The Saturday Evening Post

I spent this morning at a great workshop on marketing your work, submission guidelines and the like. It was at allwriters and there were 12 of us there; 11 women and me. Talk about the odd man out. (Or just the odd man, if you know me.)

It was an outstanding look into the intricacies and nuances of getting your work out there and published. There was a ton of invaluable information about query letters, cover letters, synopsis, agenting, and more. We were given a ton of links to great sites for researching the market, as well as a number of good books on the subject.

It actually inspired me enough to go home and submit a work of memoir to a magazine I'd found on one of the research links. The piece is on some of the cats we had when I was a kid. It is a dark humor kind of piece talking about their lives in a household of six kids, their untimely deaths or other ultimate fate. I changed it up a bit from when I had written it a year ago and let it fly.

The magazine doesn't pay anything for things it publishes, but it does give two complimentary copies. At this point, I am still trying just to get my name out there, build a bit of a portfolio and get familiar with the process. I've got a decent start with much of my poetry having been published so far, but I'd like to work on longer memoir-based submissions for a while. I'm currently working on an article about Musky fishing that I plan to submit to a fishing magazine or two once it's been edited.

The coolest thing about my whole writing process right now is that the sky really is the limit. I've got a ton of ideas and am starting to build up a number of works that I can call on in a moment's notice to submit as deemed appropriate. I enjoy the challenge of editing like I never did before. I enjoy the creative process of getting it down the first time. I enjoy just thinking about things that I want to write about. If I get bored with something, I'll go off and write some poetry or something. Change things up a bit.

On a related note, I got the check yesterday for my Boundary Waters Journal article. Three hundred bucks! Sweet! There's something to be said for having it behind me. In other words, the whole process from idea, to submission, to acceptance, to contract, to publishing, to payment is now done. It's such a great feeling, and now I want nothing more than more. Jobs that pay are nice, but I realize they're hard to come by. As I said earlier, I'll take publishing in any form right now, just to get my wheels rolling.

I continue to battle the aftershocks of the flu. It's down to a cough and stuffy nose for the most part now. I intend to go to the doctor on Tuesday or so if it's still lingering then. Best to rule out a sinus infection or walking pneumonia of that's what it is.

Rob continues to rest in preparation for round two of chemo next Thursday. He was told that he could not go ice fishing this weekend, or this winter for that matter. His white blood count is way too low and going out just exposes him to unnecessary risk. He was bummed out by the news, but remains positive nonetheless. He recognizes that he will do as he's told in order to get his life back. He's keeping his chin high and a smile on his face through it all. He's a warrior, and I love him. He's a testament for fighting the good fight.

His wife and kids deserve a bit of kudos too for all they've been through. I know Jane wouldn't do anything less for him than everything she can. She's done that so far and deserves a medal of honor for it. What a great woman. I love her too.

Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow!!! Let's get this over with and celebrate a Packer victory, eh? I just look at the two quarterbacks' stories and say who do you want to root for? The womanizing, multiple offender who already has a couple of Super Bowl rings, or the legend-protege (a-la Favre) who has a humble spirit, and a laid back, Christian attitude about things with only a Super Bowl ring to complete his resume? I know who I'd like to win even if the other team wasn't the Packers. It's a no-brainer. Never been a Steelers fan, ever since the 70's when they beat the Vikes in the Super Bowl. Long time to hold a grudge, but I have. Just sayin'.

So, I want to close on a Go Pack! Beat those Steelers!

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