PiBoIdMo- The Pressure is On!

Okay, so.. during PiBoIdMo 2009, I came up with the title GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS.  I wrote it with Beth Coulton and it sold to Putnam.

During PiBoIdMo 2010, I came up with another title for a fractured fairy tale. I wrote it and though I don't have a contract yet, I am convinced that ultimately... it will sell.

Now, it's PiBoIdMo 2011 and the pressure is on!  I am off to a very late start due to six days with no power!    Our electricity was restored late on Nov 3rd, but I am only just now getting into the PiBoIdMo mindset. 

It's Nov 6th and I am staring at a blank list!

But I am not going to panic.  It takes time to get into an idea-generating groove. If I incubate every day, ideas will hatch and multiply!

Success

We all know the road to publication can be rough.  Long and winding.  Bumpy and bouncy.   Puddly and potholed.  I have hit roadblock after roadblock this year, and to be honest... I have been very down about it.

But I saw this graphic on Facebook today and it made me feel a little better:



It's all about managing expectations.

Conferences- A Double-Edged Sword

Once, at the Rutgers conference, a panelist (whose name has totally escaped me) said this:

Don't take rejections personally.  I've been in the business for 30 years and I've sold over 45 books and I still occasionally get a form letter!  That should make you feel better.

Or..... NOT.

We all laughed, but I think as soon as it came out of his mouth, he realized that his statement, intended to encourage us, had actually had the opposite effect on his audience. 

Yikes!  This is some tough business.  And that is the double-edged sword of attending conferences.  You can leave feeling invigorated and inspired.  But you can also walk out feeling slightly discouraged and depressed.  We picked an industry where the odds are so overwhelmingly against us.

What do you do when this industry gets you down?

I'M NOT READY!

My daughter does not do well with change.   When she was two, we got her a toddler bed.  We talked it up, and she was very excited to sleep in it.  We moved her 200 doggies and kitties from her crib to her beautiful new bed.  We moved her blanket and her special pillow.  We tucked her in.  And started to walk away...

"I'M NOT READY!"  she screamed.  "I WANT MY CRIBBY!"  So we moved all 200 doggies and kitties, blanket and pillow back to her crib and said, "We'll try again tomorrow."

This went on for months.

Two years ago, we got her a big girl bed.  It sits in the corner of her room empty.   I say to my husband,  "What's the matter with her?  She is seven and  half and insists on still sleeping in her toddler bed." 

Yesterday, I clicked on a button that said, "Try the new blogger interface now."

Two seconds later, I screamed I"M NOT READY!!!!    I WANT MY OLD INTERFACE BACK!

Imagine my surprise and relief when I saw a button that said, "Return to old interface."

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I will not be trying that new interface again for a LONG time.    Possibly not ever.

Slow as Molasses

Okay, Karma Wilson wrote a PB on a Saturday, revised it Monday, and by Wed her agent had sent it to her editor who LOVED it.

I, uh, on the other hand,  am still working on the same friggin' fractured fairy tale that I began last December!

If this were college, I'd be on the seven year plan 

Crawling along at a snail's pace, but I think I am finally (almost) at the point where my agent is happy with it.

Just need to polish up a few final spots and then, my editor should have it, by say... oh, November?

I Must Really Be a Nerd

Ann Hathoway was on Jon Stewart the other night and she referred to herself as a nerd.  Jon Stewart asked her "What sort of  nerdy pursuits do you have?" And she answered, "I'm a Scrabble fiend."

Well, if that is the definition of nerd, then I more than qualify.  At any given time, I am in no less than 18 concurrent games.  (at least 4 on my iPhone and 14 on Facebook)

But I think what really makes the case is this... I participated in a PB Makeover workshop on Write on Con this week, and it was THE MOST FUN I'VE HAD ALL SUMMER!

Yes, really.  Better than beaches and boating.  Better than wining and dining.

It really was a shot of adrenalin for me.

For example,

BEFORE

Beware the itching snitcheroo
with fingertips that stick like glue.
Make sure he never touches you.
The itch will drive you to snitch, too.

I took this already fun, Seuss-y stanza by Myrna Foster, and came back with this:

AFTER

Beware the itching snitcheroo
with fingertips that stick like glue.
But please don’t touch him, if you do
The itch to snitch will switch to you!

More fun than careening down a steep water slide.

Yup, NERD-ville.

A Pitch in Time Saves Nine

Okay, so I had this whole post written... in my head.  I was going to explain how I used to write picture books and then send them to my agent, only for her to write back and say "Eh.  The story is well-written, but I don't really care for the premise."   After a half a dozen of these experiences, my husband said to me, "You really need a new strategy."  (Yes, he knew if he didn't speak up, I would continue banging my head against the wall indefinitely)

He suggested I 'pitch" an idea to my agent BEFORE I started writing.  Well, eventually (after several more experiences like my earlier ones) I decided to give it a try.

And guess what?

It worked!

So, I was going to suggest that you all try to write your pitch before you write your story.

Bu then Jean Reidy went ahead and said that exact thing.  And she articulated the reasoning behind it so well!  So... go check out her post!

NOTE:  If anyone would like to test out his/her pitch, there is a great opportunity over at Susanna Hill's blog today called Would You Read It Wednesday?