Jacinta Lou – Writer

Category: Stage Fright

  • Getting on With Things

    Getting on With Things

    I don’t usually post twice in a day but I’m trying to learn how to use my website so here is another post!

    It’s been quite a year and I think I am closer to my publishing goal. I’ve been making slow and steady progress. In 2022, I joined groups and completed courses. In 2023, labelled by me as my ‘year of assessments’, I had lots of my stories assessed and ended the year with a successful pitch at the ASA literary speed dating event.

    In 2024, my year of mentoring, I was fortunate to be awarded a mentorship by the Australian Society of Authors/Copyright Agency for one of my picture books and I have been working with my mentor Kristina Shulz.

    At CYA my assessments went well and I’m seeing the improvement in my writing and in my confidence. My old friend, imposter syndrome, is still lurking in the wings, but having Kristina’s support has helped me believe in myself as a writer.

    One highlight this year was being long listed in the annual ‘Pitch It’ competition, so this morning I submitted that story to Affirm Press.

    I hate submitting, but it’s impossible to get published without going through the process, unless you publish the book yourself.

    I can barely get around social media and this webpage so I know I do not have the skill or patience to self publish, which leaves me throwing my hat in the ring for a shot at a traditional publishing contract.

    I’m enjoying rewriting and restructuring my stories, so the waiting and wondering isn’t too onerous, but like all aspiring writers, I can’t wait to get on with the job of publishing my stories.

    The kidlit community is a wonderful, supportive community. I have a fabulous critique group and other writer friends to chat to both online and locally. Everyone knows how hard it is to get a contract and we all cheer loudly when someone is successful. We are all a part of each other’s journeys even if it’s just to cheer!

    If I never get a contract, being a part of this community is worth it in itself, but I would really love to see one of many stories in print and see how an illustrator interprets my words.

    Fingers crossed 2025 is my year of contracts!

    You will be the first to know!

      • Time to go on! – Submission ‘Stage Fright!’

        Time to go on! – Submission ‘Stage Fright!’

        Like most writers, I started writing books for children when my children were small. I’ve lost all trace of anything written back then, but I still have some scribblings I did for my eldest granddaughter, which I may resurrect at some stage.

        In 2021, I did a picture writing course with Zanni Louise through the Australian Writers Centre and I fell in love. I did another course in 2022 through The Sunshine House, and I sent out a couple of stories to the crashingly loud sound of silence!

        I have been active in critiques groups and the kidlit community, so I decided 2023 was the year of assessments. Time to get my existing stories into shape to send out into the world. Or to shelve them. I had assessments with editors and of course, CYA. It’s been hectic!

        So here I am in the closing scenes of 2023 getting ready to send my stories out into the world of publishers!

        I still don’t think they are ready and I’ve heard stories of writers who have taken decades to write the perfect story, but I’m not sure I have that amount of time, so ready or not, here they come!

        I have zero expectations, but it was my plan to have stories to send out, so I’m sticking to the plan!

        I belong to a couple of fabulous critique groups and one in particular has a very encouraging cheer leader who brings us along with her enthusiasm. Yes! We can do this! Eeek – I hope at least one of us has success. That’s the best thing about writing for children. Although we all strive for the same thing, there is no sense of competition and we genuinely celebrate other writer’s success. Well, maybe there is a little disappointment, but we are mostly very excited for every writer who succeeds!

        So, in the past week, I have entered two stories to ‘Pitch it’, run by Just Write for Kids Australia, yesterday I was successful in booking two spots in the Australian Society of Author’s Literary Speed dating, to be held later in October and I sent a story out to a publisher! Tomorrow I’ll be sending out more stories and then I will start work on my next batch, patiently waiting in the wings, to get them ready to go out into the world!

        I’m not great at sending things out. I seem to get ‘stage fright’ once I know I am writing a submission and I stutter and stammer and write ridiculous things in my cover letters. Well I did last year. I cringe thinking about it. But in my defence, I did have pneumonia, so everything made perfect sense at the time. And why is it, typos and repeated words etc ONLY become visible AFTER you hit send?

        It’s been a year, so hopefully there have been so many submissions, commissioning editors will have forgotten me. Please let them forget!

        So, I’m on track. My babies are going out into the big wide world of publishing and I wish them every success in finding a home. I will welcome them back at any time, but I may push them out somewhere else and give them the best chance. I really don’t want them to be homeless.

        Now to work out how to conquer ‘submission stage fright’ and write great covering letters! Ironically, I have never experienced actual stage fright. Perhaps writing means more to me 🙂

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