Put me in your pocket. Really, I’ll find a way to shrink down. I won’t say much. I can be vewy vewy quiet. I just need one moment, one golden moment to spring from your pocket to present my pitch. Okay, clearly I’m being facetious and a tad silly. I’m not going to the upcoming conferences that my blogging friends are so joyfully writing about. However, I refuse to pout.
Instead I’m going to do everything in my financial power to further my writing career. I’ll give you two examples of things I did this weekend.
- I conducted research at the fair. One of the books I wrote, Beautiful Bovine called for me to describe oh, maybe a cow or two. At the fair I had dozens of cows to take pictures of and dozens of owners to answer my questions. The smells, sounds and sights surrounded me and I 100% took advantage of my location (so much so my husband had to come find me at one point and my daughter wondered why I’d been taking so many pictures of cows).
- I attended a book reading/signing. Jacqueline Sheehan, New York Times Bestselling author of Lost & Found and Now & Then, visited a local bookstore (I actually drove an hour) and graciously answered questions, read from her latest book and in the process couldn’t have been more cordial and kind. This outing meant a lot to me for several reasons. One, I escaped my house for a little while, leaving my husband with the girls. Two, I love books. Even more, I love people who are as in love with writing as I am. Hearing Jacqueline describe one of her characters as having “not a whisper of a callous on his hands” stuck with me. I left feeling encouraged and inspired, having connected with an intelligent writer.
Will I attend a conference someday? It’s likely. But for now, at this point in my life, I’m doing what I can to grow as a writer. I’m reading books on writing and well-written books, I’m researching, I’m studying agent blogs, I’m game for attending other book readings, but most of all I’m doing the one thing that will push me ahead most on this writing track—I’m writing.
There are no free rides. Much as I’d like to hop in your pocket and head to a conference, I really don’t have the ability to shrink. Why would I want to anyway? Quiet has never really been my thing. So, I’m investing in the resources I have.
I’m hoping to hear wonderful success stories of newly agented friends. I’ll celebrate with them.
One final thought: Upon entering the fair you pay to park, you pay to get in and you pay for tickets to ride the rides. Writing isn’t much different. In order to ride the ride, there’s a cost.
There are no free rides. Much as I’d like to hop in your pocket and head to a conference, I really don’t have the ability to shrink. Why would I want to anyway? Quiet has never really been my thing. So, I’m investing in the resources I have.
I’m hoping to hear wonderful success stories of newly agented friends. I’ll celebrate with them.
One final thought: Upon entering the fair you pay to park, you pay to get in and you pay for tickets to ride the rides. Writing isn’t much different. In order to ride the ride, there’s a cost.
Are you doing all you can to grow as a writer? And is writing the most exciting ride for you? For me writing is the Ferris Wheel.
*photos by flickr
**I’m over at Live Beautiful later today.