll be able to see how far I’ve come and the entire journey will be funny to reminisce.

  

 Because it’s all about the journey, right?

     I managed to find some promising-looking publishers though, and taking my newfound knowledge I took some notes and came home with bloodshot eyes and the determination to surf the web a little.

Ironically, I was listening to my MP3 Player while I searched, and every song that played was encouraging and uplifting as if the Lord were telling me (which I’m sure He was) not to stop, you can do this, and (in one song) That I cant back down!

Unfortunately, the fruits from this labor were empty-tasting so I think I’ll take a break and try again later. Maybe I’ll go write, or read, or play Video Games with my sister…

But this Dragon isn’t staying on the ground - mind you - she will Fly!

    

Just like my Dad told me today:

“Don’t stop. Keep moving forward!”

   

 And that’s exactly what I intend to do!