Weekend Love

Snapple Real Fact #687: The average cat can jump five times as high as its tail is long.

(Big deal. I have a dog that can run backwards and one that can catch a treat off of her nose! Sorry, cat lovers. Ours will always be a dog house!)

Everyone loves the weekend, right? Probably you don't care why I love it so much, but here goes anway!

1. Freedom: No day-job work (usually).
2. Friday Night Ritual: Me, my husband, pizza and Netflix. (I know. Pretty sexy. Don't hate.)
3. Blogging: Finding the time to post on my site and catching up on my favs!
4. Reading: This weekend I read Kiersten White's debut novel Paranormalcy. L-O-V-E-D it!
5. Writing: Unlimited time to work on my manuscript and rework potential problem areas.

So last week I did a little whining about my rejection letters. In my ongoing quest for full disclosure, I have to admit that I did have one agent take a hard look at my manuscript. Talk about highs and lows! Anyway, said agent elected to pass based on the first 3 chapters. I was beyond disappointed. I almost cried. But I put on my big girl pants and reminded myself that it's the name of the game. There's no crying in baseball and there sure as hell isn't room for tears in the publishing industry. I've been told over and over that it's a cutthroat business.

And I thought I was ready. I work in a pretty tough business today. I've had my ideas stolen, been lied to, stepped on, and stabbed in the back. Trust me. Skin gets thicker. But this feels more personal somehow. I guess because they're my own words and no matter how dedicated I've been to my day job and no matter how much pride I take in my work, it's just not as near and dear to my heart as this manuscript. For me it symbolizes the fruition of a lifelong dream and the opportunity to do something I really love.

Here's the upshot of last weeks rejection: I got the message loud and clear. The opening of my MS needed more punch. I certainly don't want to land in the 'did not finish' pile and I want the reader to want more. So I spent the weekend reworking the intro and I feel good about it. Yeah, I wish I'd figured it out sooner, but there's no value in second guessing the past. What's done is done. Time to learn a little something and move on.

J.J. Bonds