When I read out loud…
I tend to add the edited-out-words back in. Just so you know…
(me, reading a chapter from Bigger than a Bread Box, at the Sanibel Island Writers’ Conference. Flipping my hair and gulping a little too much)
(me, reading a chapter from Bigger than a Bread Box, at the Sanibel Island Writers’ Conference. Flipping my hair and gulping a little too much)
February 1st, 2012 at 7:38 pm
That second chapter was an emotional one. Good reading! You are the first person I’ve ever blogged my whole life. Since following your blog I’ve discovered a lot about myself as a writer. You inspire me. One interview I read, before you got your first book contract it had taken dozens and dozens of rejections and much determination on your part. You didn’t give up.
I send my manuscripts out to a few editors at a time. I need to be a lot more aggressive than that. If I really want this then I need to put myself out there a little more. So I started my own blog last week. Perhaps this is another start toward a very long slow process. But it’s a beginning. And I thank you for helping me even though you didn’t know you did.
Just have to tell you a brief story. For the past five years I’ve been reading, studying and pouring over LITERALLY every Newbery Award winning book I can find. Trying to find my own voice. Learning how to write. As far as children’s literature, that’s all I’d read. Until a month or so ago when I stumbled upon your book, Penny Dreadful. The cover was pretty so I picked it up. Read the first few pages and loved how tightly and delightfully written your prose are. So I bought it. The FIRST children’s book I had read in five years that was not a Newbery.
Then I read Bigger Than A Breadbox. Loved it! One day you’ll probably win the Newbery. I wouldn’t just say that. It’s true.
Right now I’m going to work on just getting published (besides children’s magazines); which are great, don’t get me wrong. But I’m ready to be a book author. Like you. I just wanted to thank you for letting me write on your blog and give me the confidence to follow my dream.
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Venessa, I’m so so glad that my rantings and journey have been helpful to you. And I’m so flattered that you like my work. You’re doing everything right. It’s just a hard time in a tough industry. The point is to write. To write. It’s all about the work. It has to be. This is the mantra I try to remember…