Book Release!

I had been a stay-at-home mom since I married.
I dabbled in sewing, quilting, crafting, couponing/refunding---and raised three boys, which I consider my greatest accomplishment.

Ten years ago, with my husband getting close to retirement, I started writing. I had been working on a picture book about picking berries. I thought it wasn't half bad. I found out about a writing group that met once a month in Ripley. I called one of the members and started attending the meetings. I got up my nerve to read it in front of the group. They were very nice, but I found out I didn't know much about writing.

Thankfully, I am a pretty quick learner.

A year later, I got a story published in an anthology. Then shortly thereafter, I started writing a children's column in a monthly regional magazine.

Along with writing PBs, I got brave and wrote two MG manuscripts. They have been sent out many times and received many rejections.

My second MG, Duck and Cover, took first place in the 2015 WV Writer's annual spring writing contest! Woo hoo! I had placed many times in the annual contest, but this was my first 1st Place!

I did a little more research on publishers. I found one that only published first-time authors and only published MG and YA.
They were not a vanity publisher. I didn't have to pay anything.
I took the chance and sent Duck and Cover to them.

They accepted it! It was officially put up on Amazon the end of February. It is available in paperback, kindle, and Nook on Barnes and Noble.

What is my advice? Never give up. Keep working on your manuscript until you get it the best you can get it --- and send it out.
And keep sending it out until you find someone who likes it as much as you do.

My book is going to be featured in the next few weeks on a couple of writer's blogs.

Today (Monday)it will be on the GROG Blog. Click over and check out the interview. Comment and you will be in a drawing for a free copy of my book.

Quotes About Failing and Succeeding

I am on a lot of email lists. That can be good and that can be bad.
The bad part is your email box stays full.
The good news is you can receive a lot of useful or uplifting information coming to you every day.

I received an email from bookbaby.  They shared these three great quotes that really hit home:

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." — Theodore Roosevelt "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." — Henry Ford “Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

How many times have you received a rejection letter?
I can't remember the times I have received one in the mail. But, look at it this way, you are at least sending out manuscripts. You tried to get published. A lot of people write and write, but never submit.

When you get a rejection, pick up your spirits and send again. That next submission just might be the one that gets published.

And, don't lose your enthusiasm. If you love your story, keep improving it and keep sending it in. Give someone else a chance to fall in love with it, too.

Which one of the quotes do you like best?

Stay tuned.

My next post will be about my success story.