Chance at Freelance

Today I mailed my resume to a Christian group looking for freelance writers and editors. I included pages from one of the literature books I've worked on, two magazine articles, and Mumsi Meets a Lion. A little side work would be a change of pace. Getting my name out there wouldn't hurt either.

Off Track

Looks like it's back to the proverbial Square One for me and a Mumsi sequel. The baboon thing isn't working out. There's just nothing to be done with baboons once they decide to invade a village. Tribal wisdom says to *whisper* exterminate them, but that won't fly in a children's book. So I'm at a loss for a resolution for Mumsi. I have lots of material for humorous anecdotes, but no satisfactory ending. My research says that, believe it or not, our best idea is to hire people to follow the baboons around and try to keep the havoc to a minimum. Hmmmm, we can put a man on the moon. . . .

Library Holdings

Look, Mom, I'm in the library!

Item Information Catalog Record Mumsi meets a lion / Kim Stegall ; illustrated by Kimberly Batti. Stegall, Kim.  Call Number: J PBK ISBN: Copy Info: 1 copy available at Hughes Main Library in Children's paperback section.

Holdings



Library	Call Number	Copy	Material	Location	Due Date
Hughes Main Library	J PBK	1	Juvenile paperback	Children's paperback section

Two Gigs

Let's see . . . in my real life as wife/mother/textbook author, I'm hip-deep in floor plans, laundry, and page proofs, yet on the promotional horizon lie two possibilities. One is for an informal book signing/appearance at the nearby University bookstore; another is for the inclusion of Mumsi Meets a Lion in a local music curriculum for the Spring semester. Both come at a time when I'm too busy to self-promote, so I'm thrilled that someone else is getting on board. Maybe.

No further work on Mumsi II. Reason? See paragraph 1, sentence 1.

Overcoming Inertia

Yes. The chart is working. At least, I've now made myself submit another piece for publication. I mailed a cover letter, the 5-page author proposal, and a copy of the completed Which End Up? manuscript to a publisher today. Yippee! I'm so glad to have overcome my complacency or inertia or embarrassment or whatever was keeping me from resubmitting. That makes me almost as happy as having gotten the thing published.

I also sent a copy of Mumsi to the lady in Florida who has financially supported the Kenyan friend who told me the original/seed story for the book. I just know she'll be interested in it.

A lady in the post office today told me that I should send Mumsi to Kindermusik International for consideration. I'll have to look into that further. . . .

Charting a Course

I've just finished writing an author proposal for a non-fiction article (or short book) for a piece I wrote last year about animals that live upside down. I think it's a great early childhood introduction to Creationism and unique animals. The submission document was five pages long and included a 500-word biography (I don't have that much to say about myself!) and three separate summaries of the piece--one 300 words or less, one 100 words or less, and one 30 words or less. I resisted the temptation to write one summary of 30 words and call it a day since a summary of that size would fit all three categories. (Not a good way to start a relationship.)

I also began making submission charts for the two pieces I'm currently ready to begin submitting. I found this idea in a magazine for writers. It points out that a chart of the top ten places you'll submit each manuscript not only helps take the sting out of rejection but also cuts the lag time between rejection and re-submission. I guess after ten rejections you say, "Okay, Lord, I get it." The two pieces I'm wanting to submit are Which End Up? (aforementioned animal composition) and October Bell, a story about adoption that I'm quite shamelessly knit to. It's the one I can't quite push out of the nest yet. However, I hope to do so this month!

More Feedback

Here's some feedback I've gotten just recently. One is from an old friend from high school who ordered eight copies to pass out to family and friends; another is from a guest artist from last year's opera. He'd ordered one back in March--eight months before the book even came out.

we love your book and are really proud to know you.

 

i loved the book! read it yesterday. 

great story, and great illustrations.  congratulations!

Back to the Laptop

It was back to work on the new book this afternoon after a ten-mile run with a friend and before a long winter's nap. I'm still struggling with what the thesis for this book will be. I think the story may be leading me toward humility (as the theme of the story, not for me personally--however, that would be good, too). Another issue is whether the story will take same "shape" as Mumsi Meets a Lion: as in, exposition followed by big pause (or "big paws"--sorry, couldn't resist) and then some foreshadowing of the major problem, followed by incident, incident, incident--all interspersed with mantra restatements, and so on. So far, the story just feels different. And it's slow going. Right now I'm just putting blanks or italicizing where I need to (e.g., a person's name or what the Samburu use for a certain task or the words I think I'll want in Swahili--all things I'll have to research). Oh, well, back at it for another hour or so . . .

Fan Mail

This made my day!

Dear Miss Kim,

Thank you for writing this nice book.  Barb Sicko gave it to me for Christmas, and I like it a lot.  It is a special book.  Thank you for signing it for me.

God bless you,

Joe Daniels
4 years old
Tadley, England

Latest Idea

So I say to myself this morning, "Hey, what about 2009 VBS themes?" After a little investigation (very little, more to come), I find that several publishing houses have planned African themed VBS lines for this coming summer. Perfect for Mumsi Meets a Lion! I'm looking into writing some of them and asking about the possibility of their using Mumsi as a resource for reading to the children before class begins or as children are leaving or during snack/transition times. I would love for my publisher to take this on, but I sorta doubt that will happen. They are on to the next thing at this point. It will take a little thought to come up with a good angle and lots of further research to locate the best possible vendors to fit my book. Could work!?

Wiki World

A good friend just notified me that he'd put Mumsi Meets a Lion up on Wikipedia. So far the entry is just a stub with more content to be added (or not) later. The site wouldn't allow him to upload a picture yet--I suppose they need to vet the content first. I may need to look into adding  some factoids about Kenya, the Swahili in the book, the back story (see previous blog entry), and so on.

Here's the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumsi_Meets_a_Lion

No work on any writing projects. Hey, I'm on vacation! Back to work soon . . .

Happy New Year!

It's a new year, and I've taken the opportunity to set a few goals for myself. Several of them involve growth as a writer. One is to attempt to schedule time for writing each week like I do with running or cleaning. Another is to submit a new story this year--either another Mumsi or my October Bell book. I'll also try to journal as a part of my Bible study--putting devotional thoughts on paper.

May 2009 be profitable spiritually and personally!