As you may have noticed I have been reviewing children's books and posting them here. Now it's time to get back to what I originally started this blog for; writing about my struggles to find a balance between being an author and busy parent. Although I have loved the books so far, and look forward to reading the rest of my review stack, I don't want to become solely a review blog. I will continue to post more of my Children's Book Review Series, but they will now be posted only on the weekends. If you are a children's author and want me to review your book(s) contact me. You will be added to my review list and contacted when it is posted. I am hoping to keep this going all summer. I love being a part of bringing great new books to children and feel it is important to encourage them to continue reading through the summer. Reading is a way to exercise the mind and the best cure when they suffer from the "I'm bored" syndrome.
For all of you who are curious what I have been up to besides reviewing children's books; where do I begin?
I am still waiting for the film producer to pitch my book to the Lifetime Movie Network. It will happen some time this summer. In the mean time I am making a press packet to send to Beth, and doing everything possible to get more sales and attention for The Truth Lies in the Dark. The better my book is doing, the better the chance that the network executives will agree to sponsor the movie. If anyone has any ideas or advice on this please let me know. Having no agent to help me navigate this process, I could use all of the help and luck you can offer.
Speaking of agents, I am researching literary agents now. I am realizing that this is a lengthy venture. I had hoped to find one that could help me with the movie rights and increasing visibility for The Truth Lies in the Dark. This is most likely not going to happen. Today's agents are so inundated with queries, it would take something short of a miracle to find one willing to take on such an extensive project in such a limited amount of time. So, for now I will keep going unagented on this and continue seeking representation for my next book.
My current WIP (work in progress) is my contemporary romance, which I thought was finished. I had it under consideration at Avalon, a Christian publisher in New York City. They ultimately sent it back with some great advice. They also wanted some parts omitted and devoid of all hints of sex or foul language. I thought it was a very tame novel to start with, but took their advice to heart and starting rewriting. As my rewrites progressed, the story moved further from Avalon's standards.
This brought on a dilemma. Do I rewrite again, making sure to stay within their guidelines of absolutely no sex or curses? Do I continue following this new path and letting the character, and my own intuition lead the story? I chose the second; this means it's back to the drawing board for me as far as finding a new publisher. This was not an easy decision to make. I know, it sounds like it should be. Writers are always being told to write from the heart and be true to themselves, but there's always that insecure inner thought saying jump at any chance to publish. I am fighting that inner imp by reminding myself that this is not a race; not a competition to simply be published. (Although it feels like that at times.) This is the beginning of a long, and hopefully productive career. If I go into it not completely believing in what I put out there how am I going to promote it, or for that matter defend it when people hate it? And believe me, people will hate it. You just can't please everyone. If you're happy with your work that will help you deal with rejection and negative comments. It will also make those glowing reviews and positive comments all that much better.
Not to say that years from now I won't look back and say things like; wow I've learned so much since those first books, I can't believe I wrote that, or where were the punctuation police. Well, I better say things like that. Because if I ever get cocky enough to think there is no more to learn or no room for improvement I will be very disappointed in myself. I think everyone should know their faults. You don't have to point them out to the world; just know them and do what you can to make changes in yourself as you go. When you're done learning...you're dead!
That is basically what I've been up to with my writing life; my family life is another blog post entirely. I will keep everyone up to date on how the movie deal is going, my agent search, and my writing progress. Let me know what you've been up to.
Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kristin : )
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