Today is the start of the "I'm Thankful for my Readers Blogfest" hosted by Tara Tyler and Vicki I think this is a great idea, and I'm really happy I get to participate. So, for the first thank you--Thanks Tara and Vicky!!
I'd like to say a a few more special thank you's. One to KAREN DENISE, for being the best critique partner ever and reading my chapters a zillion times. I'm so grateful I get to work with you!! Also, to STACY STOKES, you were a great beta reader and your advice was awesome!! I'm so glad I found you! To JOHN KRISSILAS for nudging me into entering Pitch Live after I tried to chicken out. That got me three requests I'm anxiously waiting to hear about, so thanks John!! And, lastly, to ALEX CAVANAUGH, who everyone knows is awesome. Alex has commented on almost every post I've ever written. I don't know how you do it, Alex, but it's definitely appreciated!!And, for the rest of you who I didn't name, I am grateful for all of you!! This goes out to everyone who has helped me try to achieve my goals.
Thank
you for reading my story
And
thanks for the advice
Thanks
for telling me to never give up,
To
keep on rolling the dice.
Thanks
for the revisions
And
all the notes on my book
Thanks
for giving me options
When
I didn’t know where to look
Writing
is the closest thing to magic
That
I will ever find
And
I’m so very grateful
To
meet others of my kind
You’ve
made my journey brighter
I
know I’m part of a team
That
all supports each other
In
reaching for our dream
And
all those days I whine and cry
And
say that I can’t write
Thanks
for telling me I’m not allowed
To
leave my pages white
Most
of all I thank you
For
believing in me
Because
the stories I write
Set
me free
To
live in a world
Where
anything is real
Where
the enchantment of the pages
Is
the only thing I feel.
And, lastly, I got my kids, their friend, and my husband all in on saying thank you with me, cause they are all awesome. Hope you guys like it! And a special thank you to my husband for taking like an hour and a half to edit this together! For some reason, I couldn't upload the video straight to my blog, but just click the link. :)
so precious!!! loved it all! very glad to know you!
ReplyDeleteAw, how sweet! Love the idea of thanking your readers.
ReplyDeleteAlso - LOVE the Thanksgiving Westies! So cute!
I know, right? Are they teh cutest things or what?
DeleteAwesome poem! And thank you so much. I've made some awesome blogger buddies and you are one of them!
ReplyDeleteAwww, a huge thanks right back at you! Your feedback on my story was invaluable. And I have your email filed away when I need a boost, which I did a few weeks back - it was exactly the uplift I needed. So thanks to YOU for being such a great and encouraging beta!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your story and can't wait to hear the successes to follow! :-)
Ugh. Just got a rejection on one of my partials. I gotta keep reminding myself it's just one, but man--rejections are kind of like getting punched in the stomach. Especially on partials. So, hopefully you are right about the successes to follow.
DeleteAwww. That is so nice!
ReplyDeleteAwesome poem and what a lovely post - and a youtube link! Goodness! Thank you so much for joining in the bloghop!
ReplyDeletethanks for having a bloghop for me to join!! :)
DeleteThis is a clever way to do it!!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem and BEAUTIFUL Fall blog. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenn. Yeah, I liked this background a lot for fall. Especially my pilgrim puppies. haha
DeleteWow! Beautiful poem! I totally can't write poetry to save my life and I bow down to those who can. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cassie Mae. I love your name btw. My youngest daughter is Kassi Rose. :)
DeleteI love the poem! Great inspiration. =) Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Tamara! Lots of love and gratitude. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the awesome poem. All so true! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, glad I found you!
DeleteHey, Tamara! I've been sitting here, trying to figure out how I 'know' you , and I finally figured it out. I judged (and voted for) your entry in GUTGAA! :) How cool. It's nice to officially 'meet' you!
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. Thanks for voting for me! :) It's nice to meet you too!
DeleteYou have good people on your side. I love this blogfest since we have plenty of people to acknowledge.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is one of my favorite blogfests that I've done.
DeleteHi Tamara, thanks for stopping by and saying hello! These Blogfests are a great way to meet new people. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHey Tamara... you're welcome!!! I'm so happy that I was able to encourage you to put yourself and your work out there. Keep working hard and don't stop!
ReplyDeletePS: Love the new skin for your bog!
John
Thanks, John!
DeleteI actually got a rejection on one of those partials yesterday that got me down quite a bit more than normal--but I have officially bounced back as of today. I still have two more out there and I haven't even officially started querying yet. Plus, I have a full out with Curiosity Quills. :)
We don't get fall where we are (down in SE GA) but I'm from PA--and I miss it SO much. Autumn was always my favorite season, so I figured at least I could see pretty leaves on my blog. :)
Ah, don't worry about it! Rejections are just part of the biz. Only thing that matters is what you learn from it.
DeleteYour pitch has already come a long way from CAGI—remember that? And the Partial requests and response during Contests mean that it's finally getting some traction based on the tweaks you made.
See what happens with the Partials, and if you don't get the response you want, go back over the beginning of your MS and see if you can make it 10x better. Maybe move some events up and REALLY grab people from the first few Chapters... make it something agents can't resist sticking with. If you have a "grabber" sequence that happens just after your 1st 3 Chapters, move it up so that even Partial requests will see it. And keep revising even though you've got fulls out. Make sure you're always sending out the best you can!
I'm at a similar place to you. I've been getting more traction with my MS since doing a major revision after CAGI, but as I learn new things about polishing and perfecting my writing, I really find myself wanting to give it an extra ooomph and go all out with the text. Go big or go home right? The only way to make a splash is to really write something spectacular, like it's your last :)
Good luck!
John
Wow. Thanks. That was really inspiring. I kinda suck at rewrites. I mean...I can do them. God knows I've done a TON of them. But it's harder to do a rewrite on a book that's actually finished because its...finished. It's like my brain blocks and refuses to see it in any other light other than the one it's in. Not sure what that's all about. BUT--all that being said, this was still really good advice, which I will do my best to take. :) Fair warning though, if you are in the insecure writers group, you're still going to have to read a rant. haha
DeleteHaha. What helped me was taking four months away from it to work on another project (and write another book!). That really gave me the space I needed to catch my breath, refuel my creativity (when it came to the world and characters), and gain some new inspiration. If you do that then you'll come at it with fresh eyes.
DeleteAnd I'm not necessarily talking rewrites.... I'm talking tweaks, subtle shifts, cuts, or additional scenes that may actually make a huge difference as to how a reader, or agent, experiences it.
I used to be in the same camp as you— just lock and load that baby and send it off! Nothing more I can do, it's as good as it's gonna get! —but fresh eyes and new energy can do a lot for you. While you're finding it, write another book!
PS: Here's a post on what I'm working on in terms of revision right now... Getting rid of pesky "Purple" :)
DeleteLet me know what you think, and if you have any other examples of purple!
http://www.johnkrissilas.com/2012/11/revision-getting-rid-of-purple.html
Love this post, the poem is great. Thank you for visiting my blog and the follow I am following you too now. Fab to meet you :)
ReplyDeleteYou too Suzanne!
DeleteThis is a lovely poem. I too am participating in this blog fest but won't have my entry up until tomorrow. My Wednesday post (LOL) is going to be huge because I have like two blog fests and some other thing to take care of. Sigh. Oh and thanks for visiting my blog. I love detailed comments :)
ReplyDeleteI think I am in two different blogfests tomorrow AND the Insecure Writers Group. Not sure how I did that. haha.
DeleteThree requests? That's awesome! Here's hoping for you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem!!!
ReplyDelete