Powerful Quote

A goal without a plan is nothing more than a wish....

By far that is the most powerful quote I've ever read!

ACK! Need Etiquette Advice!

Probably a silly question, but I have to ask. If an agent states in the newest edition of the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market that she is specifically looking for a book written on a particular topic (and even says "Query me!"), but her website says she is closed to new submissions, do you just NOT submit and wait until she's open again? Or do you query her and say "Hey, you said this in XYZ book and asked to be queried on this exact topic, so here it is!" ACK! I need to know what is the proper etiquette! Help???

Onto other news, I submitted "Freedom Soup" today to Scott Triemel NY. Last year, I had won an auction through SCBWI and had the opportunity of having a phone conference with agent John Cusick. That was exciting and deathly frightening all at the same time. At the time, I had submitted a middle grade book. This time around, I submitted my newest picture book. 

I've also submitted for the writing position at Everything Girls Love Magazine. There are thousands of writers applying for that. But hey, a girl can dream, right? Dr. King had a dream and look what happened!

Fingers crossed for all of these opportunities that lie ahead!

Taking the plunge....

I know myself well...a little too well. I know that if I spend my hard earned dollar on something, I'm darn sure gonna get my money's worth! With that said, I took the plunge and joined Julie Hedlund's 12 by 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge. Twelve picture books...in twelve months. Can I do it? My pockets are screaming "YOU BETTER!" (Sidebar....it really wasn't expensive. My mama just raised me to be very frugal is all. Blame her!)

Money aside, I think this is just what I needed--a swift kick in the hoo hah! At the Gold level, I am open to many benefits. Every month, an agent or editor allows submissions, which is great because this moves the participants from the bottom of the slush pile straight to the top. SWEET! That's only half the battle. What's submitted must tickle their fancy. And therein lies the challenge. Womp...womp...womp!

Luckily, I entered Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month). This was a challenge where you had to create one picture book idea a day to equal 30. Ummm....yeah that was tough. But I did come up with about 20 or so ideas, which is more than enough for me to plug away for the 12 by 12 challenge.

And so here my journey begins. My goal this month is to tighten up my newest PB, "Freedom Soup" before I continue submitting it to the world. And then on to the next! I can't wait to see what the year brings!

For more info on 12 by 12, visit: http://www.juliehedlund.com 
For more info on PiBoIdMo, visit: www.taralazar.com

Happy writing!

(got this pic from Julie's website. Love it!)

EGL Magazine

Here's my latest venture in writing. I'm applying for a position as a Lifestyle writer for Everything Girls Love Magazine. The application process is pretty lengthy with lots of interesting questions. Plus, I had to write a sample article. I chose to do a literature review of this book I just read entitled "The Farming of Bones ." Last but not least, they want a resume. I wonder if professional bookworm counts as a job I can put on my resume...oh joy!

Ooooh somebody's in trouble!

Somebody brushed the dog's teeth with daddy's toothbrush....AGAIN!!!! To tell or not to tell...THAT is the question!

PiBoIdMo 2012!

So, first to address the elephant in the room. No I haven't written on this blog in a long time, but that doesn't mean I haven't written! In fact, thanks to PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month), I have a treasure chest full of picture ideas for 2013! The idea behind PiBoIdMo was to create an idea a day during the month of November. Thirty days. Thirty Ideas. Short of giving birth, this was my toughest writing challenge yet.

There were some days where I had nada! And then came the days where I'd come up with 5 ideas! Oh joy!

I want to thank Tara Lazar for creating this challenge for writers. It was scary yet beautiful at the same time. Now that it's over, it's only natural to make the transition to the next writing challenge: 12 by 12! This is being run by Julie Hedlund and for more information, you can go to www.juliehedlund.com/12-x-12 The idea is to create one picture book a month. Sounds easy, right? (as I slowly eat away at what nails I have left)

Onward and upward in 2013! I'm not giving up on this writing thing yet. The writing community has to be the most supportive, close-knit group of cheerleaders I've ever encountered. Keep writing people!