Sunday, July 20, 2008

If things were simple. . .

I would have picture books floating around at different publishers right now. But things aren't simple, so instead I'm sitting here with a list published by SCBWI trying to find a home for Mango Dance, totally overwhelmed by the mass number of publishers and their imprints.

You know, it's ok, though. Doing the grunt work is part of being a writer, and something we all have to go through. What is starting to drive me crazy is the number of people I see asking other writers to do the tough stuff for them. "Can you recommend an agent?" "Which publishers publish multi-cultural picture books from the point of view of a five year old boy. . . " You get the point. I don't know the best publisher for your manuscript, simply because I don't know it as well as you do.

If things were simple, I'd have my thesis written by now. Totally revised too! But the world doesn't let me sit down and work non-stop on any one writing project. I have responsibilities beyond writing. That's just the way it is. But, I make time to write because I love it. I may not always be in the mood for it, but once I get started, it's like a natural high and I don't want to stop.

If things were simple, I wouldn't be stressed out right now about a million different things. Then again, if I weren't stressed out, I wouldn't need writing to relax me.

Thank goodness things aren't always simple

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