Dear Author: Thank you for your submission. It was kind of you to think of us, but we are sorry we are unable to offer to see more of your work. We thank you for the opportunity to consider your materials and we wish you the best of luck elsewhere. Sincerely, ----Inc. I've been in …
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
My Book-shaped Heart Wants to Live in a Publishing House.
I published by book--by hand. A handmade book takes hours to put together, and it isn't cheap. I love making them though. I made three, but I can't make any more. I can't afford it because who is going to pay that kind of money for a book by an unknown writer when they don't …
Continue reading My Book-shaped Heart Wants to Live in a Publishing House.
Cut what scares you.
The music is posted because it captures the mood of the story I'm working on... But for the novel I've finished (sort of finished), an agent asked to see the first 155 pages. Well, I proofread those pages again and fussed with the formatting. On page 155 I looked for the place to stop, and …
Shred everything!
Sometimes I have destructive impulses. You? Often when I share my writing with others, I want to yank the work from their hands screaming a loud melodramatic No! I take it back. This is silly, but knowing it is silly doesn't make my stomach settle. And still, I offer to share. Here's the idea. Come …
Far Away from Disaster
My school is now on spring break, and I won't see my students for a week. Some of my students are from Japan. What words do you use for tragedy? Shouldn't a writer know? And what do you say to someone who is so very far away from home and family? Why should anyone though …
Late and Fantastic
Today this message from a student appeared in my inbox. Am very sorry to disturb you on this beautiful wednesday .well just wanted to let you now that am really sorry , I ll be late because I overslept my dream was magic, I mean fantastic. This may well be my favorite excuse ever. And …
The Money in the Book
I read Nathan Bransford's blog. He's a literary agent, and what he writes about the publishing industry is useful and enlightening. Today, I read his post about Amanda Hocking, whose story I posted about a few days ago. His post taught me a few things about the reality of publishing and money, and it has …
Like I was saying…
I'm going to do Story-a-Day-May. Last year, I wrote a series of stories under the title The Fairy Tale Asylum. The working title this year--Graveyard Girls and The Enchanted Dead: Their Stories. We shall see where it goes. Why even do such a thing? I've done NaNoWriMo too, and these challenges beg the question-why? Why …
Something to think about…
but yet something that seems impossible. Like winning the lottery or finding the magic wardrobe, it happens to other people. And her follow-up blog post is a must read: My Blood Approves.
Stories upon Stories
I like stories that build on other stories. Lat year, for Story-a-Day-May I wrote a series of fairy tales I called The Fairy Tale Asylum. Not every fairy tale worked, but I liked the challenge and the series--and maybe one of them will be published (maybe not--see previous post--but let's be optimist!). This year another …
Marta Bacon 