Show ME the Money!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2009 will be divine for each and everyone who believes in the power of their own creativity. We were born to be creative! And the marvelous thing about writing is that you can actually earn money from your inspired endeavors. You should know that I purchased that new car! So, I am praying for WALKING THE DOG to hit in 2009. I am praying for it to sell. If not, of course my job at the Post Office will suffice. But, to obtain an agent and perhaps receive a 3-book contract would be such a boost to my ego. It would validate me. At last I will be able to say, "I am a writer!" And I will have a check stub to prove it! I don't know how much money I can expect to make from my chapter book. Do you? How much do publishers pay? It's an economic melt down everywhere. Let me know. Every little bit helps! Right? And besides that, when we earn money we are able to bless others and share our good. That's what I like best about the green stuff. It allows me to be a blessing to others. So, in 2009 I WANT TO SEE THE MONEY! Yes I do! Keep me in your prayers.

Editing Your Manuscript

Ok, I finished writing my first chapter book for young children. I call it WALKING THE DOG. Its about a little boy who starts a dog walking service that turns disastrous. Well, I let accomplished writer friends read it for constructive editorial comments and remarks. I took their remarks and polished the manuscript. I then let one of Memphis' celebrated novelists and educators read my story. He doesn't write for children. Adult short stories are his specialty. However, I respect him greatly. He is a master of fiction. And guess what? He suggested MORE changes. As far as I am concerned, editing hurts! It is grueling but so necessary. Editing increases your chances of getting published. Most writers realize early on that the editing process is where real writing takes place. Respect the process! As my teacher friends say, "lean into the discomfort!" I equate the editing process with wearing braces on your teeth. Child, it hurts like the dickens wearing those ugly things. But when the process is complete? Beautiful!

I Need a Literary Agent

I woke up this morning thinking about my plight. I need a literary agent to represent my manuscript, WALKING THE DOG. It is a 10,000 word chapter book for ages 7 - 11. If I could have any agent in the world it would be someone who understands my work. Believes in my work and will comb the coasts until they find a publishing house worthy and suited for my creation. Last week I sent my manuscript to the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I wait patiently for their response. Over the years I have shopped my work with Andrea Brown many times and they always answer in a timely manner. They have been kind enough to read my every submission. I pray that they will treat my latest manuscript with the same consideration. I'll keep you posted as things unfold. Meanwhile, share your agent stories with me. And, if you have suggestions or other agents to recommend, please do so. In the meantime, carry on with your creative pursuits like your life depends on it...because it does. Some of you (like me) are waiting for that shining moment when your creative efforts and the coins earned from them will supercede your salary at the Post Office. But until then, carry that mail, lift that bale and denounce your doubt. You are a writer!

Looking for an Illustrator

My book is about Fitzhugh "Big Main" Davis. He is a fat 4th grader from South Memphis. Big Main lives with his grandmother who is a retired cook. They are not poor but a cook's pension does not go a long way. So, he takes it upon himself to earn money with his new dog walking service. He lands one client. That's Brutus, a large and destructive Great Dane. You know the drill! The walking service turns diastrous. Instead of making money, Big Main ends up with a debt that must be paid. Brutus destroys Ms. Beryl Miller's rose bushes. She is old, cranky and walks on a walker. Her favorite TV show is Wheel of Fortune. Ms. Miller wants her money! Ugh! What will Big Main do? As a chapter book (10,000 words) I will still need illustrations. It is not my job as a writer to find an illustrator. However, if I could pick an illustrator of my choice I would pick Robb Armstrong for his comic strip style. I would pick Shadra Strickland if using pencil or pen as a medium. I would pick Kadir Nelson if using acrylics and realistic forms. And if I had the opportunity to discover new talent I would select Morris Howard from Memphis. His major focus is portraits but I believe he is the making of a great book illustrator as well. If you are writing picture books identify ideal illustrators. However, leave it up to the editors. Like you, they want what is best for your book. They will not stir you in the wrong direction. And as the wheel continues to spin, YOU WILL get that Kadir Nelson cover. I'm praying I will! In the mean time, share your illustrator search with me. Or, the horror and hell of your search. I knew this artist who agreed to do a picture book. The publisher paid him. He never finished the book and to the writer's great distress and grief it was 4 years before the book was published and illustrated by a second artist. Share your stories.

Read This First!

Who am I? My name is A.E. Anderson. I am a children's author who is about to break into print just as soon as I find an agent and publisher. When I was a college student I always dreamed of becoming a writer. Like Eudora Welty I was born in the South. I've got Southern Roots.

Sometimes they are nappy but always Southern. Before my grandparents moved to Memphis they lived along Highway 64 in Eads, TN. The Anderson Family owned farmland in Eads. As a child I loved to ride from South Memphis to the country. Couldn't wait to eat my Aunt B's BBQ goat meat sandwiches. But God deliver me from Aunt Erma's house! Her bathroom was a woodshed in a field and this was the early 80's. You did not ask for my pedigree. I'm just trying to say that having roots in the rural South qualifies me to be a Southern Writer. However, I never thought it was possible until four months ago. I started writing a children's novel called WALKING THE DOG. It is about this fat black kid named Fitzhugh Edmund Davis, Jr. He's a kid for the New Millennium. He's urban, smart and full of self-doubt. I couldn't shake this story. I had to tell it. I finished WALKING THE DOG this November. Now I am in pursuit of an agent and an editor. This blog will track my journey in finding both. It will track the path I take from "Ms. Nobody" to "Published Author". I will tell you about the submission process. The rejection. The editing process. I will tell you about people's reaction and criticism to my story. At the same time I want to hear about your writing and submission process. Let's encourage one another as we master the art of manipulating words and breaking into print. Keep one thing in mind as we share this journey. Good writing rises to the top!