Hello, my Faithful Following Few! Today, the Washington Metropolitan region experienced its biggest earthquake ever AND I received my first manuscript rejection. Symbolic and overly dramatic--yes! And much like the earthquake, my first rejection was big, it registered high, and I survived it. Now it's time to assess the damage and where necessary, rebuild.

On the bright side of this weirdly eerie day is the fact that I just added another anecdotal morsel to the story of "how I first got published."  Won't I have great fun regaling audiences of children and their families about how the earth shook when Beach Lane Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint, graciously declined my cute little story of an adorable little black girl on the first day of school with outrageously uncooperative hair and unattractive shoes. I see that day as clearly as I felt the earth shift beneath my feet today, so I know it's possible.

But until that glorious day comes to pass,  I am just like the structural engineers who are no doubt assessing buildings all along the East Coast: assessing my manuscript, my query, and my choice of publishers. Where I need changes, they'll be made. Where I need advice, I will seek it. And where there was a "no," I will continue to seek out the "yes." Sure, my plans for forward movement look good on paper. But I know the proof is in the execution.

Lucky for me, Beach Lane Books was merciful with my virginal submission and said no quickly, giving me a chance to shop my manuscript in greener publishing pastures. They could have taken weeks and kept me dangling in the wind. They didn't, and I'm grateful. So tonight, I am scouring my Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market bible for my next earthquaking response.

So, what of the rejection correspondence you wonder? For now I am printing and framing my adorable little rejection email as a reminder of my courage to believe I have something to say that children want to hear. And I am clinging to the page I snatched from my President's book that gave me the audacity to capture and live my dream.  

If you're curious about my query and their response, check it out below. And I hope you'll join me in celebrating the fact that an editor at a highly regarded publishing house read my manuscript! I couldn't be more proud...well, maybe a little more ;-).

Always,
Athena

MY QUERY

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