Month: March 2008

It’s been a grim week at Chez Stump for a variety of reasons. At least the snow is melting into dirty masses, which at night, can become all sorts of gremlins if you let them.

I needed to do something for myself today. After today’s weigh in, I discovered that that can’t be eating anymore (oh dear! Like I said, grim…), so I decided to get started on next week’s submissions.

Well, just the one.

When I was investigating agents to send to back in November, the Prospect Agency captured my attention. I love the look and feel of their website. It’s a gorgeous aesthetic. For me, it’s like being back at Iowa State, gazing misty-eyed at Carrie Chapman Catt Hall. The English offices used to be there, you see, and I spent a lot of time in its environs happily, getting educated about great books.

I loved my time at Iowa State. I had the best friends of my life there, including the man I married. I spent time being creative, getting a great liberal arts education (even though it was a state school, yes.) Sometimes I miss that time of my life keenly.

I get the same feel from the Prospect Agency. They seem a friendly bunch, and they seem to love books. One of them graduated from Carleton, as many of my good Minnesota friends have. Another is a Grinnell graduate, a stone’s throw from my home, and that’s a great liberal arts college. I like the sound of them, their philosophies, and just the general vibe. They sound like people I’d want to know in my professorial persona. Interesting people who read interesting books. English majors. Yeah. The English major vibe. God bless liberal arts!

Win, lose, or draw for me, I wanted you to see their site, because I appreciated it a lot. I would love to fit there. It would be like being back in college in some ways. Sure, I’m imagining and romanticizing, but I’m an author. If I can’t, who can?

Okay. Enough romance. Writing is a business, right? Not some vine covered brick buildings, where professors dressed in tweed and sweaters can slouch over laptops with a bunch of lattes in reach. But one can certainly dream…

Catherine

Sisyphus is officially looking for brand new rocks.

Agent B was Shana Cohen of Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency. She kept my partial for a while. Here’s what she had to say.

“…your (manuscript) had been set aside after an initial favorable reading. Unfortunately, despite the strength of your work, I’m afraid I didn’t respond strongly enough to be able to offer you representation.”

Again, we’re number 2!! We’re number 2!!! 🙂 I do like the despite the strength of my work line.

***

BUT in super positive news, Drollerie Press updated their schedule.

Sister Night/Sister Moon, Catherine Schaff-Stump
E-book review copies July 5th
E-Book release August 5th

After Wiscon planning, I’ll start figuring out who to send review copies to in July, and so forth. Anybody who has any ideas of good reviewers, feel free. Drollerie has a resource list that helps us out, but I’ll take any good suggestions.

By the way, it’s a steamy tale of a man, three muses, and betrayal. Yup, very YA. 🙂 So, if you’re a romance or fantasy reader, it might be good for you.

And if you want a copy, and are willing to say things about it somewhere…

Right. Duty calls. I have 14 portfolios with an earnest need to be checked, grades to configure, and then I have to start on the Portus YA Author Reading Series.

I haven’t talked about this yet? I’m such a tease, I know. This will get its own entry VERY soon.

Catherine

I set the story Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler, the first of the MYTHtery Kids books in Chicago. As I’m sitting here, waiting for the rest of my students to show with their portfolios, I started doing a little research.

I’ve hit the jackpot. I just wanted a gym in Chicago where Uncle Leo could train, but instead I found

THE WINDY CITY PRO WRESTLING TRAINING CENTERS

Sweet. That smacks of research field trip.

Received today’s (very polite) rejection from Michael Bourret.

And that’s about it.

Catherine

This week’s queries:

Michael Bourret of Dystel and Goderich
Alyssa Eisner Henkin of Trident Media Group
Uwe Stender of TriadaUS
Scott Miller of Trident Media Group
Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency

And three returns:

Merrilee Heifetz of Writer’s House
Kat Tienstra of KT Public Relations and Literary Services
Uwe Stender of TriadaUS (my, he’s friendly and fast!)

That’s the writing gig for Monday night!

Catherine

Tina Dubois Wexler of International Creative Management and Kate Schafer of Janklow and Nesbit rejections over the weekend.

Funny. All I can remember is a blur of blue and gray material. Bryon and I sewed A LOT.

As soon as I get to it, this week’s queries.

Catherine

I wonder if you wonder why I’m busy posting about all the queries and rejections that I get in my journal. During a rejection streak like this one, it may seem like I am a glutton for punishment.

I’ve never made any bones about the idea that this journal is to keep me submitting and keep me honest. Actually, during the streaks of rejection, when you do want to quit, it is very helpful. Besides, I am truly one of those corny writers who sees every step of this journey, rejections included, as forward movement.

If I were a writer who actually had a large fan base, I would probably switch this over to a journal where I would spend my time trying to be witty and clever. Right now that would take away from my actual writing time Except, you know, for the wit that might creep in naturally, unschooled and unnoticed, and consequently unedited.

This journal is a log. And it’s a resolution. Oh, it is one more thing. It is also a picture for other writers. I want to document the length and breadth of this journey. I hope some day, especially after I get my movie deal due to Hulk Hercules and can snag an agent with a film deal, some day that other aspiring writers will say, “Oh, it took Catherine XXX (days, months, years, put in your own time span. Please don’t say epochs…). I too can do this!”

Right now I’m in a rejection streak. And I’m not doing much more than sending things out, because I have to take care of some other facets of my life, especially some academic writing. But I am keeping my promise and commitment to myself.

To clarify then: NOT a body count, but rather a journey. NOT masochism, but forward movement. NOT discouragement, but encouragement.

You too can do this! You too can get rejected! And you too will eventually be accepted more and more.

Back to life as I know it.

Catherine

Rejected very politely by Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger. I decided to immediately send a request to another agent at that agency who interests me, Sara Crowe. Well, it’s a way to procrastinate from my daily duties just a little more. 😉

Missing the writing a lot. I don’t think that paper I’m going to do comparing English and Japanese English as a Second Language techniques is going to take the edge off either, but duty calls.

The most interesting thing I’ve done today is look into buying a pair of red contacts.

Catherine

ETA: Crowe turned around a same day rejection.

So, there I was in the Iowa City library, waiting to have dinner with my friend who had flown in from Tokyo to chat with his professors about his thesis. It was going to be the first time I had seen Tetsuya in five years, and I was excited about it. However, because of one of his meetings, we wouldn’t be getting together until 6:30 pm.

A quick trip into the House of Aromas and one bubble tea later, it was 4:30. Bryon and I went into the library to kill some time, because it needed killing. I’d already checked stray essays while drinking bubble tea, and I planned to scoop (more) snow later, so I wanted to do something that wasn’t too taxing for a while.

Bryon found a Peter David Battlestar Galactica novel that he had some definite opinions about. I started cruising the library. One of the things I do now is I look at the shelves for the books of people I know.

Continue reading “The Library”

Sometimes something odd shows up in your inbox. One of my coworkers sent me information about submissions being accepted for a chapbook of poetry for the local organization Friends of the Animal Center Foundation.

After some trimming, I succeeded in getting The Fable of Yellow Cat, a piece I wrote for my husband in 2006, off to them. I thought doing something creative might help me ease the winter doldrums, and I was right.

The Fable of Yellow Cat is about the loss of our beloved Toby. It was the only piece about an animal I had. Bryon won’t mind if I share Toby with the world. Toby certainly wouldn’t mind.

I miss Toby. He was such a good boy. Every time I read the piece about him, I cry. And I guess I’m okay with the world knowing that.

Catherine