Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I got some 'splainin' to do...

Well, I had someone email me to comment on how much she enjoys what I write on my blog (thanks Rebecca) and she was wondering (because my title of my blog is yada-yada-yada-writes 4 kids) if I had ever published anything that she could read. So, I figured if she was wondering, maybe all my great commenters were up at night, tossing and turning, wondering the same thing. I DO write and have been published many times...but mostly for adults. I write a lot for regional parenting magazines like About Families (PA), MetroKids (DE), Parent Magazine (TN), KidsVT, Pittsburg Parent, Family (NJ), Indy's Child, Charlotte Parent (SC), Parenting New Hampshire, San Diego Parent, and a couple big time magazines like Fostering Families Today and Relate Magazine for girls. I have also written crafts for ParentZone.com. Most of what I write is out of my passion for children. I write articles that keep kids healthy, keep families connected and creative in the way they deal with life. I have a pile of rejection slips that I have been collecting for almost two years now from a vast array of children's book manuscripts. Some people say to throw them away b/c they will ultimately bring you down and you will give up the ship. Not me. I actually have a file right in my file cabinet labelled "rejections" so that when I am published and children across the country are giggling at my words, I can encourage other aspiring authors by saying, "I collected 4,937 rejections before getting published!" I truly don't have that many although my ego may argue that depending on how many I pull from the mailbox that day. I recently attended the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Fall Philly Conference and made some great connections! I now am awaiting a response from an editor at HarperCollins in regards to the first in a series of really quirky, fun picture books. Send up some prayers for me if you are the praying type (I am). I dream of touching the lives of as many children as I can before my time on this planet expires. So, there ya go! That's my mission in a nut shell! I am off to get a shower in the remaining minutes of the baby's nap so that I can take the big kids to a book signing with Elizabeth Kann, author of Pinkalicious and Purplicious. Throw those names in at Amazon.com and you will fall in love with her!! Have a creative day!

5 comments:

Stephanie J. Blake said...

I'll cross my fingers for you!!!

Praying helps.

Funny. I have all my rejections,too. I like to look at them.

Aren't the conferences just awe-inspiring? I went to the "big one" in LA in August and came home on a cloud!

Michelle Kemper Brownlow said...

I've been praying a lot for this!!
I just have this dream of having a positive impact on kids around the world...I used to be a teacher so, having the world as a classroom would just be awesome!!

This was my first conference and I came home and started looking for others that I could sign up for!!

Going to your site to see if I can find out what you write....

Dawn said...

Wow! The people who sent you the refection slips are idiots. I loved reading all your snippets! I'm praying you soon hear wonderful things from Harper Collins!

Michelle Kemper Brownlow said...

Thanks Dawn,
That means a lot coming from a "agent toting" writer like yourself!

I have been livig vicariously through you these last few months!

SOOOOOO excited for you!

Anita Marion Loughrey said...

I was wondering if you would like to feature extracts of the interviews of the speakers for the 2008 Bologna conference on your blog, linking to the main interviews on the main SCBWI site. The speakers are a mix of authors, illustrators, agents, editors and creative directors.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Anita
Contact me through my blog: http://amloughrey.blogspot.com/ where you can also see a sample extract on Tracey Adams from Adams Literary in the US.