Update

Apologies for being away for so long. I temporarily lost access to my page, but it’s all fixed, so back and raring to go. Ive been busy writing and I’ve submitted some manuscripts. Starting to feel like a real author 🙂

I’m realising it’s best to submit and forget to enable me to continue working. The first time I submitted a manuscript, I felt like I had sent a piece of my soul out into the great unknown. Would it be read? Would it be appreciated for the blood, sweat and tears it took to write it? Would I ever hear? Well, I can only answer the third question. I didn’t hear back. And that seems to be the norm with so many talented writers sending in so many manuscripts to publishers hoping to secure a contract. But I will not be discouraged. It is early in my journey and I have to earn my stripes, so to speak, so I have joined several critique groups, listen to podcasts constantly, engage in conversations with other kidlit authors and read kidlit and work on improving my writing.

As we speak, I am waiting to hear from several submissions. And when I say waiting, what I mean is I hit send and then moved onto something else. I may never know if my stories, my babies, were even read. I’m slowly learning to move on after submission. It is a matter of survival; survival of my creativity.

And you would think with so much competition it would be a cutthroat world, but the world of children’s literature is full of wonderful people who dedicate themselves to their craft and to encouraging each other. It’s an amazing community. So even if I never get published, my stories are read by other authors and I have found myself in one of the most amazing, supportive, and fun communities I have ever encountered. That alone is success, and I am proud to be a member of the kidlit community.