Touched by a Fairy Wand?

    Well, that's how I picture it anyway.  One of my PiBoIdMo ideas practically wrote itself into a picture book this month, and I made an illustrated dummy--and it fit!  It's called Tough Toast.  My critique group loved it, but it got a 7 from Rate Your Story.  Bleah! 
     But I'm still really liking this story, so when I read about a pitch event on Twitter, I decided to enter with my tweet "A bagel and a square piece of bread discuss their differences in 132 words in Tough Toast."  And within an hour, I got a notification that it had been "favorited" (here's where I picture the fairy wand) by a lovely agent.  I sent her the manuscript and told her I had also made a dummy.  She wrote back and said to please send that, too   And then I had to go to work before I could get it together--ah, this pesky making-a-living thing--but I drew a smaller version and scanned and sent it when I got home.
     I haven't heard from her since, but I know she's at BEA this week and very busy, so I'll just hope to hear from her soon.  Even if nothing comes of it, it feels very good to have had my tweet chosen, favorited, and touched by a fairy wand.

Treated LIke Royalty!

   Last year, the royalties for my 5 little easy readers with Continental Press totaled $70, for all four quarters. 
    Then on May 4th, the mail brought 1.) a rejection and 2.) a first quarter royalty check for $220!  I have no idea why, but each of the five books sold a LOT of copies between January and March. 
    Rejections are soooo much easier to take when they arrive the same day as a royalty check!  I bought myself a ticket to see my grandkids in Seattle.
    Gotta love the educational market!  These books began appearing in the catalog about 15 years ago.  I've submitted a new story for the John &Lucy series, but so far, no response.  Wonder what the next royalty check will be?

Finally...attended a regional SCBWI workshop!

   It was so good to meet local authors at the Rocky Mountain SCBWI spring workshop!  Got a very encouraging crit from author Wendi Silvano, and also had her sign a book for my grandson Dylan.

Wendi feels my Cowboy Shorty story is ready to hit the trail, and she looks forward to seeing it published!  Me, too!!

Marching Up and Down

   March began with a trip to see grandkids in Seattle, which was wonderful,
and going out after the first round in the March Madness poetry tournament, which was disappointing.  (I realize it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools, but my assigned word "distribution" just didn't inspire me.)
    I got a 6 from Rate Your Story on my Mom Dot Com--may be time to give up on that one.  It involves a child pulling mom away from the computer, and technology has changed to where she probably just uses her tablet or phone.
   I'm waiting to hear from Kathleen Hayes at High Five/Hello about two poems I sent, and I entered Cowboy Shorty in a RYS contest.  I sent Confetti the Yeti to a British publisher looking for diversity. 
   The best writer news in March was my copy of Appleseeds--I love the five illustrations that accompany my three page story!  My "Interview With a Roadrunner"  features Lance Lizard interviewing the New Mexico state bird, and the artwork was both accurate and humorous, just perfect.

   I wrote to find out the name of the in-house artist, John Sandford, and e-mailed him a thank you.  He said he loved my story and he hopes we can collaborate again sometime!  This piece was rejected by Highlights, so it feels good to have it recycled and treated so well.
   So nice to have a little success amid all the disappointment and waiting!
   
   

WooHoo!  My submission of the month for February, Biscochito Man--

Feeling Encouraged!

      This has been a good week so far.  On Monday, I got a 2 from Rate Your Story (highest score I've ever received) on my rhyming PB, Trashing Through the Snow.  On Weds. I got a very encouraging critique on another rhymer, Confetti the Yeti from Danielle Davis of fiverr.com, zeroing in on some clunkers I'd missed.  I tried my hand at a mystery for the Highlights contest--so now I have something else to revise during Meg Miller's ReviMo next week!  I also submitted this week--a rebus and Trashing--to Joelle Dujardin at Highlights.  But I'd still love to see it as a picture book.
     My strategy this year is to pick my 12 favorite manuscripts and choose one each month to send out to several publishers.  Trashing is my January centerfold!

It's all in how you look at it...

   I reviewed my list of 2014 submissions, and I can either view it as "52 submissions and only 2 sales," or--"Woohoo!  Two sales this year--to Highlights and Appleseeds!"  I'm proud to appear in both magazines.  This will be my third rebus in Highlights, and my third piece for Appleseeds.
    So, I won't let the other 50 submissions get me down.  I'll celebrate the two that were purchased!  Happy New Year, everyone!  May we all have a successful 2015!