I'M A BAD BLOGGER - I REALLY SUCK AT IT!

I’m a sorry excuse for a blogger. 

I mean, I seriously suck. 

I suck to the utmost and it isn’t even funny. What the heck is it about the blogging hemisphere that I simply cannot stay connected? Every time I attempt to leap back into this “hobby” of mine, I become distracted with stuff going on in my ... how shall I put it?

Let's call it my physical life. Heck, sounds about right. Geez, my wording even sucks.

TBH ("to be honest" - yeah, I'm hip), I have become so incredibly occupied with real life that I can’t keep up with this blog. I promise, ever since my last post I have seriously been on the go! Don’t believe me? You think I'm lying? Check the list, folks.

1. I’m now a Christian Non-Fiction Author for a publishing company I adore. Can't name drop, tho. 
2. I’m working on my MFA via online courses – but that’s a secret, so shh.
3. I’ve gotten myself into tons of freelance writing and editing projects like a freakin' genius. I literally spend a huge chunk of my day at my desk. Whether I'm writing, editing, proofreading ... or looking at Netflix or Hulu (hehehe)... I'm glued here, man! 
4. My Urban Fantasy WIP has morphed into a new WIP. I am obsessed with the changes! You guys know how the writing, editing and revising stages are with WIPs. So no need to explain there.
5. Plus other stuff. *averts eyes suspiciously*
6. Umm ... Does traveling count as a distraction?
7. Did I mention church functions? Family Functions? Just a lot of social stuff. Grrr.
8. My family – my sister in particular – has taken up loads of my time within the last few years. 
• FIRST, I had to plan her wedding. And she was a feisty Bride Zilla.
• SECOND, she decides to get pregnant on the honeymoon, so I planned her baby shower too. And she was a feisty Pregnant Lady!
• THIRD, she calls me quite often simply to chat. Seriously, girl. I am busy. I don't have time to chat. Tend to your fussy 1-month-old baby. Okay, Austin isn’t THAT fussy. But babies are blah. They pee, poop, eat, sleep and look cute. I can’t wait till that kid can say, “Hey, Auntie. You rock!” He gripped my finger the other day and I nearly exploded with joy! And all he did was hold my finger ... Not only do I suck, I'm a sucker. 

So, yeah. Your girl is spent! 

However, let’s cut the crap. I mean, can you smell the bull? I sure can. It stinks like a circus. 

If I was truly passionate about being a blogger, I believe I would have squeezed it in. I didn’t stop watching my favorite shows. I didn’t stop hanging out with friends and family. I didn’t limit my time with God.  Well, actually I have slacked on my prayer life. I need to fix that. Yikes.

ANYWHO! I’ve discovered that I just don’t have the passion for blogging like I used to.

Nevertheless … I WANT IT. In all seriousness, I have been extremely busy. I even find it difficult to spend the desired time on my WIP. Although I absolutely love and enjoy writing, I don't want it to become a chore for me. Yah know? Whatever ... I'm not even sure if I'm making sense. *Cringe* Furthermore, I'm the most organized person I know. Therefore, I know my neglect here has nothing to do with that. Like I said, if I wanted to keep up with this blog then I certainly could. 

It's the joy I'm lacking here, people.

How do I get it back? How do I rediscover that joy in blogging? Honestly, how? 

:-(

"The Best Revenge is Massive Success"

Soooooo, I've been thinking about starting the querying process over again for quite some time now. I didn't realize why I was doing it, but for a few months now I've continued to put it on hold. Let me share my very legitimate reasons *cough cough* I mean lousy excuses with you.

• Spring, "Well, it's still early in the year. I want to work on this query a little bit more, pass it around, and then see if I'm comfortable enough to send it out."

• Summer, "Nahhh, the summer isn't a good time. Agents are usually in conferences and super busy during this time."

• Now that we're approaching fall, "Eh, there are a lot of holidays coming up--Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and New Years--maybe I'll just wait till January."

Folks, you know what's going to occur if I wait till January? I'll just have another excuse up my sleeve to whip out. That excuse will defer my querying process yet again and my progress will be stagnant.

It took me a while to recognize or rather accept that fear had such a stronghold on my life and writing, but I eventually did. And you know what my butt was doing when I realized I was deferring my own dreams from pure silliness? I got caught up browsing recipes, quotes, exercise tips, jewelry, and hairstyles on Pinterest during my allotted time to write. Shameful, right? Soooo Right!

So I gave myself a stern talking to and I ended up looking up inspirational quotes regarding writers. I just needed some words of wisdom to help me get over the fear of rejection. The last time I queried I thought I was ready but I wasn't. I had many rejections and just a few R&Rs, full requests, and partial requests--in the end I ended up needing to do another major revision. Gah! Like always right? Lol. So then I researched famous authors (gotta love the internet, right?) who were rejected countless times. Here are a few below. And many of them are sooo ironic!

Stephen King's "Carrie" novel was rejected dozens of time. --One publisher's response,"We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell."

Tim Burton's "The Giant Slig." --Walt Disney editor's response, " It may, however, be too derivative of the Seuss works to be marketable--I just don't know. But I definitely enjoyed reading it"

Nicholas Sparks "The Notebook" was rejected 24 times

Alice Walker "The Color Purple" was rejected many times.

J.K Rowling's first Harry Potter novel was rejected by a dozen publishers including Penguin and HarperCollins.

William Faulkner's "Sanctuary" was rejected countless times. One publisher's response, "Good God, I can't publish this!"

 

Rejection is a part of life. No use in trying to avoid. Sooner or later someone will say yes.