What Not To Do Wednesday on The Failures in Success

Sometimes, I just can't take another minute of bad news. Fortunately, today was not one of those days. Today I read the newspaper.

And thank goodness, grasshopper, or I would have missed a nice little story on Page one of the Gwinnett Daily Post about a young man named Deep.

Young Deep was speaking at his former high school about what looks to all like a whole bunch of academic success that he's enjoyed. But, Deep pointed out, there were quite a few failures along the way, too. It's just that when we see highly successful folk, we don't think about all the heartache and failure endured to get there. It's the old Thomas Edison and the light bulb story, I guess. We see the single light and not the days of darkness Edison struggled through.

But here's what Deep and Edison didn't do: they didn't quit. So, if you want to be a successful writer, grasshopper, you're going to have to accept the failure it takes to get there.

Some of us have to accept a lot more failure than others. But you know what old Emily Dickinson had to say about that: Success is counted sweetest by those who n'er succeed. (Wait a minute-n'er succeed? How about "Success is counted sweetest by those who work really, really hard and screw up a lot but eventually succeed"? Yeah, that sounds a lot better.)

Almost forgot! You have one more day to zip over to Finders and Keepers and post a comment for a chance to win Rachel Dillon's beautiful picture book!

Perfectly Good Reasons for A Missing Post

So, I was just conversing with a friend about blogging and such, and how I always try to post on Finding Something Friday. And then I went and missed my post on Friday. But I have perfectly good reasons that are, coincidentally, writing-related.

Reason One:

My very last ever Institute of Children's Lit assignment was due on Friday. It was kind of a long and involved assignment that required not only a splendiferous children's story, but also three different market analyses and a cover letter. I had more or less finished the assignment by Friday; all I had left to do was a quick edit of the more or less finished story, the three analyses and the cover letter.

Reason Two:

Facebook keeps sucking me into its vortex of virtual voyeurism. That may not sound like a legitimate reason, but believe me when I say resistance is futile. Unless you are the beneficent Mr. Hall. He left a message for me about Facebook...I'm not sure whether he's making fun of my note system of leaving messages on the mirror, or if he's making a statement about Facebook. Or possibly, Mr. Hall has managed to make two statements in one. For the sake of the kiddies, I attempted to convert certain letters to asterisks (no pun intended) before taking the picture.

Is Mr. Hall trying to tell me something? And if you happen to come across my ICL assignment, somewhere on Facebook, let me know, huh?

Win a Wonderful Children's Book (If I Can Stand To Give It Away)

Oh, I love this book: Through Endangered Eyes by Rachel Dillon. Tomorrow, the author will be leaving a few words at Finders & Keepers, the blog where I find children's stuff you'll want to keep.

Guess that's why I want to keep Rachel's book so badly. She sent it ahead of the blog tour date so I could take a peek. And I really enjoyed the poetry (and April is Poetry Month!), plus the amazing art. In fact, when one of the junior Halls saw the book, he stopped right then and there, read the whole thing, and pronounced it "terrific." I suppose once a picture book lover, always a picture book lover.

But my junior Halls are all grown up. And this is a picture book that should be shared with little ones. Read the book, save the world's ecosystem. Check out my new feature called "Peek-a-Book" on Friday, April 24, for a closer peek at Through Endangered Eyes. And sign up to win! (But I'm keeping the magnet and bookmark!)

Tuesday Tip: HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

Just because HARO is all about helping reporters and you're NOT a reporter, doesn't mean you can skip this post. HARO is awesome for reporters. But it's an awesome way to get your sweet promotion out there, in whatever way you shine.

First, a little info. HARO was started by the awesome Peter Shankman to provide sources for reporters. You know how you need that one killer quote from an expert to make your article really swell? Or sell, for that matter. So, instead of running around everywhere, looking for experts and tracking them down for a word or two of wisdom, a freelancer can put a call out on this site, absolutely free, and soon, all kinds of responses will come shooting into your inbox.

How's that for easy? When I pitched a horror article to WOW! Women-on-Writing, editor Annette Fix suggested I Wow! the piece with a few quotes. Use HARO to track down a few authors, she said. And before you could say, "Boo!" I had horror authors filling up my inbox. Really helped flesh out the article (no pun intended) and I learned a new thing or two. Always a good day when I learn something new.

But I also had another thought. Maybe I'll sign up on the contact page. You never know when my extensive knowledge about all things Southern may be needed. And horror, now that I've finished that article. And dealing with crazy dogs...and witty writing...and well, you get the picture. And if someone quotes me, then wheee!

But read the HARO rules carefully. Mr. Shankman, I understand, wants everyone to play nicely. Considering what you get out of this fun tool box, it's the least you can do.

Finding Something Friday on Book in a Nutshell Contest and Winning Poetry!

Okay, here's your chance. You have this fantabulous book and think it really has the possibilty to shoot to the top of the best-seller lists. But there's an eensy-weensy problem. It's not published. Why, you don't even have a contract. Or an agent, for that matter.

Are you nuts? Nah. Every writer thinks like that. You gotta believe in yourself, right? So enter the Book in a Nutshell Contest. Write 150 words about your fantabulous book and if the folks over at Knight Agency like what they see, you could get representation. Maybe even a publisher! The best seller list is right around the corner, baby! But you've got to write up that 150 word summary fast, because the deadline's April 20th. That's it, in a, er, nutshell.

And since April is Poetry month, I thought I'd fill you in on an opportunity to write poetry and win some money for your fantabulous verse. Lulu, the same folks in the book business, have just launched Lulu.Poetry, where like-minded poetic souls can gather to share their poems, get feedback, references, and even win some cash in the daily, weekly or monthly contests!

You'd be nuts not to check out this opportunity. Even the squirrel thinks so.

Hope for the No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Writing Day

You know how you have those days when everything seems to go just right, and you're skipping to Lou or Mary or Jim, smiling and whistling away?

This is not about one of those days. This is about the no good, horrible, very bad writing day. And if I'm being perfectly honest, there's been more than one. In a row. A whole string of stinkin'-up-the-joint writing days.

Rejections? I've had a few. Flagged articles? One or two. A column that completely got left out of the magazine? Been there, done that. I could go on about the NGVBHWD, but I think you get the picture. It's not pretty.

But I woke up this morning feeling kinda "Tara-ish" and decided to put on my Scarlett britches. You know the ones...the "I can't worry about that today. I'll worry about that tomorrow. Tomorrow's another day," britches. And you know what? Little by little my day changed.

My flagged articles were unflagged. I signed up my services for a virtual writing conference (more on that later). And an old friend sent me the most wonderful, made-me-smile, writing comment on Facebook. Just like that, I felt a little zing come back to my writing.

Which is kinda the point here today. You're not always going to feel like writing. But sometimes, if you put on your Scarlett britches, you can push through the no good, very bad, horrible writing days.

I'll send those rejected stories somewhere else tomorrow. Tomorrow's another day.

Finding Something Friday on Bella Online

Oh, what I would do if time were like money in a bank. If all those days I frittered away (is that a real word-frittered? or a Southern thing?) could be withdrawn now and used in a more, uh, constructive manner.

But time isn't like that. And I have so many projects in the pan now that I haven't seen the light of day for weeks. I'm seriously taking on the pallor of the undead. But maybe you're looking for a project to get you started in your writing. Maybe Bella Online would be a good fit for you.

I stumbled across Bella Online when searching for an article and noticed they were looking for editors. It's a web-content rich site where each editor builds her section. I should say each female editor, because it's also an estrogen-rich site. Pay is tied in with advertising. If you have time to invest, you could really reap a big payoff.

These kinds of writing opportunities are geared to new writers with a need to establish a presence and experience. The site provides templates to work with and I had the impression, all the help you need. Take a look around, find out what editors Bella Online needs, and see what this site has to offer.

Lots of opportunities if you've got time on your hands. I've got to get back to work, but I plan to fritter away my Easter weekend...(Seriously, did I make up the verb "fritter"??? And thanks to Charkrem at flickr.com for the yummy apple fritters-which are real and delicious!)

Facing up to Facebook Love

Remember that old (really old) song that Judy Garland sang to Clark Gable, "You Made Me Love You"?

You made me love you.
I didn't want to do it.
I didn't want to do it.
You made me love you...
And all the time you knew it.

Now I'm sucked in to the Facebook vortex and there's no way out.

You made me happy, sometimes.
You made me glad.
But there were times, FB, you made me feel so bad.

Like when I'm overwhelmed by all the applications and stuff...I mean, geez. How do kids figure out all this technology?

I don't care what happens,
Let the whole world stop.
As long as I'm concerned, FB,now you're the tops!
'Cause you know you made me love you.

Check on me every once in awhile. Because if I don't come up for air from Facebook, my world kinda will stop.

Finding Something Friday on Poetry Month (Yes, April)

I'd have posted this morning-
But I had little warning,

That Mr. Hall and his call
Would go on and all

Til I thought I would scream.
Then I got some ice cream

And Mr. Hall followed.
(He can't talk and swallow).

Oh, yeah. A bonus find on Finding Something Friday: Cathy C. Hall's a poet. Not a great poet, but let's not get all hung up on that. What we need to focus on here is poetry. As in April being National Poetry Month. And finding the spots where you can share your poems or read great poems. All Month Long.

Robert Brewer over at the Poetic Asides blog of Writer's Digest is doing a Poem-A-Day . It's a little too late for you to get the blog button for participating all month long if you're just finding out about it now. But it's not too late to get your great poems in there for consideration in the best poems of the day, possibly included in an anthology. There are a ton of folks participating, and yes, I've written my poem a day. Not great poems, but c'mon. I said we weren't going to get hung up on that.

But if you'd rather read great poems (You know I know what you're thinking, right?), and you love children's poetry (because hey, everyone can understand those poems, right?), then check out GottaBook and get 30 poems in 30 days. Or is it 30 days/30 poems? Well, it doesn't matter. It's great poetry. And you don't want to miss a single day.

Reading or writing it.

What Not To Do Wednesday on Waiting and Winning

Most of the time, I'm fairly fond of myself. Not overly crazy about me, but I wouldn't kick me out of the house, either. Except when it comes to end-of-the-month deadlines. Then I probably should kick myself. I'll let you decide where.

All through March, grasshopper, I meant to work on a story for an anthology call out I'd seen, oh, weeks and weeks ago. I had plenty of time to take that story (and it was a good story, too) and make it shiny and bright (or dark and gory, as the anthology called for horror). But did I?

Well, I suppose there wouldn't be much point in telling you what not to do if I'd done what I was supposed to do. So, for the past two days, I worked like a madwoman on that story. And I finished it, and submitted it, right under the deadline. Oh, I know what you're thinking. What a clever girl she is! (Thank you). And what's the big deal, then?

The big deal is that anthologies often fill up before the deadline. So, even if you have the most wonderful, horrific story ever, there might not be any room left for it. All because you waited around till the last minute. (That's what I'm going to tell myself if my story doesn't get picked. And it could actually be true, grasshopper.)


And speaking of waiting around...for those of you eagerly waiting to see who won The Cabbages and Kings Blogging Comment Contest and my autographed copy of Query Letters that Rock!, you should know that the beneficent Mr. Hall is nowhere to be found. So, I couldn't use the patented Draw from the Colander technique. I thought I might use the Hound Picks technique, like in The Penderwick's books. But Sally the Dog is apparently not as gifted as Hound and refused to pick a name. I eventually managed to think up a random and unbiased picking method, but it wasn't easy. It kinda taxed my brain so much, I don't know if I'll get to any writing today. I can always get my writing done tomorrow.

(Oops! The winner is Jules! Shoot me an email with your address and you'll soon be rockin' your own query letters.)