August 1, 2008, Milwaukie, OR -- It’s been a very busy three weeks since I last posted to this blog. During this time I’ve managed to survive what would have been John and my 38th anniversary. July 4th would have been his 60th birthday. July is a month laden with what a widow friend called “land mines.” Aside from October, July is my toughest month.
Thankfully, I’ve had my hands full of house and other projects so haven’t had time to brood about the down side of July.
Since last I wrote I have hit a few more garage sales and gotten some tools -- a drill/screwdriver -- a power saw, a desk and chair for the office, some chairs for the dining room, a bookcase (what a bargain -- a six-foot-tall, four-foot-wide oak -- not fake oak; real oak -- bookcase for $10), some resin chairs and small tables for my patio. I also splurged and bought a scrolling sable saw with a laser-trac to work on one of my projects.
Said project is the floor in my family room. It will continue into the kitchen but it might take awhile. My son Karl came and helped me get it started. We figured out what to do and started doing it. It is a floating floor system, blocks that snap together. It looks like ceramic tile but is a composite, kind of like formica, I guess. It was tricky at first but now the hardest part is cutting the pieces to fit and making sure they’re going in the right direction to match the tongue with the groove. I laid a couple rows by myself and then my brother came and helped me lay a few more. I think it will be nice when it’s all done.
I also got a security system installed last week. Mostly for Charlie; he doesn't want to be a full-time guard dog; it's just not in his nature.
I have also completed stripping the wallpaper in the kitchen and painted the kitchen and family room before laying the floor. The rooms are a sunny gold and very pale yellow/cream, respectively.
Speaking of painting, I decided I had to get the outside painted. It was just too drab and the paint was peeling in many places. Needed to get that done before the rains start. The hardest part of this was deciding what color. Oh, and writing the check for the work once it was completed yesterday. The guys had a cancellation and so came over within a few days of doing the estimate. The color is a very pale blue with darker blue trim. The trim almost looks like periwinkle blue; a little purpler than I had expected. But it looks good. Much more cheerful than before.
In order to give the guys room to pressure wash and paint, and to protect the Mo from paint drift, I parked it out on the street Wednesday. This had the added advantage of allowing me to open the bedroom slide and get the things in the closet I hadn’t been able to get at before. I am hoping I can get the rugs cleaned, the Mo washed, and the mattress back out into the Mo bedroom (which I slept on here in the house until I got my new bed) before I park it back in that tiny area next to my garage. That should be done some time next week, though, because I’m heading up to Yakima next weekend for a family reunion and then down to Medford/Ashland to visit my sister Shirley the following week for a few days. I can’t leave the Mo parked out on the street that long.
So after all that work -- and spending all that money (I feel like it’s leaking out of my pores!) -- I am taking the weekend off. Months ago I signed up to attend a writer’s conference here in Portland -- one of the best in the country, they tell me. I signed up for one-on-one consults with agents and since I didn’t know what to expect, I spent much of this past week working on my book and a two-page summary/query. Turns out that this was just a verbal pitch; they didn’t really want things in writing.
I attended the first workshop on how to do a query and pitch and was sitting in the lobby with my computer doing some research to include in my pitch. I wanted demographics of how many single women (and couples) will be retiring in the next few years. That would provide information on what I considered prospective audiences for my book, although I hope its appeal is broader than that audience.
As I went to sit down at a table when space opened up I noticed the woman sitting on the bench next to me was the agent who had presented that first workshop. I thanked her, told her I loved the humor in her talk, and we proceeded to talk about my book proposal. She gave me her card and asked me to send her a query, that she would be interested in looking at it. Nice way to start.
My first official one-on-one was with an agent whose Bay-area company represents women writers who write books for women. Right up my alley, I thought when I picked her. She liked my idea, gave me her card and asked me to send her a proposal, outlining what she wanted to receive in the proposal. She also told me I had done a great job in my pitch. That gave me confidence to tackle the next two that afternoon.
The second agent was a man from Berkley, California, who works only with non-fiction. He gave me some great advice and pointers and then his contact information and asked me to send him a proposal when the book was ready.
Wow, three out of three so far. That’s pretty phenomenal for a first-time pitcher. Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone will actually take it on, or that they’ll be able to sell it to a publisher if they do. But I’ve hit the bunt, and now just need to get to first base. Then we’ll see what happens.
The third one-on-one was with a woman from the East Coast. She was busy texting when I got there and made me wait a few minutes. She seemed intrigued and interested and asked me lots of questions, but then she said: “I don’t think this is something I’d be interested in. It sounds like something I’d want to read an article about but not a whole book.” Different strokes, I guess.
Of course, I thanked her and left. But I focused on the rejection. Three “send me more” responses and I chose to focus on the one negative. Story of my life.
I’m done with the one-on-ones but will attend a group session tomorrow. This agent did not have availability in her schedule for one-on-ones when I registered. But once I hear what she’s looking for I may be able to send her a query letter when I’m done with the book.
So, who knows, maybe I’ll be able to sell a book and recoup some of the money I spent on the travels. That would be icing on the cake, though. I will get my blogs and journals organized and get the book done asap but be thankful for what gifts I have already received from this travel.
TravelinLady
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