tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post2105893068676463517..comments2024-03-15T09:26:02.796-05:00Comments on PROJECT MAYHEM: MY JOURNEY (THUS FAR)Project Mayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154342399869089664noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-17954191951537896222013-06-24T16:43:34.563-05:002013-06-24T16:43:34.563-05:00You truly exemplify the power of persistence. Cong...You truly exemplify the power of persistence. Congratulations!LinWashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13041832821260168483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-37850031362606958812013-06-20T10:58:11.680-05:002013-06-20T10:58:11.680-05:00Thanks for the welcome, Dee. One last shot.... tha...Thanks for the welcome, Dee. One last shot.... that must be the title of some book...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-70595354747754758032013-06-20T10:57:29.935-05:002013-06-20T10:57:29.935-05:00Thanks for stopping by, bfav. Best of luck to you ...Thanks for stopping by, bfav. Best of luck to you this year and beyond! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-33363822053185886872013-06-19T10:42:10.807-05:002013-06-19T10:42:10.807-05:00Late to this, but welcome, Tracy! Your post struck...Late to this, but welcome, Tracy! Your post struck me because it was very similar to my own. That one last query!Dee Garretsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14533945691880883871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-38125367711601187262013-06-17T02:43:51.536-05:002013-06-17T02:43:51.536-05:00Tracy, Thanks for your story. It helps to hear eve...Tracy, Thanks for your story. It helps to hear everyone didn't have a "Twilight." I've been writing (seriously) for five years. I'm currently waiting but I'm the closest I've ever been. I'm hoping this is my year...bfavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14164661338051897220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-21725484750800011482013-06-12T23:31:32.363-05:002013-06-12T23:31:32.363-05:00Thanks for stopping by, Cherie. Thanks for the sho...Thanks for stopping by, Cherie. Thanks for the shout-outs. To everyone else, Cherie is my outstanding colleague and friend. She introduced me to birds, and without that, I would not have written my WIP. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-15822748995374982162013-06-12T22:26:42.170-05:002013-06-12T22:26:42.170-05:00Tracy, to me, you're a teacher who writes, not...Tracy, to me, you're a teacher who writes, not a writer who teaches. But, having had you teach both my kids, and having read both your books, you can decide which one you are because you do both so well. Those of us who know you can consider ourselves lucky to have been there in the formative years. Here's to future Newbery Awards and cash in the bank!!! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16023827133469800982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-46217550920241539832013-06-12T13:49:48.997-05:002013-06-12T13:49:48.997-05:00Thanks for sharing, Taurean. Appreciate your hones...Thanks for sharing, Taurean. Appreciate your honesty and thorough response. Keep at it! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-15244520955871066172013-06-12T13:45:51.099-05:002013-06-12T13:45:51.099-05:00Thanks, Shannon! It is absolutely a learning exper...Thanks, Shannon! It is absolutely a learning experience and a painful, yet enlightening, one at that. I am also beyond thrilled to be part of PM. Thanks for the ego boost. :-) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-38160788058182565972013-06-12T13:44:28.158-05:002013-06-12T13:44:28.158-05:00I agree, Heather. If you don't love it, then w...I agree, Heather. If you don't love it, then why do it? Cheers! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-73945650210317295272013-06-12T13:44:04.302-05:002013-06-12T13:44:04.302-05:00Holy Rejection! This is persistence, Chris, and a ...Holy Rejection! This is persistence, Chris, and a lot of published books. Thanks for sharing. Right on! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-78064688145736681272013-06-12T10:54:37.539-05:002013-06-12T10:54:37.539-05:00Tracy, your story sounds so much like mine, though...Tracy, your story sounds so much like mine, though I'm still waiting for my edit notes to come in (Never thought I'd be jealous of authors who get their edit notes faster than me [LOL!]), but I know this takes time. <br /><br />I've waited a decade for this book to sell, what's a few more months for edit notes, right?(No sarcasm in that. Promise.)<br /><br />Anyway, like you it took about a decade for me to sell my first novel, only I don't (YET...) have an agent, but an author friend of mine (Wicked prolific and hard-working), directed me to one of those increasingly elusive small presses you don't need an agent for, and after a two year "courtship" (By which I mean they read a query letter and three sample chapters as per their guidelines) offered me a contract late last year, and now am furthering my pre<br /><br />I certainly don't yet know when it's coming out, but given my author friend's great experiences with this publisher, I know I'm in good hands, that helps a lot.<br /><br />I think at least part of the reason <br />I'm a bit more anxious than what's normal for new authors is because the day after I got the offer, the Sandy Hook school shooting in CT happened, talk about a mixed emotions Christmas, Charlie Brown...<br /><br />First book jitters aside, that enhanced my need, however illogical, to know this book's on track, never mind the fact my book's a middle grade novel, and kids killed on this horrid day were too young to even read my book, kids are kids in those situations.<br /><br />Anyway, I may have a team behind me now, but I still need to be part of that team, you know?<br /><br />Until presses start printing/converting ebook files, I still have things to do, both for the book itself, and networking contacts and call in what favors I have for the book's promotion.<br /><br />It's hard to know what I can do now without certain info. That said, I respect how my publisher's process is, my only concern going forward is having better overall communication about certain things.<br /><br />There has to be a balance between stark silence for weeks/months and the author being overly invasive, and I promise I've never done the latter, my editor will attest to that. <br /><br />I earned this chance and I'm not doing anything in my conscious power to screw it up. <br /><br />Speaking of my editor, her last message to me was that at her publisher, the editor has two co-editors she works with to really go over the manuscript, and that's all I had to know for now. Had I known that after the contract was final and signed, I honestly wouldn't have been so panicked in January-May, in spite of the tragedy in CT. Thankfully my site and slowly drafting my new book helped positively distracted me.<br /><br />I imagine my edit notes will be thorough and extensive, but I'm used to that, as almost every beta-reader, whether writer or lay reader always had that laundry list of things for me to consider.<br /><br />So, I'm as prepped for that as I can be. <br /><br />Though it is nice to have that rare experience of not having that long list of issues every now and then, which doesn't mean it doesn't need more work, it's just nice to not have the laundry list of several pages. Period.<br /><br />I can certainly improve my exposure in other ways, and have been doing so, still it'll be nice to tell my small, but strong community on my site so far what year my book's coming out and build from there.<br /><br />Oy, rambled again, but congratulations Tracy, I know both selling that novel and being a contributor here on Project Mayhem was HARD WON, I applied last year, too, but at least I've got my site's emerging following behind me.<br />Taurean Watkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16604609379930060667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-89463680264943390832013-06-12T10:50:45.150-05:002013-06-12T10:50:45.150-05:00"The Journey" stories are by far my favo..."The Journey" stories are by far my favorite author/blogger posts to read, Tracy, and I'm so glad you shared yours with us. I think I can give you a run for your money on querying too early and overall "rejections", but this journey is nothing if not a learning experience, right?! I'm beyond thrilled to have you on board here at PM and can't wait to celebrate the release of your latest MG--I LOVED The Color of Bones!!! :)Shannon O'Donnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17299313309059235876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-35356881828401968332013-06-12T09:15:22.605-05:002013-06-12T09:15:22.605-05:00I feel like getting published is all about persist...I feel like getting published is all about persistence, and you're doing great with that. You have to love writing like you do, and I think that's a mark of a great author. Heather Ostlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01471445622398775298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-29786353844679705972013-06-12T00:57:07.329-05:002013-06-12T00:57:07.329-05:00I haven't kept a count, but I'm sure that ...I haven't kept a count, but I'm sure that if you include novels, non-fiction books, articles, short stories, and picture book submissions I've had about a thousand rejections. But I also now have 18 traditionally published books and six self published ones!B Kris Bockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217265282250089583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-14111927881835004632013-06-12T00:56:55.526-05:002013-06-12T00:56:55.526-05:00I haven't kept a count, but I'm sure that ...I haven't kept a count, but I'm sure that if you include novels, non-fiction books, articles, short stories, and picture book submissions I've had about a thousand rejections. But I also now have 18 traditionally published books and six self published ones!B Kris Bockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217265282250089583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-19039787749037205512013-06-11T16:18:32.974-05:002013-06-11T16:18:32.974-05:00Paul, thanks for sharing! Paul, thanks for sharing! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-23060172139050618882013-06-11T16:17:30.733-05:002013-06-11T16:17:30.733-05:00Mike - I completely agree about getting better alo...Mike - I completely agree about getting better along the way, and I believe that is exactly what happened to me. You either improve or you quit. I chose "improve" as we all have. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-21244882121563684512013-06-11T16:16:35.524-05:002013-06-11T16:16:35.524-05:00I've been called stubborn many times, though t...I've been called stubborn many times, though this time seems to be the only positive context. Thanks for the welcome. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-51063343102180612132013-06-11T16:15:53.781-05:002013-06-11T16:15:53.781-05:00Thanks, Michael G-G. In this business your skin mu...Thanks, Michael G-G. In this business your skin must mutate into a hard outer shell. If not, you are toast. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-32020817501275514532013-06-11T16:14:34.137-05:002013-06-11T16:14:34.137-05:00Six weeks? That is pretty quick. Despite agent rej...Six weeks? That is pretty quick. Despite agent rejections piling up, we come back for more. We writers are a rare breed. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-4254982403937779292013-06-11T16:13:29.687-05:002013-06-11T16:13:29.687-05:00Thank you for the welcome. Wow, those numbers are ...Thank you for the welcome. Wow, those numbers are staggering. Now THAT is persistence! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-64990102568558171542013-06-11T16:12:46.283-05:002013-06-11T16:12:46.283-05:00Thank, T. Drecker. They always go hand in hand. Thank, T. Drecker. They always go hand in hand. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514067724256745623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-50754262181994908582013-06-11T15:33:38.515-05:002013-06-11T15:33:38.515-05:00Hi, Tracy. Although I didn't keep count and do...Hi, Tracy. Although I didn't keep count and don't want to count now, I think my numbers are somewhere between yours and Mike's....<br />:-)Paul Grecihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11340974339238587138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-84781227503074798292013-06-11T14:56:55.440-05:002013-06-11T14:56:55.440-05:00Well, you could say the offering finally killed my...Well, you could say the offering finally killed my querying days...except for the fact that I left that agent and queried again...only a few rejections that time around though.Mike Winchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11771482167997501541noreply@blogger.com