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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
I'm on vacation this week and author Susan Henderson has graciously offered to fill in for me today. Susan is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of an Academy of American Poets award. Her debut novel, Up From the Blue, was published by HarperCollins in 2010 and is now in its fourth printing. Susan absolutely loves to hear from readers. You can reach her at: [email protected]
Take it away, Susan...
As a kid, I was so short and underdeveloped that I was often mistaken for someone's little brother when I went out with my friends from middle school.
I wasn't just invisible to the boys I liked. I remember the feeling of standing at the bakery counter or one of the other local stores, having waited in a long line and finally reaching the front, only to have the person behind the counter look right over my head and let the next person cut in front of me. I don't know if that person behind the counter thought I had a parent nearby who was placing the order, or if he simply didn't see me. All I know is I wanted a turn.
Trying to get a book published brings up similar feelings of being unimportant and overlooked, whether it's sending out carefully crafted letters to agents and hearing no reply at all, or waiting for months to hear from a publisher whose rejection gives away that he read only a couple pages of the manuscript.
You don't have to be a writer to know the feeling. You might experience it when others talk over you at a dinner party or book club. You might have your hand raised for so long at the school board meeting that your fingers go numb.
So what can you do to maintain the belief that you have something to contribute? What gives you the stamina to keep at it until you get a turn? Having just come through a process where I frequently got knocked down and had to learn to stand back up again and again, I can share what worked for me.
First, nurture your friendships--those people in your life who have your best interests at heart, who tell you the hard truths, and who remind you of your worth.
Next, ask yourself why you keep sending out that manuscript despite the pain of rejection or why your hand is still raised despite the embarrassment of no one calling on you. Some part of you way deep down knows you have something valuable to say. For me, honoring that inner voice felt like I'd grabbed the hand of that scrawny little girl and told her, I'm right here with you, and I'm interested in what you have to say. Now stand up straight like you matter.
Finally, remember that this wait is only one of many things happening around you. There are children running through sprinklers, birds building nests, and musicians performing on street corners. There is a garden to tend, a recipe to try, a neighbor to visit, and a new story to write. Be open to all of it!
Thanks so much for having me here and thank you to Suzanne Beecher for creating such an electric community of book lovers.--Susan Henderson
Say hello, you can reach Susan at: [email protected]
About the Author: Susan blogs at LitPark.com. She and her husband live in New York with their two boys.
KIDSBUZZ: Email an author, sign up for their giveaway, and learn about great books for kids and teens about kids questions about themselves, a birthday surprise, and free will and destiny from Robie H. Harris, WHO HAS WHAT: All About Girls' Bodies and Boys' Bodies; Trout Fishing in America, CHICKEN JOE FORGETS SOMETHING IMPORTANT; and Amy Kathleen Ryan, GLOW. For a chance to win free books, meet this week's authors and more, goto:
http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz
* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE REAL STORY OF AH-Q AND OTHER TALES OF CHINA by Lu Xun. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/September11Classics
AUTHORBUZZ: LOVE AT ABSOLUTE ZERO by Christopher Meeks
Gunnar Gunderson is a 32-year-old star physicist at the University of Wisconsin where he researches what happens to matter near absolute zero (-457.67 degrees F.) To meet his soul mate within three days--that's what he wants and the only time he can carve out of his busy schedule--he will use the Scientific Method. His research team will have to help. Can Gunnar survive his quest?
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader Click on LOVE AT ABSOLUTE ZERO to read more. Author Christopher Meeks would love to hear from you.
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