Checking in

Hi friends!
I know it's been awhile. I've been crazy busy this last year. Living in a foreign country with little ones while your husband travels most the time is no joke!
However...I wanted to check in quick and mention a few things!
First of all, I started a new project writing a new poetry now that my kids are in school (time to write, hooray!) You can find the site on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Debspoetrycorner
So that's been fun and motivating! I hope you'll read a few now and then.
Also, I just registered for a cool picture book opportunity I wanted to share with any pb writers out there. It's called #PBCritiqueFest hosted by Brian Gehrlein at Picture Book Spotlight. Register for a chance to win a pb critique by some pretty impressive kidlit folks at https://www.pbspotlight.com/pbcritiquefest
I hope to check in again soon! But if you don't hear for me in awhile, find me on twitter (@deborah_writing) and FB where I'm a little more active these days! :)

It’s Been Awhile! *Breaking out of writer’s block, major life changes, updates, and more*

…Yes it has, and I feel like I need to explain why I’ve been on a blogging hiatus the last 6 months.

It’s a funny thing, writing inspiration. One period of time, you can be bursting with so many ideas and motivation that you can’t put your laptop down. That was my entire January/February. After Storystorm, I was full of inspiration and excitement. Looking at my “STORYSTORM 2018” folder right now, there are FORTY new documents of stories and drafts, most of which were written during that time.

But then- it’s kind of amazing really- how the next day, all that enthusiasm and productivity can get sucked away into some mysterious black hole, leaving you with nothing…that was my entire March, April, and May.

I realized pretty quickly that there was a justified reason for this massive muse swing (see what I did there?) And it was an interesting discovery: A new onset of pregnancy, with its accompanying morning sickness (or in my case evening sickness), lethargy, and weird food cravings, can not only cause “Pregnancy Brain” but it can also cause writer’s block as well.

I’ll never forget the relief I felt around the first of June when my nausea and general feeling of icky-ness died down and Voila! Just like magic, my inspiration returned. I wrote the first decent picture book manuscript in months.

While I haven’t felt quite the same as my pre-pregnancy self, slowly but surely, I’ve been pounding out some new projects ever since. And I have to say, it feels SO good to be back. I’ve been reminded that writing really does make me happy. It was incredibly discouraging to feel empty of ideas for so long. There’s a huge feeling of excitement and fulfillment that comes with writing something new and submitting to agents, publishers, or contests.

So, I guess in the last few months, what I’ve learned is that inspiration can leave for a while, and it’s okay. It feels super discouraging, but it’s important to keep in mind that it WILL come back. It’s alright to take a little break from time to time. Especially when major life events are taking place.

Which brings me to the other big distraction from my writing recently, which is the fact that my husband got a new job out of state. Once we accepted, we had less than a month to get everything squared away – our house, our vehicles (two of which we had to sell), our Jack Russell Terrier Jojo (we couldn’t take her with us ☹) and a whole lot of other things, before moving across the country.

(We are currently in Washington DC but will receive a new assignment shortly that will take us to a new, unknown destination. We are excited to see where we end up!)

Suffice it to say, it’s been a crazy year so far, and now you know my excuses for not blogging in a while. But we are expecting baby #4 this Fall (It’s a girl, hooray!), looking forward to a new adventure with my husband’s job, and planning to keep plugging along with the writing game…in between park adventures, play dates, snack times, temper tantrums, and so forth.

Despite the ups and downs, here’s a few updates/stats for the year thus far: 

• In the last six months, I’ve submitted eight writing projects to agents/publishers/contests. I’ve received three rejections and am waiting to hear news about two more projects by the end of August. Crossing my fingers!
• My goal is to send out a query at least every 1-2 weeks for the remaining of the year... This week is covered - I sent one yesterday! 
• Last week, I departed from the picture book sphere and worked on a creepy short story that’s been on my mind ever since my husband and I made a random pit stop in rural Tennessee two years ago in which we made a TRULY unexpected discovery past a locked gate and down a dirt road (I hope that makes you want to read it 😃) ..Sometimes spooky stories are the most fun for me to write. I'd like to submit it to a magazine (Do you have any suggestions?) once it runs through the peer-editing mill in the coming weeks. 
• My last update is a plan I’ve been formulating through trial and error for years now. It will probably continue to evolve, but I want to share it because it has worked for me every time I’ve used it. The trick is, using it consistently! (That whole self-discipline thing is kind of hard to stick to). Nonetheless, as I've tried my best to implement it more and more, it has brought me not only writing success, but overall life happiness/productivity as well. I also believe it has played a key role in getting me out of my recent writer's block. It probably wouldn’t work for everyone and I’m in no way giving out advice. All I’m saying is it’s been my own personal solution to juggling kids, home and other duties, getting writing projects done, and not going crazy in the process. So here it is:
1. Every night, making a list of realistic to-do’s for the next day. 
2.  Cutting out the social media I’m most attached to for the entire week (weekends are okay). In my case, it’s Facebook. 
3. Spending one-on-one time with my kids each day (I shoot for 20 minutes).
4. Being completely present with my kids when I’m with them, with no unnecessary distractions. 
5. Going to a gym with childcare (as many days a week as possible). This is a key element of success for me because it serves many purposes. A. To get exercise which always reduces my stress and gives me more energy/confidence/happiness. B. To allow myself a short break from the kids, even if it’s for 20 minutes (It’s amazing how a little breather can help me to be a better mom). And C. While I exercise I can read or listen to Audible – Any books, emails, news, or scriptures I need/would like to read that day, can be done while I run on the treadmill. Two birds with one stone = I feel really happy and productive. 
6. Making the very most of down time (kids’ naps/scheduled TV time), which is when I pull out my to-do list and start crossing stuff off.  
7. Getting the kids to bed early every night. Our kids’ bedtime has always been 7pm and it’s been the best thing ever. I mean, EVER (For me AND the kids). I owe this step to the book HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY CHILD by Marc Weissbluth – one of the most helpful parenting books I've read. 
8. Getting to bed myself before 10pm.  
•  What these steps do for me: After my kids go to sleep, I’ve spent quality time with them without distractions so I feel good and not guilty. I’ve already read what I wanted to read that day. I’ve already exercised. I’ve already finished everything on my to-do list (because it was realistic). I still have energy because I’ve been going to bed on time. I feel satisfied about my day instead of discouraged/depressed. I don’t need to worry about being distracted with time-wasting social media because I’m still off it until the weekend. I’m completely ready to write or work on whatever else I’m excited about…which may be watching a good movie with my husband too. I’m not perfect at following this plan, but it’s taken me awhile to realize the necessity of each step and I KNOW that for me, it’s what I need to do to balance my life, get things done, and feel at peace. 

 So anyway, that’s what I’ve been working on and thinking about lately. How about you?

 More soon - Hopefully much sooner than last time!

Summer Update... with a lot of DOT DOT DOTS

It’s been awhile so I thought I’d give a little update on…

WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING LATELY: 

-Going to the library LOTS! Reading LOTS of picture books with my kids, and sneaking in the occasional MG book for when I have the smallest sliver of “free time” in my day, which has been especially meager latterly because I’ve been ….

-Going to bed super early lately! This is something I’ve been trying to do better for a long time and I know it’s what I NEED to do in order to be a good Mom for my kids, have energy, patience, and the ability to get through another day, etc. It’s also because my husband and I are doing a little friendly compact. We have both agreed to do certain things to be healthier. His end of the bargain is to exercise more, while mine is to go to sleep on time. It’s left me with, like 30 minutes of spare time at night, but somehow, I’ve still managed to keep…

-Writing whenever I can! I’ve been focusing on rhyming and poetry lately. In the last couple weeks, I wrote a humorous rhyming poem about converting to vegetarianism (which is partially/kinda/sorta a true story of my life right now), a rhyming picture book about venturing into the woods after dark, and a non-rhyming serious poem exploring how words/thoughts/actions define who we are.  It’s been so satisfying to get new projects done! Now if only I could figure out what to do with them all. Speaking of which, I have been…

-Querying here and there! Getting lots of rejections back, applying for different writing opportunities I find on twitter, submitting a poem or two to a magazine, waiting for a positive response, you know how it is. I’ve also been…

-Attending writing groups! I’m now a part of three different groups, (actually four or five if you count one-on-one exchanges with random writing friends). Anyway, it’s so nice to have feedback and support with my projects... 

And that’s pretty much it folks. Just trying to do what I can when I can. Here’s one more thing I can share with you  before I go though: Our favorite books we’ve read this summer! So here we go, the books we’ve loved…

Picture Books:

THIS IS NOT MY HAT by Jon Klassen

THE LITTLE HOUSE by Virginia Lee Burton

SEVEN BLIND MICE by Ed Young                                                                     

BLIZZARD and BLACKOUT by Jon Rocco

BUGS GALORE by Peter Stein

GOSSIE by Oliver Dunrea

LUCKY DUCKLINGS by Eva Moore

There’s a lot more we’ve liked, I just can’t think of them off the top of my head, so moving on…

MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS:

THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander

THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Barnhill

ONE CAME HOME (LOVED THIS!) by Amy Timberlake

Have you noticed a lot of these are Newberry/Caldecott winners? That’s because at the Wyoming Writing Conference I attended in June, when I attended Eugene Gagliano’s “Writing for Children” workshop, he handed us a list of all the award winning books from the last few years and challenged us to read as many as we could. So that’s been my goal for the summer. Along the way, I’ve picked up any other award winners I’ve come across. We’ve enjoyed so many of them! I also feel like I’ve learned a lot about what makes picture books successful in general. 

Anyway, I better call it quits since I’m far too late going to bed tonight (my husband’s been sick and since he can’t exercise I guess that means I don’t have to go to bed on time??…It's not very good logic and know what you’re thinking – she doesn’t stick to this going-to-bed-on-time rule very well, does she. But I just want to say that I’ve been SO good for the last month, with tonight being the only exception! :D 

That’s it for now. More soon!

Random Writing News

Thought I'd post some updates on my writing life, since it's been very busy lately:

• My motivation meter has gone up a great deal these last few weeks. I’ve created five new picture book manuscripts, four more poems, and an essay to submit to a magazine all in the last month or so. It’s been so fun to create completed projects! I’ve also been reading a lot of great writing websites and have been picking up so many good tidbits. (Let me know if you want to know which sites have been particularly helpful). 

•  A few of the said “learned tips”: if your goal is to publish a book, it’s good to have some credentials under your belt for when you start querying. Try getting published in any way that you can - by a magazine, as a part of an anthology, or by a smaller publishing house. Try entering your works in a local or national writing contest. Take some writing classes, attend online webinars and go to writing conferences. All these little awards, classes, and publications show agents that you are a serious writer and they will look good on your query letters.   

• So, here’s me following my own advice: I’m going to start submitting more of my works to children’s magazines. I’ve submitted a couple already, but hope to make this a new trend! I have found a couple smaller publishing houses that look like a good fit for a couple of my manuscripts, so I plan to submit soon! I’ve been entering several different writing contests lately and am always on the lookout for more ways of getting my work out there (a great way to hear about contests is joining an online writing group for your area – they usually list legit contests on their website). I’ve been watching webinars and listening to podcasts at writersdigest.com and SCBWI, and am really excited to participate in a local writing conference hosted by my state-wide writing group this summer.

• One of my new year’s resolutions is to stay off the computer while my kids are awake. So far, it’s been a great change and I feel like it’s helping me to be a better mom and writer by focusing on one thing at a time. (You'd be surprised how much you can do in just a couple hours of no distractions). Hope I can keep it up all year long!

Here’s to an exciting new year of creating lots and reaching goals!

The agent who replied, and more.

About two weeks ago, I was opening my email at 8pm when I noticed a message in the inbox labeled "QUERIES".

I knew what that meant. An agent was getting back to one of my query submissions! She was from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I saw that it was in response to a lyrical picture book I sent her a couple moths previous. My stomach boiled with excitement as I clicked the message and read the following statement:

"Hi Debbie,

This is lots of fun, and I appreciate both the wonderful word play and the information imparted.  Do you have other picture book manuscripts that you can share with me?"

"Mike!!!" I squealed to my husband. "An agent just got back to meeeeeeee!!"

That night I stayed up late organizing my best manuscripts to send to the agent that has represented New York Times Best Sellers.

The next morning, I shakily replied with what I felt was six of my best stories attached. The agent quickly responded and said she'd take a look and get back to me in two weeks time.

Here's what she sent back two days ago:

"Dear Debbie,

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to look at your picture books.  You've certainly got a way with words!  Unfortunately, after carefully considering all of your manuscripts and sharing them with my colleagues, I've decided that they are not quite right for my list, and I am therefore going to pass.  Editorial opinion is, of course, subjective, and another agent or editor is likely to feel differently.  I wish you every success in finding the right home for your work."

Deep breath. Whoo. Ok. First of all, don't cry.   Just a sec...Ok, I'm good....   Now.   Here's what I can glean from this experience:

#1 My work was good enough for an agent from Andrea Brown Lit. to notice. Even though she ultimately didn't take me on, this fact is validating. Sometimes you feel like you are just writing and writing and you don't really know if it's any good or if you are just fooling yourself. After several rejection letters, you begin to wonder, "Am I just wasting my time? Am I crappy at writing??" The validation of having an agent notice your work is incredibly motivating. It's still a rejection, yes, but it was closer than a "No, I'm not even remotely interested," which makes me want to keep trying!

#2 She did say that "other agents/editors" are likely to feel differently. I don't know if she tells that to everyone, but I appreciated that she said it to me, and I'm going to choose to believe her. I'm not giving up. There is a " right home for my work" out there!

#3 Since this agent responded, It's inspired me to write more stories that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. It's also given me a whole new set of ideas for future projects. So hey, there's that.

#4 I now know that my query letter is enough up-to-par to solicit an agent response. Because, who doesn't doubt their query letter?

So anyway, that's the story of the agent who replied. In conclusion, I'm more motivated than ever, I'm writing lots, and I'm determined to keep trying!

In other writing news, did I ever tell you I got a membership to SCBWI? (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) It's kind of a must-have for children's writers, so if that's you, consider joining! It's around 80$ a year. My husband got me signed up for my birthday present a few weeks ago, and it's already been a great resource full of tips, ideas, and opportunities. Check out my profile here and be sure to take a look around at all the website has to offer.

Lastly, I want to remind you that my book, Itchy Mitchie, makes a wonderful gift! Get your copy in time for the holidays here. And now for my promotional message of the day: I recently got a note from a customer who reminded me of one of the big reasons I keep writing. She bought Itchy Mitchie for her child who complains of being itchy often. After reading the book, here's what that customer said:

"Debbie, your book was perfect! ... [My child] even said, 'yes mom, when I read books, I don't have to scratch.' ...Thank you!" 

I love when the message of my book connects to the reader! If  that message can help a child in some way, then I feel like I'm doing something significant and it's worth it!

PS. I've actually sold Itchy Mitchie to a couple parents who say their kids complain of being itchy! I didn't write the book specifically for itchy-only customers, but because the book uses the example of itchiness as the main characters' problem, it has helped people with that specific problem. Cool! That makes me happy. The book was, after all, based on a true story of a little first grader who hated wearing shoes to school. :)