The Green-Eyed Monster

Revisions while camping.

My youngest read yesterday's post and was upset that big brother got a shout out. I swear, those two can even fight over an uncooked carrot. So to keep an even keel, let me officially assure the world that my six year old daughter does plenty to help mother keep the writing career on track.

The other day I took a rare nap on the couch. Summer colds are vicious creatures. I woke up covered in business envelopes. Each was addressed and stamped in crayon, stuffed and sealed.

“Look Mommy! I got the mail. They are all rejection letters!”

What a dear. What a darling. What a preposterous precocious little so and so. I spluttered for a while at the industry of my little Electra. There were over 20 envelopes! But really, she was only trying to help.

I have been sharing the query process with the kids because I think its good for them to see an adult try and try again. Grown ups should be seen following their own advice more often.

Rejection is part of the game. I love the agent who wrote “F**k rejection” in the advice section of her blog. I pride myself on being able to open three rejection e-mails then sit down to a good writing session on the next book. But this can be hard to explain to people who ask how the writing is going.

The kids have heard me say to anyone who asks how Billington or Titus are doing that it takes 100 no's to hear a yes. So the dear darling daughter was simply trying to speed the process along. She is very sweet but I am still going to be wary of taking naps in her presence.