Embarrassing Mistakes 101

Ahhh. I suppose there are plenty of areas to cover in the realm of embarrassing mistakes in this world.


For a writer, few are less embarrassing than making mistakes in your quest (and sometimes, haste) to have your writing published…

It's even more frustrating when you find out it could have been completely avoided had you dug a little deeper and familiarized yourself with the proper way something should have been done.

I wrote in my previous blog about the importance of research while writing your story. I forgot to mention another, perhaps even more important, area of research:

The submission process.

Please, please, please research the proper way to format your manuscript, the length and content of a synopsis, and perhaps, most importantly, the correct procedure in writing your query letter.

I speak from experience.

In the first few query letters I sent out, I was completely off base.

I misunderstood the part where you’re supposed to tell a bit about yourself. In my mind, I took it to mean that they wanted a casual, summary of who you are. You know, like the way they do it on Wheel of Fortune;  “Hi! I’m Sally from Callamazoo. I’m married with five great kids, and I raise homing pigeons!”… That’s not exactly what they want.

There is a very specific and professional format you need to follow if you want to be taken seriously.

If you don’t do your research and submit it properly, there’s a possibility you may have to endure the mortification of reading segments of your query letter on the “What Not to Do” segment of an agents blog.

I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.  Hopefully, I can spare you the red face and feeling of a massive rock sinking in your gut once you’ve realized your faux pas-- and it’s too late to do anything about it.

With the plethora of excellent websites and blogs written by experienced authors and pros expressing exactly how to prepare your submission information, there’s no reason you can’t create the perfect submission.

I’d like to finish this entry by taking a moment gush over my fourth-grade daughter, Eden.

She hopped off her school bus the other day, and came barreling at me with a big, toothy smile, waving a certificate she had won for “Writer of the Month.”

We stood there hugging, and I was overwhelmed with pride as I realized that the fruit had indeed, fallen from the tree-- and I was holding it in my arms…

And now, about writing...

I had almost forgotten this blog existed.  Seems that I've been letting life get the best of me lately.  Sometimes, it feels like brick by brick, it's closing in.

Thank goodness I have my book to work on.  It's almost as if God threw me a bone with the concept to help distract me from the rest of the world.

I know that being published should be the main objective for a writer, but this book seems to be serving a dual purpose for me.  It's been bringing me joy during a dark time in my life.

I love my characters.  When I'm not writing them, they're lingering in my conscious. 

It's like those rare dreams, when the places and people are so real, I miss them when I wake up.  I have to grab onto the bits and pieces I can remember as I become more awake. 

Complete stangers in my waking hours, but familiar and loved in my dreams.  It has to be real on some level...

Does anybody else dream that way, or am I revealing something strange about myself that I assumed everyone experiences?

I think that's the beauty of having some ability to write.  You can create whatever characters or universe you wish.  No limits.  It's an exhilerating concept! 

The heart and soul lies in the characters as they come alive in your mind.  I'll be honest.  I love the characters I'm currently working on (with?) more than many real-life people I know. 

Is that too honest? 

My husband says that I'm honest to a fault sometimes.  (I think it has to do with a head injury in my twenties.)

What's a girl to do? 

I'm going to get back to my book now.  I had to take a break, because I brought some sadness in my MC's (main character's) life, and found myself slipping into sadness.

That's right.  I'm using this blog as a distraction to elude a bad day!

I guess you could call this blog a glimpse into the the writing process of a writer's book in progress!

So this is what I'm doing...

At the urging of my family and friends, I am about to unleash myself on to the literary community at large for the very first time this weekend...

I have finally decided to move myself to the front of the line in my life and walk--maybe even run--toward what I've been putting off while changing diapers, wiping noses, helping with homework, driving back and forth to gymnastics and just trying to keep up with the energetic parents who didn't wait as long as us to start a family--(hey, chasing a toddler in your 40's is no easy task!)

Anyway, I'm taking my moment to see what tricks this old dog can learn in Princeton, New Jersey this weekend at the NJSCBWI Conference.

I have no overly-dramatic expectations. I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may, learn as much as I can, and hopefully find some other "kindred spirits" who share my love of writing, too!

At the very least, I'll be away from home--alone--for the first time in thirteen years without my husband or kids!

I'm ordering room service!!