WRITING AND CONTESTS AND DEADLINES

Two years ago, I was one of 30 people chosen to audition for the Listen to Your Mother show in St. Louis, Missouri. I didn't do well at my audition and I'm sure that's the reason I wasn't chosen to read my story at the actual event. I knew I blew it, so I wasn't upset with the judges.

I considered submitting a mother-related story again last year, but I was busy promoting my memoir, and didn't participate.

This year, though, as the submission days began to zoom by, I considered it further and determined that if my muse would cooperate, I'd give it a try. And so, at 11:45pm on February 16th, (15 minutes before the deadline!) I hit the "Send" button and it was officially entered into the contest.

The show is Saturday, May 9th, 2015.

Many days, my time seems to go by like this, but when there's a deadline looming, I make myself work - - which is writing - - which is work!

 

This morning at 9:14am, I received an e-mail that began like this:
"Congratulations! We enjoyed reading your [...]." 

And even though it said "Congratulations," I still thought it was going to be a kindhearted rejection letter!

But as I continued reading, it said I was one of 40 chosen to audition! I'm a bit more confident this year, so hopefully I'll do a better job reading my story. My time slot is Saturday, February 28th at 2:00pm. Wish me luck!!

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What about all of you?? What are you working on? Any particular contests or calls for submissions? Writing on your blog or in a journal? I'm interested, so please comment and let us know, especially if you have anything new to share.

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My fonts are messing with me again and I'm trying to ignore the problem. Acckkk!

* FRIDAY'S FEATURES *

Happy Friday! Another week has flown by and I'm happy to say I actually accomplished quite a few items on my List of Things to Do. I also created a schedule for myself that makes more sense than any of the other ones I've attempted to follow. Instead of writing down that I would perform a particular task on a certain day, and/or at a certain time, (which, of course NEVER worked) I did it this way:

Donate ______ hours for e-mailing.
Donate ______ hours for marketing.
Donate ______ hours for actual writing
Donate ______ minutes to Facebook
ETC.          ETC.           ETC.

** I can't believe I typed "Donate" four times, or the fact that I just now - 10:15pm Sunday night - realized it!! I meant to type: DEVOTE. **

I copy the sheet every morning, write the date on it, and get to work. So far, so good!
This helps me manage my time so much better. It hasn't been a perfect system because things do interfere, but it's a great beginning.

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I'm excited to announce another site I found online to promote my memoir. It's Writing-World which I just mentioned in my April 26th post. It has a LOT of information, so take your time browsing! There's a link very close to the top of the main page that says BOOKS BY OUR READERS. <<<< You can get there by clicking this link. Different price packages are available for promoting a book, and believe me, they're very reasonable.

 

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Are you the type of person who can read more than one book at a time? I really can't, and it's too bad because I'm "sort of" reading four or five books right now. Don't ask how it's going!  J AND, I just happened upon a table of books yesterday when I was at Dollar Tree (my very favorite dollar store.) Well, my goodness, a person can't pass up a table of hardcover books that are only One Dollar, can she? I've purchased books there many times. Some I take to Goodwill, (especially if I don't care for them) and others I'll take to writerly events where there's a table for free books. I bought a few just to donate to a government facility that requested books. Sheesh... I'm getting off course here....Anyway, I dug through the few books that were there, kept control of myself, and bought only one. I've only read 20 pages so far but that's pretty good because the print is so tiny, I get blurry-eyed after about 3 pages! The title is:

 

The Writing Circle

by Corinne Demas

 

It's about a woman who ......guess what??...joins a writers critique group! I'll let y'all know what I thought of it when I'm finished.

 

Buying it also reminded me of a book I bought in a Borders' bargain bin way before they closed:

 Blind Submission

 by Debra Ginsberg.

It's about books and a literary agency, etc. In one of the reviews on Amazon, it says "This is the book-world version of The Devil Wears Prada." I really enjoyed it! If anyone would like to read it and pass it along, I'll be happy to send it....anywhere in the US. (Sorry other countries!) The offer is the same for The Writing Circle when I'm finished reading it, too. 
 

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Oh, guess what? I actually submitted a story for an anthology, which is something I haven't done since 2012! It was for the Special Call Out from Publishing Syndicate that I mentioned on April 26th. It will be awesome if my story is accepted!

 

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Oh my gosh! The famous Blue Angels are in town this weekend! I am always thrilled and terrified at the same time when I see them in person, which has only been once or twice...Talk about having "nerves of steel." 

 

 

 

The Ronald and I might try to find a parking lot somewhere near to watch them. (We don't like crowds, and the admission is $12.00 per person! Yikes!)