Actually it's a thank-you note and it's not just to JAlpha. It's to everyone here at the AW Forum, including--maybe "especially" but not in a butt-kissing way--the Forum creators.
Over the past two weeks, I was inspired to write and submit my ms. to an anthology that will be edited by a well-known writer in the erotica genre. It was a difficult process for me because the requested word count (3000-5000) was way out of my previous experience and seemed overwhelming. Also, because I am a procrastinator by nature, I let the call for subs lay around until "later", waiting for the courage to get started.
Finally, I decided to take a chance and... I did it! I finished with 4,580 words (19 double-spaced pages), a properly-formatted ms., and a competent cover letter. I mailed it all with an SASE on Saturday.
It took five drafts (far fewer than my anal-retentive self was comfortable with) for me to get into the rhythmic flow of how my characters wanted to be seen and heard. The last three days were the worst of all. I got about 15 hours of sleep in that whole 72 hour period. I know I nodded off while editing at least twice and almost gave up more than a few times.
But there was something that kept me going, something I saw here on the boards some time ago. It was written by JAlpha and kept popping up in my mind every time I was ready to pack it in. I'm not kidding when I say it kept me chugging along:
"Here's the irony of that statement, I'd put the talented writers who procastinate and don't submit at a very high percentage as well"
So JAlpha, this is for you:
(Here's a link to that whole thread for anyone who wants to read it:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24876&highlight=percentage)
This one is for the AW Forum creators because without y'all, we wouldn't be here. (Uh oh. I'm ing.)
And this one is for everyone else here because I am truly thankful to have a bunch of folks to share with and learn from who understand.
Really, I couldn't have done it without any of y'all.
I'll let y'all know what the outcome is, but like JAlpha shared with me earlier, I've "already won something just by submitting".
Amen.
Over the past two weeks, I was inspired to write and submit my ms. to an anthology that will be edited by a well-known writer in the erotica genre. It was a difficult process for me because the requested word count (3000-5000) was way out of my previous experience and seemed overwhelming. Also, because I am a procrastinator by nature, I let the call for subs lay around until "later", waiting for the courage to get started.
Finally, I decided to take a chance and... I did it! I finished with 4,580 words (19 double-spaced pages), a properly-formatted ms., and a competent cover letter. I mailed it all with an SASE on Saturday.
It took five drafts (far fewer than my anal-retentive self was comfortable with) for me to get into the rhythmic flow of how my characters wanted to be seen and heard. The last three days were the worst of all. I got about 15 hours of sleep in that whole 72 hour period. I know I nodded off while editing at least twice and almost gave up more than a few times.
But there was something that kept me going, something I saw here on the boards some time ago. It was written by JAlpha and kept popping up in my mind every time I was ready to pack it in. I'm not kidding when I say it kept me chugging along:
"Here's the irony of that statement, I'd put the talented writers who procastinate and don't submit at a very high percentage as well"
So JAlpha, this is for you:
(Here's a link to that whole thread for anyone who wants to read it:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24876&highlight=percentage)
This one is for the AW Forum creators because without y'all, we wouldn't be here. (Uh oh. I'm ing.)
And this one is for everyone else here because I am truly thankful to have a bunch of folks to share with and learn from who understand.
Really, I couldn't have done it without any of y'all.
I'll let y'all know what the outcome is, but like JAlpha shared with me earlier, I've "already won something just by submitting".
Amen.
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