A Daily Dose of Creativity

I Finally Submitted

         All procrastination aside, I finally took the big leap. I went to the post office yesterday and sent my manuscript off. I told my husband I prayed the entire way to the post office and left it in God's hands. But I have to admit that I was so nervous and excited all at the same time.
         I joked with the lady behind the counter as I bought enough stamps to put on the SASE that I hoped the publisher wouldn't have to use it to send it back, but the rarity of finding a publisher to accept a manuscript the first time does not leave me with much hope.
(indent}The hardest part of finding a publisher, without an agent, is the research. Researching the proper publishing house with whom your material is a perfect fit. So, I have read up and submitted it to the first on my list. Still hoping that I will not have to continue down the list, but I will if it comes down to it.
         Of course, the fact that I submitted my manuscript does not mean that I can stop writing. I went through my old manuscripts (as I have mentioned before) and I am updating them. They were wonderful ideas, but they weren't presented in exactly the right manner. Therefore, I am rewriting into a new format.
(indent)I thought at first that they would make nice picture books, but they needed more thought. Not many publishers are looking for picture books. So, I thought I would expand the ideas into simple readers. Then I can try them out on my youngest son to make sure that the words are simple enough.
         In college, I took a journalism class and my teacher was constantly giving me poor grades. When asked why, he replied that although I had a huge vocabulary, I needed to simplify my reports. Newspapers had no place for the large repertoire of words I knew. Newspapers had to written so that everyone could read and understand.
         Well, let me say that the next assignment, I was so upset by what he said, I purposely wrote my assignment simple. I was actually very mad and decided that I would show him. Straight to the point and simple, simple, simple words. Most of it out of spite. Well wouldn't you know, I got an A+!
         It was his (the professor's)constant beration of my work that made me decide that I did not want a career in journalism. I wanted to write what I wanted to write. Not what I was told to write.
         At the age of 36, I have finished my first full length novel manuscript and I must be experiencing a little bit of Alzheimers because sometimes when I write down a word, I don't recognize it. I use a dictionary often because of this. Not to mention the dictionary and thesaurus on my Word 2002 program. I love that! I could do without the correction system sometimes. I despise looking up at the monitor and seeing all those squiggly red and green lines underlining things. Especially when you are writing out dialogue and you are wanting the speech pattern to emulate how the character would truly speak. Frustrating.
         Well, back to work.

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