The beauty of the writing community

Yesterday I received a gift so precious and generous, I still can't believe it was real.  Someone thriving in the kidlit community, a joyous, talented and kind soul, took time out of their very busy schedule to talk with me across time zones and many miles. They really listened and in doing so to gave me much needed encouragement and support.

Being heard is vital. Being heard with encouragement is life changing, especially in the world of writing, when it feels like the only voice you hear is your own, echoing after receiving rejection after rejection after rejection. 

I write all kinds of picture book stories from fractured fairy tales to neurodiverse (ND) own voice pieces, there are even a couple informational fiction stories. But it is my ND pieces, specifically CROWNS that is my heart story... that I very much want out in the world for SO SO many reasons.

Yesterday, another ND writer/illustrator listened to that story. 

Loved that story. 

Felt that story. 

Saw that story in her imagination. And when I was done she had a few things to say to me. And I think this can apply to others so I'll share.

"Don't you dare give up."

"This is an important story."

"It needs to find the right home."

"Don't just get it published, have it done right, with the right people who will SUPPORT it and you."

"Rejection isn't an end." (Even though it is frustrating and heartbreaking.)

"Keep going."

"You are precious."

More than once I have been told there isn't a market for "these" voices. She and I agree to disagree with that "fact."

"Don't you dare give up." "It needs to find the right home."

She loved the unique ND repetition of the story.

"This is an important story."

She was glad that I turned down an opportunity to have it published when the publisher's plans for the story did not lend to keeping it authentic.

"Don't just get it published, have it done right, with the right people who will SUPPORT it and you."

"Rejection isn't an end." (Even though it is frustrating and heartbreaking.)

She really listened. And across the distance of the country on a phone call she HUGGED me.

"You are precious."

Does any of this change my day today? Yes, and no. I am preparing more submissions this time for an amazing opportunity with PB Rising Stars as I had planned. But I am doing this with a stronger heart and more conviction that being creative, that my writing needs to continue. I still don't have a contract, and that may not change any time soon, but I KNOW in the core of my being that 

"This is an important story."

and

"Don't you dare give up."

So once again, I am in debt to my writing community for keeping me going.  The hearts and souls of the people around us, even those we don't know well, are here to help us help the world be a better place for readers, young and old. This is beyond precious, and I am so SO grateful.

50 Precious Words, that really are precious to me

 It's been a while... life happened over and over again... but I continued to write. Today I submitted a sweet 50 word memory to Vivian Kirkfield's #50 Precious Word Competition.  

It's a really great contest, so stop by and read some entries, all 50 words or less. Mine bubbles up from the day we finalized my daughter's adoption, walking into the courthouse with lots of papers, a lawyer, and surrounded by a line of people, just as jittery as we were ready to be a family.  I hope you enjoy it.

Adoption Day

Word count: 50

 

“Everyone, Smile!”

New clothes crease as six warm arms entangle,

scrunching close giggles freeze on “three.”

CLICK.

The judge’s kind,

sturdy hand extends,

shakes,

then directs us away so the next group,

full of hope,

can promise—

and begin today,

like us,

on their new Forever,

together,

as a family.

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 22 BOO ALEXANDER WAILLOUDER III

                                         The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, 

instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

2 Submissions, 2 rejections

Pitch: A trip to his "Ghoul" library brings a new discovery- Humans and Other Scary Creatures- and it might just save Boo Alexander Waillouder III from another boring parade of paisley or polka-dotted Halloween costumes. 

Favorite Line:

"Deflated Boo floated away grumbling. Searching through stacks and growling through rows of boring Ghost Stories, Boo made a delightful discovery, Humans and Other Scary Creatures!" 

Yup, another Japanese Maple. 

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 21 TORNADO

  The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

                                                 and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

                                                                       Over the next month, 

                               I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, 

                            instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

                          I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"Your art is your win." @PBRisingStars

2 submissions, 2 rejections

Hook: One promise. One goal-to have fun. This promise healed Paul Elvstrom, a four-time Olympian, and strengthened his bond with his daughter Trine. One joyous, fast-paced adventure for both sailors and, the world, as they charted a new course into the record books.

This is a lyrical, adrenaline-pumping, joyous ride over the ocean during a race. I enjoy many lines from this story. This is one.

"Windbreakers rippled.

Paul and Trine's wide smiles, 

painted in sea salt bloomed as they attacked the course in unison,

their bodies outstretched like wings off the hull."

(DOGWOOD)

#RejectionGarden The UP's and the Down's and Hope, little or big

 The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, 

instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

    So, yesterday I was chewing my nails off because I had applied to PB Rising Stars mentorship program, and yesterday the winners were announced. I had spent days and many hours researching and then answering questions, and picking out the RIGHT manuscript to apply with. Then weeks before the announcement I received an email stating one of the mentors was interested, but wanted to read more work (so I sent 3 other manuscripts).

    When I got that email, HOPE, yes in all caps, exploded into my life. MAYBE, just MAYBE, I would get a mentor. Someone to help support me in this crazy business, someone to root for me, tell me where I was going wrong, and ask me pointed questions. MAYBE...

    But as the names were listed, none of which were mine, I realized it just not going to happen and, as you can imagine, I was CRUSHED, like many thousands of others. 

    Rejected again. 

    All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and ignore the rest of the day, but the day wasn't going to ignore me. Instead of a mentorship, or a runner-up place, I unexpectedly received an Honorable Mention.

    Perspective is a rough and tough thing to have when in a moment of rejection.  Perspective- MANY THOUSANDS of BRILLIANT writers applied for one of these mentorships... talented, fabulous, creative writers (my critique partners, who constantly amaze me, included).

    Perspective, I received an Honorable Mention, only a handful did. 

    So, after licking my wounds, it was time to celebrate and remember really, 

writing is my win. 

    Creating is my win. 

    Everything else is, just everything else.

    Then, something really REALLY special happened. I opened up my twitter account and read something, that in this business is akin to a year worth of survival food... something that will help me push forward. No, it wasn't an offer for mentorship, it was encouragement, honest, and freely offered.

    Hope, little or big is something that feeds us. One hope was dashed but then was soon replaced.

    Kind words are beyond powerful. They feed the soul, the creative, they feed hope. Writing without hope isn't alive. So, Thank you @ebonylynnmudd, @kaileipew, and all of the mentors for all of your time and energy, and willingness to give hope to thousands of writers. It is much appreciated. And Thank you @davidmcmullinpb  for reaching out and saying this:  

"Laura! You were my HM choice. 

I adore everything about you-your ideas,

your writing,

and who you are as a person-

I hope you find the meeting with Kailei and Ebony useful!  

All the best!"

    David, Kailei, and Ebony, I needed this. And I THANK YOU, I really do. That encouragement will keep me going for a while. 

    In fact, I wrote something new today. So ONWARD!

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 20 Bean in the Box

 The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, 

instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"On a bright and beautiful day, surrounded by a lovely life, 

and maybe even with a win under your belt, 

rejection can, 

and will try to darken your shine. 

Today was such a day for me.

Instead of curling up in a ball (always an option), 

I am here, writing. 

Choose yourself. 

Choose to create. 

If you choose to be a ball, 

choose to unfurl yourself 

and move forward sooner, than later."

-Laura N. Clement

2 submissions, 2 rejections

This story started out simply as a fun writing exercise for a Twitter, 100 words or less contest. I did not win. I don't even think it got an honorable mention, but it was FUN to write.  Recently I submitted it to a publisher looking for creepy halloweenie pieces. That's fine.  The story was fun, as most of the time writing and simply having time to be creative is fun.  Plus, naming a tree The Bean In The Box, was amusing to me.

Favorite line EH, who cares? I am posting the whole thing, it was less than 100 words. I mean, why not, LOL.

THE BOX AND THE BEAN

 

First in line this year and, Bea was scared.

She must be brave, show no fear, everyone was watching.

 

IT, was just a box, plane and black… possibly even empty.

 

“No liquid potions. No tarantulas (rules forbade it).”

 

Blindfold on. Bea hoped that it wouldn’t… bite. 

 

Last year’s ooey, gooey “Mystery Trickery Box” had been fun, messy but harmless. But this year…

 

Bea moved her fingertips through the opening.

 

Harmless cotton cobwebs, slimy peeled grapes, messy pasta… she hoped.

 

It was small, smooth…

 

Gulp…

 

And, moving!

 

EwwwwWWW…

 

And done! No bites or mess…

 

Now, to plot next year’s revenge.

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 19 DRAGON MOUNTAIN

The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, 

instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"Rejected pieces aren't failures; unwritten pieces are." 

-Greg Daugherty

4 submissions (2015), 4 rejections (new version never submitted)

    Growing up in Alaska, surrounded by the all-impressive presence of NATURE, yes, in all CAPS, was inspiring and daunting. But as a child with an overactive visual imagination... I saw so many cool things (whether they were actually there or not), one of these things- Dragons. I saw them everywhere, in the hills, the mountains, hiding inside forests. So, one day I wrote a story about it from the POV of a sleepy child in a car, traveling into the night, with the light fading and mountains passing by the window. In a wink, she sees what the mountain really is, a sleeping dragon.

Favorite line: The first page really brings the reader in with its lyrical tone and warmth. I adore it but I also adore a reply.

"Cozy, 

I dream, 

tucked under velvet night

as the hum of wheels rolling over pavement muffle the miles

that swoop and sway us toward our home."

And the reply?

"I see it too," Daddy says, his eyes in a wink of s smile reflecting back at me in the mirror."

     I have not given up on this piece, it has a humm, a magical rhythm to it that feels like home to me, so maybe someday I will rework it, again, and send it out, again.

    This is the second the last #rejectiongarden tree...  But, as you, kind reader, know by now it won't be THE LAST.  Just a momentary pause as I order more tags, plant more trees and write more stories. One more to go. Until tomorrow. 

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 18

 The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, 

instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection letters.  And only write what you love."

-Anita Diamant

And older manuscript, 8 submissions since 2014, 8 rejections

Pitch: When a letter arrives just for him, Zorg is excited until he opens it and discovers a very real, very serious warning, "Beware the Tickle Raider." As things go BUMPity THUMP around him, Zorg must calm his fears while he detects and searches to unmask the Tickle Raider. Space-themed, family-oriented fun, full of onomatopoeia silliness.

Favorite line:  It's not a line, it is an onomatopoeia- SPLOOOOOPITY SPLAT! 

Written originally for my nephew who was fearful of all things unexpected, this is a fun manuscript, and who knows, maybe someday it'll get a major overhaul and I start sending it out again, maybe.

As much fun, as it has been fun to do these rejection posts and highlight my #rejectiongarden, I am almost finished.  I have been writing and submitting things for over 10 years now. I have hundreds of manuscripts/stories in various states of being, but only a handful ever make it to the "hit send button" stage. Plus, I am almost out of planted Japanese maples (shocked, I'm sure).  But will this be the end of my Rejection Garden?  No. I keep planting. I keep watching things grow because, I am a "Creative," and rejection will always be in my life.  As long as I have ways to help me into the "move on, next" phase, I am sure I will persist because I am never short on stories or snippets of ideas. Never.

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 17 "Q"

The Rejection Garden is less about rejection, 

and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, instead, I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on (their) own judgment and say in (their) heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'"

 -Saul Bellow

3 submissions, 2 rejections, and 1 contract (I walked away from).

Sorry for my shoe in the picture. 

      Long before "I am Groot." I wrote a story about a child with a speech delay, called Q.  In it, she speaks by simply repeating the letter "Q" to everything until she meets a new friend at school. It was my second manuscript to land a contract. But, as things like to do in the publishing business, the plan went sideways, first the illustrator had to drop the project. Then the replacement illustrator had to be fired (very long and painful story), and that's when I decided that "Q" wasn't ready for the world. Maybe someday I will revisit and resubmit it, but for now, she rests, like her tree, slowly growing and simply being in the world.

    Raising a child with a speech delay has given me so many new viewpoints and insights so it was with great love I created this character, Suzi "Q". One of my favorite spreads in the book is:

"Q was the first letter Suzi understood. She loved everything about it and insisted on using it for everything.

[Mom]     "S-u-z-i, come help me make cookies!"

[Suzi]       "Q!"

[Dad]       "Hey Suzi, let's go play in the park!"

[Suzi]       "Q!"

[George the dog] "AwwwwoooWooWoo!"

[Suzi]       "Aaaaa Q! Q! Q!"

    Am I sad this book never got published? Yes, and No. There were too many times things fell apart in making this book a reality. Something about it, timing, readiness, the world, was not right. I still adore this character (possibly because she is based on my own child, whom I adore), so maybe someday I will get her back out into the world, but No. I am not upset anymore about her not being in print under that first contract.  In a way, I rejected this manuscript myself, knowing somewhere down deep, it wasn't ready.  So, Saul Bellow, I did trust my own judgment, in the end.

 

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 16 DON"T SCARE THE SKUNK!

              The Rejection Garden is less about rejection and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, instead, 

I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"I love my rejection slips. They show me I try."  - Sylvia Plath

1 submission, 1 rejection

Pitch: Monsters aren't always scary, mean, or ugly, in fact, the one living in this forest likes to bake, and that is the problem.

Favorite line: The ending, it's a fun reveal.

"There still lives a monster in this forest, a cruncher, and muncher that hides in the shadows.  But no one fears her, or her new friend just as long as they followed one simple rule…"

The funny thing about doing this blog and this post and reading through these manuscripts is that I discover just HOW MUCH a piece needs reworking and since it is a couple years old, I am ready to tackle it anew! 

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 15 DUCK, DUCK, FROG

             The Rejection Garden is less about rejection and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, instead, 

I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"Was I bitter? Absolutely. Hurt? You bet your sweet ass I was hurt. 

Who doesn’t feel a part of their heartbreak at rejection? 

You ask yourself every question you can think of, 

what, 

why, 

how come, 

and then your sadness turns to anger. 

That’s my favorite part. 

It drives me, feeds me, and makes one hell of a story.” 

-Jennifer Salaiz 

10 submissions, 10 rejections

A really fun POV from that of a rubber bath toy, playing out the consequences of humanity on the vast, wild ocean.

The word of the day in this story, GYRE- a large system of rotating ocean currents.

The theme(s) of the story- hope, perseverance, friendship, exploration.

Pitch: An unfortunate adventure unfolds for three bath toy friends after a catastrophic storm capsizes a container ship. Soon separated Duck, Duck & Frog find themselves in a historic whale of a tale illuminating the power of the ocean, humanity, friendship & perseverance.

Favorite Line:                                                          "I am cozy.

Never stuck,

or cold.

Never lost,

or alone.

And with bubbles, swimming with sharks…

         …is fun."

An update on the current state of rejection. Just yesterday I received yet another, "Beautiful story, but it's a NO for us," for my manuscript CROWNS.  Onward. 

The Rejection Garden Tree/Story 14 TINY HOUSE

       The Rejection Garden is less about rejection and more about creativity, persistence, and joy. 

Over the next month, I am going to share one Tree or Manuscript with you, not in its entirety, instead, 

I’ll post a synopsis, how many times it has been rejected, and then, 

I’ll finish with my favorite line and include a picture of the tree and name tag.

"This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don't consider it rejected. Consider that you've addressed it 'to the editor who can appreciate my work' and it has simply come back stamped 'Not at this address'. Just keep looking for the right address."

-Barbara Kingsolver

4 submissions, 3 rejections

Hook: Highlights muti-generational living/family, sustainability/recycling, and a shared love of birds with lyrical language.

Favorite line (page): 

"Sitting watching birds together,

gliding-gliding,

back and forth,

was the best of every day.

We searched for flits of colors,

and strained to hear -

    Twitter. Twitter. Tweets, and hhhhhhhhmmmmm's

There were lots of comings and goings,

but never stays.

Until an idea, like an egg-craked open."

As for THIS tree? I have been WAITING to take its picture. It's a beautiful ginkgo. I LOVE the shape of ginkgo leaves. This plant which someday I will actually plant in the backyard, but not yet, it's happy where it is.