- Confession: I keep visiting my own site just to stare at the adorable new header! (Sad but true.) Those little guys are my friend’s puppies, Bailey and Cooper. This photo was taken a year ago, so they’re probably not little anymore, but they will forever be puppies to me.
- So, my vignettes from Friday. I got the idea during a commute home last week. Basically I was trying to represent the different worlds I experience at any given time. There’s what’s happening around me; what’s happening with me / to me; and what’s happening inside me / inside my head. Seems like most people gravitated towards the third vignette, i.e., my story. And that’s good, haha, because my goal is to make a living off my stories.
- I’ve been told that August is when publishing (well, most of NYC) goes on vacation, so I don’t expect to hear back about my Twenty-Somewhere proposal for a while. In the meantime, I am finishing up sample pages to send to an agent who asked for them, and trying to figure out which project to work on next. I’ve got a fully fleshed out plot for a dark adult novel (think The Departed meets Lost, only it’s not about cops or an island) but there’s no urgency to it; the story will still be relevant for years to come. Meanwhile I’ve got a great premise for a contemporary/dystopian (yes, both at the same time) YA, and it’s extremely timely, but the plot is rather undeveloped right now. Then there’s also The Good Daughters, which I finally figured out and am eager to redeem. Sigh. Choices, choices…
- Another confession: I was worried I’d be jealous. Of Erin, I mean. Because signing an agent is a HUGE deal, a FANTASTIC accomplishment, and MY goal for 2010. (In fairness, it was her goal too.) But I can happily report that I did not experience one iota of jealousy when she told me. I felt nothing but joy and pride and excitement. And I still feel it. Her success was not only well-deserved and thus easy to applaud, but it also encouraged and motivated me. If she can do it, so can I. And then we can go through submissions together. And book deals together. And launch parties together. And rinse and repeat forever.
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Nice. Like the new header.
Woo! I vote for The Good Daughters!
And… good for you on the non-envy thing. It proves you have confidence in yourself that you can just be happy for another.
I love your blog design and this masthead is teh adorable!
(also it was my secret goal to get an agent while I was 33, and it happened, but not until like a week before my 34th birthday. talk about eleventh hour. still, you are definitely making forward progress in your writing no matter what, and I find those goals that are outside of your direct control are difficult to deal with! anyway, I’m pullin’ for ya!)
And then we can go through submissions together. And book deals together. And launch parties together. And rinse and repeat forever.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
& more.
Talk about the best wash, rinse, repeat ever, huh? Can you even imagine how amazing that would be?
Your post about your different projects made me curious. Do you ever work on multiple ones at the same time?
You do have lots of choices! All those stories sound interesting, but the contemporary/dystopian sounds especially captivating…
Hmm, I guess I would work on whichever story is saying to you, “Now is my time.” Just to be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean the one that is the most exciting at the moment. It could be the one (cough, Good Daughters, cough) that is saying, “Let’s get this over with and done with already.” Although it could be the new, I’m falling in love with you, you beautiful story, idea just as well.
Ha, I always like to relate things to an episode of Friends. After Monica and Chandler got engaged, Rachel and Phoebe were at the coffee shop, and Rachel says, “I’m so happy for Monica and Chandler, and I’m not even a little bit jealous.” Phoebe agrees, but then says, “Well, I’m like 95% happy, 5% jealous.” Then Rachel says something like, “I’m 90/10.” By the end of it, they admit they’re 50% happy, 50% jealous. But, Kristan, you go ahead and stick to your story if you insist. ;)
I love your final confession and the honesty in that. I struggle so much with jealousy almost daily, but when it’s my great friends and they truly deserve it, I can feel utter happiness.
You will soon be Ms. Published Author Extraordinariness and then I will be jealous (but will try not to be because you are great and truly deserve it!).
Awesome header, and rough choices!
I love your new header! That’s your doggy, right?
And you are totally right about NYC and August. It is a ghost town, which I actually love! I can go anywhere I want!
Hey, love the new header! The puppies are so cute. I hope you keep going with vignette three. There’s a lot there.
August in the mid-Atlantic: hot, humid and stifling. Rebecca, you’re making me nostalgic!
Oh so adorable! I love this header and all your previous ones too!
Your new header is wonderfully cute! And love that you can be happy for your friend :)
Todd-
Precisely. I think if I didn’t have complete confidence in myself, I would have felt jealous. But I believe it’s a matter of when for me, not if. :)
elissa janine-
Woot woot! I wouldn’t mind an eleventh hour save myself… but of course, I think that only happens when you are working straight through hours zero through 10 first!
Erin-
Ooohhh, what a delicious “& more” that might be!
Shari-
Can I imagine it? I’m embarrassed to say, I imagine it every day! :P
To answer your question: I *have* worked on multiple projects in the past, but not lately.
Samantha-
I shall record your vote. ;)
Sonja-
I think the problem is, they’re ALL saying it’s their time!
And LOL to the Friends reference. Gawd I love that show. I’ve taken to watching the rerun that’s on every day when I get home at 5, while I sort the mail and feed the dog and such.
I really wasn’t jealous, though. :P
Ashley-
Oh, I definitely struggle with jealousy in other areas (especially in terms of physical appearance — hence why I love reading your blog!!). Thanks for the encouragement!
Les-
Hehe, thanks.
Rebecca-
Actually they are my friend’s doggies, and they’re brothers, and I just want to snuggle them nonstop. Fortunately I do have my own doggy to cuddle. :)
Jon-
Oh haha I will. That’s part of the 20SW rewrite. Let’s hope St. Martin’s and/or an agent agree with your opinion!
T.S. and Emily Jane-
Thanks, girls!
Absolutely. While publishing is a competitive business, it’s not actually the writers competing against each other. We all have opportunity to succeed.
When, not if. You’re absolutely right.
I am excited about all of your story ideas/projects. Keep looking forward, y’know? (and maybe don’t overthink it too much, trust your instincts).
Aw those puppies look like Benex, the dog at the farm I was at. :,(
(I miss him heh)
Sarah-
Good, haha, since you probably have to read them all. :P
Aisha-
Awww. Do you have any pics of him?
The new header is great! And you crack me up – how can it be The Departed meets Lost without cops or an island?! :)
Hehehe, well it’s a bit dark (but not depressing), and it deals with lives that intersect…
I would join in on the fun with you and Erin by publicizing you two.
Not would, WILL. ;D
ADORABLE header! My goal has been to sign an agent for the past three years, but weddings and babies and revisions keep getting in the way. Congrats, by the way, on getting your proposal in! Send me the 20 pages whenever you’re ready.
Haha, funny you should mention… you’ll probably get those 20 pages (at long last) this weekend.
Hey I like your new header too! Those dogs are so cute!!!