submissions

A collection of 26 posts

motherhood

Writers of the Future Honorable Mention

I found out a couple weeks ago that a short story I entered into the Writers of the Future contest received an honorable mention. According to the judges, that means it held their interest enough to read the entire thing — which is a compliment, considering that the story was about

grants

My Writing Resolutions: 2020 Edition

It’s been a bit of a tradition for me since I was a teenager to make “writing resolutions” every year. This year, I have two. 1. To submit my middle-grade novel taking place during the 2008 recession to at least 10 places — presses and/or agents. 2. To apply

authors

Advice I Need to Put in Practice ...

“I’m saying that you should send out, today, the best work you are capable of doing today. Of course you’ll do better a year from now. But a year from now you should be writing the story that you care about and believe in at that time — not

article writing

Cheryl Klein Plot Master Workshop - Go If You Can

I’m not real big into writing conferences. I tend to skip over pages about conferences in writing magazines, and my mind sort of shuts off when I read advice about how to pitch at conferences, or how they are a good way to “get your foot in the door.

books

Dark Crystal Author Quest - Done!

My goal was to get my Dark Crystal Authorquest submission turned in before Christmas, and I met that goal at 7:10 pm last night. It feels good to know that now it’s out of my hands. When I got the confirmation message from the Jim Henson Company (and

blogging

Are You a Success? By Whose Standards?

I’m still a little bleary-eyed and disjointed from odd train schedules and driving throughout the night — I just got back from the annual Call To Action conference, where I came up with ideas for at least two blog posts for Young Adult Catholics, so overall, I think it was

Authorquest

The Only Cure for Writer's Block? Writing.

When I teach writing, I always tell people that the only cure for writer’s block is writing. Now it’s time for me to buck up and follow my own advice. I’ve read all the Dark Crystal books I can get my hands on, cover-to-cover, poring over the

Catholicism

Tuscany Prize Winner - Free E-book!

Hey, folks! Do you remember many moons ago when I entered the Tuscany Press contest for Catholic fiction? Although my manuscript was retained (and later rejected) for their young adult fiction startup, I did not win any of the prizes. But now you can all check out who did! For

brainstorming

Writing Groups, Critiques, Scrivener, and Long Drives

I’ve had an incredibly enriching weekend for my writing life. On Friday I put my dog in the back of the car and made a 7-hour trek up to my old stomping grounds in Duluth, Minnesota. Along the way, I stopped to visit a friend that I met at

fairy tales

New Year's Resolution off to a Shaky (?) Start

Last week I wrote about how I want to submit once a week in 2013. I attempted this in 2009, and it lasted a few weeks. Last year, I did okay committing to one submission a month, but even that was a bit of a challenge. Because, like many writers,

Catholicism

New Year's Writing Resolutions 2013

Well, I hope I’m not jumping the gun too much when I say that the world didn’t end in 2012 — which is great, because it means I have more time to write (and even to write about the world ending!). So without further ado, these are my writing

Catholicism

Dusting off the Query for 2013

In 2012, it was my goal to submit my work at least once a month. Ever This Day was held briefly by a new Catholic press beginning a young adult line, but ultimately they passed on it. That didn’t come as too much of a disappointment, as I was

article writing

My Changing Reading Tastes and What It Means for My Writing

Over the past year, I’ve noticed a distinct change in my reading preferences. While Young Adult and speculative fiction (even better, both!) used to be my genres of choice, now I find myself more compelled to read memoir and other non-fiction genres. And while I used to regularly read

anthology

Persistence = Publication

About four years ago, I wrote a personal essay about the experience of being bisexual and Catholic for a collection of stories by queer-identified Catholic women. The editor was in touch with me at the beginning of the process, but I didn’t hear much about the project as she

blogging

Ever This Day on Tuscany Press Prize Blog

An excerpt from my middle-grade/young adult novel, Ever This Day, is currently posted on the Tuscany Press Prize Blog. It received an encouraging response from the judge/reader. Stop by, check it out, and maybe even say something nice about it. 🙂 While you’re there, read some of the

article writing

Write Like It's Work

I’ve often heard the advice that you need to treat your writing like a “real job” even before you’re published. That means you show up on time. You don’t skip days. You prioritize it over TV, or doing the dishes, or playing with the cat. To take

submissions

Another Day, Another Rejection

I received another rejection today for my young adult novel, and I have to say it’s my best rejection yet. Mary Kole’s response to my manuscript was both kind and encouraging — proof that agents are not heartless beasts searching for any reason to trash your work. (I never

blogging

My First Book -- Coming Soon

Over the past year, I’ve made mention several times about an anthology of young adult Catholic voices that I’ve been working on. Last week, my co-editor and I heard back from the publisher, and this morning we confirmed that the project is a go. The book will be

editing

Writing Resolutions

It’s that time of year again … the time to make writing resolutions. I almost always make New Year’s resolutions related to my writing, and they’ve helped me grow as a writer over time. This year, I have one writing resolution: to submit something once a month. I’

freelancing

Finish What You Start

On the Belbin Team Inventory, I score as the Finisher. This may be why I haven’t often fallen into the trap that snags many writers, of starting multiple projects but finishing none of them. That is, I haven’t fallen into that trap until … lately, when I’m in

poetry

Snow Days and Writing

Snow days are so good for writing. Being snowed in today reminded me of living in Duluth, and the time I was snowed in my apartment for two days in a row. My room-mate was in India, missing the only blizzard we got that year. I was working on the

editing

Up to My Eyeballs

My status over at gmail, which is where I keep my “freelance/writing” account, claims that I’m “up to my eyeballs in writing projects.” And the end of the year certainly is a busy time for writers, but now that we’re on the last day of November, I’

NaNoWriMo

I Have a Plan!

So, I’ve made my decision: I’m not going to do NaNoWriMo this year. I don’t want to abandon my revisions of ETD when I have good momentum going, especially since I want to have it ready to submit to Delacorte Press’s Young Adult Novel contest, which

follow-up Fridays

Follow-up Friday

I missed the boat on last week’s Follow-up Friday due to pulling an all-nighter on Thursday and using the remaining time after I woke up on Friday to prepare for the arrival of houseguests. You could say I finally cleared the “follow-up” list on putting the house in order,

submissions

Writing Website Review: Wordhustler

So, I’ve mentioned Wordhustler many times in my blog; I read all their enewses, and I adore their comprehensive market listing of agents, publishers, and contests (which they’ll soon be expanding to include listings of editorial services). But even though I’ve been a member for over a