Launch day for Oasis for YA!

Just a quick break from the contest from a word from our sponsors.  :D  

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of Oasis for YA. A collaborative blog between YA authors A.E. Rought, Jessie Harrell, Nikki Katz, S.A. Larsen, and myself. It's a place we've designed for YA writers (or all writers really) for those times when you really just need to get away from it all. To an oasis maybe. :) Every day there will be something fun and exciting up to help with the processes of writing, revising, and submitting. Daily topics will include: Monday's Sanctuary (easing the stress), Tuesday Tunes (check out our favorite tunes for the week and post your own), Writer's Wednesday (writing tips), Thankful for Thursday (let's share our good news for the week), Friday Freestyle (including interviews, reviews and/or give-aways). Stop on by and make yourself at home.

Funny Friday

Since today is Friday and, at least in Florida, raining mooses and cows.  LOL.  I decided to go and do something a little silly to perk up everyone's spirits for the long holiday weekend.  Here's a few newspaper oopses to brighten your day.  I hope you enjoy.  

1. IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you are one of hundreds of parachuting enthusiasts who bought our Easy Sky Diving book, please make the following correction: on page 8, line 7, the words "state zip code" should have read "pull rip cord."

2. It was incorrectly reported last Friday that today is T-shirt Appreciation Day. In fact, it is actually Teacher Appreciation Day.

3. There was a mistake in an item sent in two weeks ago which stated that Ed Burnham entertained a party at crap shooting. It should have been trap shooting.

4.From a California bar association's newsletter: Correction -- the following typo appeared in our last bulletin: "Lunch will be gin at 12:15 p.m." Please orrect to read "12 noon."

5. We apologize to our readers who received, through an unfortunate computer error, the chest measurements of members of the Female Wrestlers Association instead of the figures on the sales of soybeans to foreign countries.

6. In Frank Washburn's March column, Rebecca Varney was erroneously identified as a bookmaker. She is a typesetter.

7. There are two important corrections to the information in the update on our Deep Relaxation professional development program. First, the program will include meditation, not medication. Second, it is experiential, not experimental.

8. Our article about Jewish burial customs contained an error: Mourners' clothing is rent -- that is, torn -- not rented.

9. In the City Beat section of Friday's paper, firefighter Dwight Brady was misidentified. His nickname in the department is "Dewey." Another firefighter is nicknamed "Weirdo." We apologize for our mistake.

10. Just to keep the record straight, it was the famous Whistler's Mother, not Hitler's, that was exhibited. There is nothing to be gained in trying to explain how this error occurred.

11. Our newspaper carried the notice last week that Mr. Oscar Hoffnagle is a defective on the police force. This was a typographical error. Mr. Hoffnagle is, of course, a detective on the police farce.

12. Yesterday we mistakenly reported that a talk was given by a bottle-scared hero. We apologize for the error. We obviously meant that the talk was given by a battle-scarred hero.

13. In a recent edition, we referred to the chairman of Chrysler Corporation as Lee Iacoocoo. His real name is Lee Iacacca. The Gazette regrets the error.

14. Apology: I originally wrote, "Woodrow Wilson's wife grazed sheep on front lawn of the White House." I'm sorry that typesetting inadvertently left out the word "sheep."

15. In one edition of today's Food Section, an inaccurate number of jalapeno peppers was given for Jeanette Crowley's Southwestern chicken salad recipe. The recipe should call for two, not 21, jalapeno peppers.

16. The marriage of Miss Freda vanAmburg and Willie Branton, which was announced in this paper a few weeks ago, was a mistake which we wish to correct.

Hope everyone enjoyed knowing that even editors forget to self-edit.  Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you again for Teaser Tuesday.  

What's the big deal with patience anyway?

Today’s topic is patience and stress relief, because as my good friends know, that is something I’m struggling with, especially in the last week.  

Everyone always says “all good things come in time,” and it’s true.  Patience is key, but what do you do when you don’t have any? I’m usually pretty good about at least burying my impatience, but this past week has been the hardest I’ve ever had to work to prevent myself from doing something stupid. 

What am I stressing about and being impatient about? Well, my dream agent contacted me a week ago and wanted the full of my manuscript. I’m not going to say whom because I don’t want to curse it (yes I’m superstitious).  I will say, however, that he’s from New York, he’s “young,” and he appears to have my sense of humor. 

So, for the first time since I started querying, I’m in full panic mode.  My thoughts are running the gambit from what if he doesn’t like it, to what if he does?  I’m driving my husband crazy and the butterflies have taken permanent residence in my stomach.  Along with the flying frogs. 

I think they’re building a city in there.  Complete with condos and subways. 

So, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about what I do to try and relieve some of the stress and the first thing that comes to mind is patience.  Lots and lots of patience.  Of course, that’s the one thing I’m usually short of.

Agents are busy people.  They work long hours and then come home and work even longer. To be honest, besides the doctor I used to work for, I’m pretty sure agents are the busiest people I know.

Their first priority is their clients, so most of the manuscript and query reads are done on their own time.  Which is why it is of the upmost importance to research your agents before you query them.  I can’t stress this enough.  Make sure that the agent you’re sending to is even, 1) Someone you think you can work with, 2) someone who represents—or wants to represent—what you’re writing, 3) is even taking unsolicited queries.  Most of this stuff can be found on their webpage.  So do yourself—and them—a favor and research before you send.

That being said, I know that he’ll read my manuscript in a timely manner and that he hasn’t forgotten me.  I also know that my bugging him isn’t going to make him want to sign me. Which is obviously something I want. I have to let my manuscript speak for itself.  Which, since I’ve done the steps I talked about in an earlier blog—edited it to within an inch of its life, sent it to beta readers, and edited again—I’m confident it’s ready enough for him.

So, I have to be patient as I wait for Mr. Dream Agent to read (and love) Mirror.  In the meantime, I’ve taken to scouring the Internet for absolutely anything I can find on him.  Unfortunately, there isn’t much. Although what I have stumbled across has been pure gold.  Interviews!  There is nothing (in my mind) that tells you more about someone than how they answer interviews.  And there has been no exception here.  True, I may find out something completely different if he wants to work with me, but as of this moment, I’m convinced we’d be a good team.

So now that I’ve run out of reading material about him, I’ve tried writing again.  It isn’t working.  Not really.  So, I go and take a boiling hot bath.  That usually calms me down for at least an hour and then I can get at least that hour’s worth of writing done. 

If that doesn’t work, I go take a walk or a bike ride (isn’t Florida wonderful?) or try burying myself into one of the hundred books I have piled on my dresser, waiting for me to crack open it’s cover. 

Which reminds me; don’t forget to visit my blog on Sundays where I’ll be doing my own informal book reviews.  I’m even working on getting a published YA author as a guest blogger for January.  If I’m really lucky, I might be able to persuade her to autograph one of her books for me and I’ll have a give-a-way.  More details on that at another date, but you can only participate if you follow me on my blog at BlogSpot.

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog! 

So what do you do when your patience runs out, your mind can’t focus on reading or writing, and you’ve taken your tenth bath that day?  I’m still working on that.  Maybe someone can help me out here.  LOL. 

Oh and if anyone is wondering why I have a picture of a dentist for today's post.  It's because to me having waiting is akin to being at the dentist.  I hate it!!