I sent my newly revised query letter yesterday and after rereading it once or twice (okay, it was like 4 or 5 times) I feel REALLY confident about it. I'm proud of the query, I feel like it's interesting enough, it's in my voice, it's written the way I feel about the overall book, and it conveys the story the way I want it to. This is exciting because it means that other than continuing to edit the rest of the manuscript, I can rest easy and just keep requerying that email to various agents after I get the rejections. These agents I've been querying require that I attach the synopsis (which is also just a page and a half of the general conflicts and main events in the book, and I feel okay about that) and the first 2-5 chapters. And after reading the first two chapters that I sent yesterday, I feel really good and really confident about my chances of getting an agent with this round of querying. I know, it's still a freakin long shot, but I've read a whole lot of successful queries and I think that sometimes one that might work for one agent at one specific time might then not even work for that same agent at a different time. As long as there's nothing structurally wrong and the grammar isn't awful, it really just feels like luck. And other than a misspelling of 'pierogies' in the fifth paragraph of the prologue, I didn't see any obvious errors (hopefully I'm not just missing ones because I'm ignorant of proper grammar, but that's extremely likely). And in my defense of pierogies....(sorry Chocci Marie and Dad)...the computer and Scrivener all think that it's spelled pirogies, which might be a different word all together, but I went with it and didn't double check myself online. Damn it. Anyway...if whoever is reading the query is in the right mood and mind for it, they might love it and pass it on to the agent, who might feel similarly. I just have to get the manuscript up to par.
Me and the husband are taking J to a baseball game today. We're getting lunch at a Mexican place in northern Phoenix that he saw got great reviews on Yelp. We're hoping we can keep her awake until after the afternoon events and have her take a late nap at home, but I'm pretty sure she'll either be super cranky at the game, or will pass out on the car ride home (meaning a 20 minute nap, compared to her 2-3 hour regular nap). Or both. We'll see. It can't hurt to get my hopes up and expect a fun afternoon, right?
:/ I probably just jinxed myself.
Showing posts with label phoenix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phoenix. Show all posts
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Break and Day 3 of Journal (8/3/96)
I'm taking a short, rare break from my tasks. I just needed a breather from the task I'm working on, so I figured I'd use the moment here. Also, I'm eating lunch and there's no one here to take an official break with.
I still haven't made a new game plan on how I'm going to approach the last edits on my manuscript. After which I need to write a good synopsis and send out more queries. I figure this time away from the book is only going to help. Diving back in with a fresh outlook is usually recommended, so aside from the fact that I don't want to put it off so long that I just never get around to it, I'm not beating myself up over this time not editing.
The jewelry is going well. I've been busy to the point where I'm making something or polishing and finishing something on a nightly basis. That's all fine except for the fact that I really want a break from everything once in a while and it has been a few days since I've felt like I've been able to have that. I get home from work after picking up the kiddo from daycare, then she and I watch a cartoon, play, eat dinner, she goes to bed and I start working on jewelry. I get done by 9:30 and I'm too tired to read or do anything much for myself.
On Sunday, I made time for myself (even during Father's Day, haha) to go to the Central Library in Phoenix during the kiddo's nap. It was GORGEOUS. Five floors!!
I checked out a bunch of kids' books and two books for myself. Every time I go to the library I have a mental battle over whether I should get myself a book. I always break down and check one or two out but I usually never end up reading them or even opening them.
The first of the two I checked out is Tenth of December by George Saunders. I had heard a lot about it when it was first released, and since it was available and I knew it was a compilation of short stories, I didn't feel bad about checking it out. I've already read a couple of the short stories and I'm really enjoying it. The second is a full novel but it looked like a light read so I'm hoping I can start it in a week or so and actually have it done before they're due back.
Now on to my journal entry from August of 1996...
Diary 8/3/96
Forget those first pages! That was a while ago and now I am not who I was!
The other day I went for a run and on my way home I was walking up a hill and (I was too tierd to run!) I saw a huming bird! It was as big as a wasp! The thing that was so great about it is that I touched it!
I'm crying now because I think, I don't know how to put this in words so I'll explain. Never Mind!
I still HATE Jessica and Sarah! Their both BITCHES! (excuse my french) I'm trying to make new friends but that's hard to do during the summer!
I haven't done much during the summer, just stuff with Rose and Jeanette.
On the 22nd My family and me are going to Hershey park.
Why is my handwriting so bad?!?! It gets worse every day! I guess I'll just have to live with it!
Sarah would have made a good friend but she hung out with Jessica too much!
Oh Well!
Millie
Why do the French get all the blame for bad language?
I still haven't made a new game plan on how I'm going to approach the last edits on my manuscript. After which I need to write a good synopsis and send out more queries. I figure this time away from the book is only going to help. Diving back in with a fresh outlook is usually recommended, so aside from the fact that I don't want to put it off so long that I just never get around to it, I'm not beating myself up over this time not editing.
The jewelry is going well. I've been busy to the point where I'm making something or polishing and finishing something on a nightly basis. That's all fine except for the fact that I really want a break from everything once in a while and it has been a few days since I've felt like I've been able to have that. I get home from work after picking up the kiddo from daycare, then she and I watch a cartoon, play, eat dinner, she goes to bed and I start working on jewelry. I get done by 9:30 and I'm too tired to read or do anything much for myself.
On Sunday, I made time for myself (even during Father's Day, haha) to go to the Central Library in Phoenix during the kiddo's nap. It was GORGEOUS. Five floors!!
I checked out a bunch of kids' books and two books for myself. Every time I go to the library I have a mental battle over whether I should get myself a book. I always break down and check one or two out but I usually never end up reading them or even opening them.
The first of the two I checked out is Tenth of December by George Saunders. I had heard a lot about it when it was first released, and since it was available and I knew it was a compilation of short stories, I didn't feel bad about checking it out. I've already read a couple of the short stories and I'm really enjoying it. The second is a full novel but it looked like a light read so I'm hoping I can start it in a week or so and actually have it done before they're due back.
Now on to my journal entry from August of 1996...
Diary 8/3/96
The other day I went for a run and on my way home I was walking up a hill and (I was too tierd to run!) I saw a huming bird! It was as big as a wasp! The thing that was so great about it is that I touched it!
I'm crying now because I think, I don't know how to put this in words so I'll explain. Never Mind!
I still HATE Jessica and Sarah! Their both BITCHES! (excuse my french) I'm trying to make new friends but that's hard to do during the summer!
I haven't done much during the summer, just stuff with Rose and Jeanette.
On the 22nd My family and me are going to Hershey park.
Why is my handwriting so bad?!?! It gets worse every day! I guess I'll just have to live with it!
Sarah would have made a good friend but she hung out with Jessica too much!
Oh Well!
Millie
Why do the French get all the blame for bad language?
Saturday, June 15, 2013
It is HOT in Phoenix
I've had trouble not thinking about the weather since the days started getting up into the 110s here in Phoenix. For instance, driving to Joann Fabrics today (the first time I've been to the one near me...and I've lived here since October, so that sort of shows how reliant I am to online ordering for my jewelry shop) <---sorry about the tangent....I realized that most of my trips to the Joann Fabrics in DuBois, PA were spent in the rain. I don't know if I just got more of an urge to make jewelry when it was rainy (you know, cause I'm stuck indoors), or if it just rained there that often (both are really good possibilities) but it just felt weird driving there today in 105+ weather with the sun shining and palm trees lining the streets.
When I got home, I decided to soak up some of that abundant and reliable sun. Since the heat of the summer started, I've been getting less and less Vitamin D, so I figured it'd be good for me...plus, I always feel like I'm pampering myself when I put on my bathing suit and lay out.
I know I haven't mentioned it here yet, but I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so putting on that bathing suit is getting more and more depressing, especially considering it's too early for me to look obviously pregnant, so I just look generally pudgier than I did a few months ago. I gotta figure out if I have any maternity clothes in this house.
To try and prevent death by heat stroke, I dumped out an old spritzer bottle of crappy hair straightening product and rinsed it until it was cleaned out, then replaced it with ice cold water. I was so excited about my innovativeness until I actually laid on our fold out chair and started spraying myself. The mist was so thin and fine that most of it just blew away in the slight (disgustingly warm) breeze. Not the most refreshing half hour of my life, but I think it still falls into the category of 'the thought that counts'.
When the toddler wakes up from her nap (we're going on 3 hours...woohoo), we're heading to the gym. I'm trying to stay physically active with this pregnancy, since I've been regularly exercising since November, 2011, and I'm just now feeling myself again. There were a few weeks there where I was nauseous all the time and feeling ridiculously exhausted. So since I'm feeling good again, I'm trying to get back into running and exercising regularly. Hopefully that will help prevent me from gaining 60 pounds with this pregnancy, like I did with my first. That was no fun.
Okay...baby girl is awake :)
When I got home, I decided to soak up some of that abundant and reliable sun. Since the heat of the summer started, I've been getting less and less Vitamin D, so I figured it'd be good for me...plus, I always feel like I'm pampering myself when I put on my bathing suit and lay out.
I know I haven't mentioned it here yet, but I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so putting on that bathing suit is getting more and more depressing, especially considering it's too early for me to look obviously pregnant, so I just look generally pudgier than I did a few months ago. I gotta figure out if I have any maternity clothes in this house.
To try and prevent death by heat stroke, I dumped out an old spritzer bottle of crappy hair straightening product and rinsed it until it was cleaned out, then replaced it with ice cold water. I was so excited about my innovativeness until I actually laid on our fold out chair and started spraying myself. The mist was so thin and fine that most of it just blew away in the slight (disgustingly warm) breeze. Not the most refreshing half hour of my life, but I think it still falls into the category of 'the thought that counts'.
 |
| He insists on coming out when I'm out there. He moved into the shade almost immediately. |
Okay...baby girl is awake :)
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Job Interview!
So the editing is going well. I am up to chapter 23 now, which leaves me 10 chapters left to go. Not too bad. I want to get them finished over the next 4ish days and on Wednesday, I have a JOB INTERVIEW!!! Finally!!! First one since August! It's a job in Phoenix, so it's only about a 25 minute drive (sans traffic). And the job itself sounds great. It's not in a library, but it'd still be a good experience and would keep my resume on track, so I'm really hoping they consider me. There's also a volunteer supervisor position at a library closing for new applicants on Monday, so I hope I hear news from them this week or next for an interview. After all of these months of no interviews and constant disappointment on the whole employment front, it'd be such a relief to finally have a job. I know I'll probably cry a bit about the fact that I won't get as much time with Jane, but I know she loved the daycare and after spending this much time with her, I know she misses that interaction with the kids and the full-time toddler oriented activities (here, I make her sit in a cart for shopping, I have times where I have to go make jewelry, laundry, clean, so she really only gets about 2-3 full hours of my attention in the mornings and a couple hours after her nap).
Plus, I got my Master's Degree because of my strong desire to have a career and was never equipped mentally or emotionally to be a stay-at-home mom. I have days where I feel completely useless, and days where talks about money make me feel horrible (like the thought of paying back my student loans), plus since I was in grade school, I have wanted to be a career-driven woman. I am not at all saying I think staying home with Jane is in any way not honorable.
Wait...screw this...
I hate that moms always seem to feel the need to defend their decisions whether they want to work or stay home. I never see a man defending his decision to work full time. And if a man is staying home, I feel like the defending would be for why the mother is working, and not about the man. What kind of bullshit is that? (so I swapped out the word 'bullshit' with 'bullcrap' to be less PG-13 and found out that my Mac thinks 'bullshit' is a correctly spelled word, whereas 'bullcrap' is not...so I stuck with my first choice).
That's not where this post was supposed to go (and seriously, leave the fact that I'm a mom out of this, haha)...I'm just thrilled to finally have the chance to interview for a job I'd feel really good about (and one that I feel really qualified for). It makes this three-day-weekend a lot less stressful.
The interview is only a 15-minute over-the-phone one...which makes me nervous that a.) they're interviewing a lot of people, and b.) I didn't get the last over-the-phone job I interviewed for so I am a little more uncertain about my interviewing skills.
Either way, I have to keep my head up and stay optimistic, because why else be excited for the opportunity to interview?
Plus, I got my Master's Degree because of my strong desire to have a career and was never equipped mentally or emotionally to be a stay-at-home mom. I have days where I feel completely useless, and days where talks about money make me feel horrible (like the thought of paying back my student loans), plus since I was in grade school, I have wanted to be a career-driven woman. I am not at all saying I think staying home with Jane is in any way not honorable.
Wait...screw this...
I hate that moms always seem to feel the need to defend their decisions whether they want to work or stay home. I never see a man defending his decision to work full time. And if a man is staying home, I feel like the defending would be for why the mother is working, and not about the man. What kind of bullshit is that? (so I swapped out the word 'bullshit' with 'bullcrap' to be less PG-13 and found out that my Mac thinks 'bullshit' is a correctly spelled word, whereas 'bullcrap' is not...so I stuck with my first choice).
That's not where this post was supposed to go (and seriously, leave the fact that I'm a mom out of this, haha)...I'm just thrilled to finally have the chance to interview for a job I'd feel really good about (and one that I feel really qualified for). It makes this three-day-weekend a lot less stressful.
The interview is only a 15-minute over-the-phone one...which makes me nervous that a.) they're interviewing a lot of people, and b.) I didn't get the last over-the-phone job I interviewed for so I am a little more uncertain about my interviewing skills.
Either way, I have to keep my head up and stay optimistic, because why else be excited for the opportunity to interview?
Saturday, October 6, 2012
31% and almost 22,000
If I had a nickel for every time I think about writing and publishing this book I'd be as rich as J.K. Rowling. I can't help feeling so excited about it this time. I've started and stopped a writing project at least half a dozen times and this is the best I've ever done. The only issues I'm running into this time are the problems of remembering important plot points that happened earlier in the book. It hasn't become too severe of an issue yet though. I've had these issues before and they've contributed to me quitting projects in the past so I'm happy there isn't a major problem with it (yet).
Getting a MacBook Air is my hopeful solution to this becoming a serious road bump. I can use Scrivener again when I have a smaller and more portable computer.
I'm writing exclusively on my iPad now (did I mention in an earlier post that I'm using the app Simplenote for this?). If they come out with a mini iPad, I'm going to trade this larger one in for it...but that won't be until I swap out my computer though. I sound like a terrible person, but I guess I'm not the only one who sells their outdated technology on eBay for the newest 'best' thing.
I know I've talked about the MacBook Air before. The one I want is probably a tiny bit bigger than the keyboard/iPad combo I'm using now. I'd stick with the current set up if I could use a good program like Scrivener on my iPad. I really look forward to having an actual computer with the ability to get super organized on this book. Plus the MacBook Air will be much faster than my computer now because of the hard drive being solid state and not needing much to access its contents. The battery will last longer, there will be less risk of having any problems losing info in the hard drive, it'll be super portable. I can't wait!
Hopefully I'll have a chance to write today. Right now, I need to get my husband, toddler and self ready to go to Shippensburg..we're meeting my longtime college friends there for the day. I can't wait for this either!
Just under 2 weeks until we will be in Phoenix!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Getting a MacBook Air is my hopeful solution to this becoming a serious road bump. I can use Scrivener again when I have a smaller and more portable computer.
I'm writing exclusively on my iPad now (did I mention in an earlier post that I'm using the app Simplenote for this?). If they come out with a mini iPad, I'm going to trade this larger one in for it...but that won't be until I swap out my computer though. I sound like a terrible person, but I guess I'm not the only one who sells their outdated technology on eBay for the newest 'best' thing.
I know I've talked about the MacBook Air before. The one I want is probably a tiny bit bigger than the keyboard/iPad combo I'm using now. I'd stick with the current set up if I could use a good program like Scrivener on my iPad. I really look forward to having an actual computer with the ability to get super organized on this book. Plus the MacBook Air will be much faster than my computer now because of the hard drive being solid state and not needing much to access its contents. The battery will last longer, there will be less risk of having any problems losing info in the hard drive, it'll be super portable. I can't wait!
Hopefully I'll have a chance to write today. Right now, I need to get my husband, toddler and self ready to go to Shippensburg..we're meeting my longtime college friends there for the day. I can't wait for this either!
Just under 2 weeks until we will be in Phoenix!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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