Piñatas and Other Rejection Fun

Well, it looks like I wasn’t so mysterious with the lie in my "Three Truths and a Lie" Mystery Blogger post:

Mystery Blogger gathered all her old-school paper rejections and papier-mâchéed them into a piñata. She filled it with chocolate and took a bat to it when she signed her first book deal.

Just about everybody guessed that one was made up. It must be because it sounded too good to be true. I did just get my first contract (with Sourcebooks) last spring, but the reality is that as long as we’re writing and pursuing publication, the rejections never end. Still, I’m seriously considering that piñata to honor all those years of no. Or, as I suggested to my fellow Operation Awesome bloggers, I could wallpaper my office with my rejections—except that I don’t have an office.

Other options:

• Decoupage them onto a life-size unicorn sculpture in celebration of my debut, Wonder Light: Unicorns of the Mist

• Interpretive dance—Picture me in a black leotard, waving torn paper and doing a dance of despair.

• Set them to music:

To the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat":
Try, try, try again, query someone else . . .
To Beethoven’s Fifth:
Not right for me.
Not at this time.
Your manuscript makes me wish that I had more wine.

Rejections are part of the game, and most of mine were polite. Some were even kind and thoughtful. But as they piled up over the years, I did my share of fantasizing about how to display or destroy them once I finally got a yes. And now I think, why not open up that file and do something with them?

Any ideas for me? What do you do with your rejections?

Truths and A Lie with A Cautionary Tale

For my first post, I thought I'd help you all get to know me better by expanding on the truths and lies from my Mystery Blogger introduction.

Truths first:

• On her very first time volunteering at a regional SCBWI conference, Mystery Blogger introduced Well-Respected Editor without any verbal stumbles. And then as MB exited the stage, she promptly tripped over Well-Respected Editor’s purse and nearly faceplanted. There's more to this story--after my near-pratfall, I tried to recover with a "Ta-da!" Which might have worked, except that apparently no one had noticed me trip. So instead, they were wondering why I was ta-da-ing while Well-Respected Editor was trying to talk. Memorable for all the wrong reasons!

• The most cats that Mystery Blogger has ever had piled on her at one time is seven, distributed equally between her lap, feet, head, face, and shoulders. There were another five in the queue waiting for an opportunity. Or a fight to break out, which also clears the decks. I only have two cats (both reformed ferals and special needs) but I volunteer at a wonderful no-kill, cagefree cat sanctuary called Fat Kitty City.

There are over 100 cats, some adoptable but many permanent residents due to special needs. "Does this tie into writing at all, Angelica?" you may be asking. Yes, because last year I started up an online auction called Pens for Paws to raise money for FKC and it is chock full of critique opportunities for writers. If you're one of those, you might want to bid (starting March 12).

• While recording a video pitch for a PitchFest, Mystery Blogger misspoke “sets a ship afire” with a bad word that rhymes with ship. And then couldn’t stop laughing for the next twenty takes. Now whenever she talks about that book, most of her brain cells are devoted to screaming, “make sure you say ship!” This works approximately none of the time.

• Mystery Blogger once scared an agent on Twitter by trying to make a joke. Agent had tweeted something along the lines of “you don’t ever want to send me a query so bad it ends up on my Special List” and Mystery Blogger responded with “Challenge Accepted!” Agent tweeted back that the Special List was not meant to be aspired to and Mystery Blogger apologized profusely. They shared a laugh and became the best of friends. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I ended up on that list without even querying. So the moral of this cautionary tale is not to assume that agents can spot sarcasm in a 140-character tweet. Unless . . . she was being sarcastic and I've worried for nothing all this time???

On another note, in my "hello" paragraph I failed to mention exactly what kind of writing I do. I started out freelancing, with articles published on gardening, family travel, local history, natural history, pets, green living, and recipes for special diets. These days, I mostly write poetry, picture books, short stories, and young adult novels. So you can expect to see my future posts populated with any of the above subjects.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all back here in two weeks for my next post!

Mystery Blogger Contest #5-8: Critique Winners!

Join us in welcoming the last four new Operation Awesome bloggers!


Yesterday the final four of our 8 new bloggers were introduced mysteriously. They gave us three truths and a lie, and you took your best guesses on which fun facts were LIES. 

Now meet our Mystery Bloggers, discover who won each critique prize, and find out who lied about what!

The first four Mystery Bloggers were revealed on January 29th:

Mystery Blogger #1: Angelica R. Jackson

Mystery Blogger #2: Becky Mahoney

Mystery Blogger #3: Max Gladstone

Mystery Blogger #4: Abby Annis


Here are the final four: 

Mystery Blogger #5: 

KELLIE DuBAY GILLIS

Writing reminds me of riding my favorite purple tandem bike. You can do it alone, but it’s more fun with someone along for the ride. That’s why sharing the ups and downs of my writing journey with on-line communities like Operation Awesome have been so important. My first love is the picture book and, because I’ll forever be 11, middle grade novels are near and dear to my heart. I’m pedaling along in my ride to becoming a better writer in each genre. When I’m not blogging here, you can catch me over at Verla Kay’s Blueboards or on Twitter as part of the weekly #mglitchat hostess team. My lucky number is 13 and I feel very lucky to start 2013 as a part of team Operation Awesome.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Website
Kellie will be blogging at Operation Awesome on every other MONDAY.

Here are Kellie's three truths and a lie:

• Author Verna Aardema blurbed my first award-winning book.

• To date, three people have had to save my life by performing the Heimlich Manuever. Each incident involved me talking too much at the table and an oversized piece of steak.

• I single-handedly delivered a baby in less than 50 minutes in a bathroom.

• I've been in a commercial and a movie, seen only from behind a ketchup bottle in each one.

THE WINNER of Kellie's prize of 2 PB manuscript critiques {700 words or less} OR 5 pages of a middle grade novel is Haley!


Mystery Blogger #6: 

WESLEY CHU

Hello, I write, and on the side I work for the Death Star. I didn't originally want to be an author, nor a Death Star Laser Technician. If it was up to me, I'd be a NFL punter, a heir to a family fortune, or maybe just professionally beautiful.

But I'm a writer, or at least I try to be. I can't help but write for some strange reason (anyone else feel that way?). I'm currently represented by Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh with two books coming out this year: my debut, The Lives of Tao (April 30th 2013, Angry Robot Books) and its sequel (Title TBD, Late 2013 - I will totally have a contest for the title)

So, um...let's do it. I'll bring the scotch.

You can find me here:
Publisher press release
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Website

THE LIVES OF TAO
Wes will be blogging at Operation Awesome on every other TUESDAY.

Here are Wesley's three truths and a lie:

• I almost cut Rachel Weisz with a tappanyaki knife as she was being stood up for a date.

• I once hunted boar with the natives of Kauai, with nothing more than a knife and a pack of hounds.

• I broke through the 18th mile wall of a marathon without ever running a mile.

• Michael Jordan and I used to sell underwear together.

THE WINNER of Wesley's first 5 pages critique is Chelsey!

Mystery Blogger #7:

TONI KERR

Hello Operation Awesome Readers!

First, I'd like to thank the writers at OA for all the time and commitment they've put into making this place such an incredible resource for writers. I've learned many great tips for editing, revising, and writing tighter, and I've been inspired by personal experiences that cheer me up, or remind me to keep going. We all know this isn't an easy field to thrive in, but it's a heck of a lot more enjoyable (and downright hilarious at times) with a crew like this! So, while I don't consider myself an expert, I'm happy to poke fun at myself and share the things that took me years to figure out.
Facebook
Blog
Toni will be blogging at Operation Awesome on every other TUESDAY.

Here are Toni's three truths and a lie:

• I have eight years of Martial Arts training, and secretly look forward to the day my skills can be used for more than just writing. 

• I did the unthinkable by sending a nude picture in reply to an editor's form rejection.

• I love cooking, especially when the wonders of spice and flare are appreciated by my characters. 

• I built a writer's cave disguised as a treehouse, and am patiently waiting for the kids to lose interest so I can reclaim it as my own.

THE WINNER of Toni's first chapter critique is nobody! This is unprecedented, but nobody guessed that Toni really doesn't like to cook. She does like to eat (and the nude picture was not of herself, thank goodness).



Mystery Blogger #8: 

ROBYN RUSSELL writes as R.R. Russell

I’m a mom, a judo coach, and a writer for kids and teens. After thirteen years battling with the publishing industry, I think I’ve finally found a crack in its armor. My middle grade debut, Wonder Light: Unicorns of the Mist, will be out May 1 from Sourcebooks. I also write a YA crossover series, the Venture Books, as R.H. Russell.
I look forward to sharing the perks and perils of debut-ishness, as well as musings about writing and books, with the most awesome readers and bloggers here at Operation Awesome!
Website/blog
Facebook
Twitter
Robyn will be blogging at Operation Awesome on every other WEDNESDAY.

Here are Robyn's three truths and a lie:

• When Mystery blogger’s first novel was 80% finished, her hard drive, along with her zip drive backup, were deleted by a helpful twelve-year-old. There were many bitter tears, but she pieced it back together from old pages she’d given her preschoolers to scribble on.

• Mystery blogger wrote a middle grade novel while driving with a van full of judo kids into the mountains of Idaho for a tournament. One of them asked her when she was going to write “a real book.” Surprisingly, he is still alive.

• Mystery Blogger’s favorite rejection is her query letter with “No!” written on the top in red ink.

• Mystery Blogger gathered all her old-school paper rejections and papier-mâchéed them into a piñata. She filled it with chocolate and took a bat to it when she signed her first book deal.

THE WINNER of Robyn's first 5 pages critique is letmebeyoursong!

Congrats to the winners and the right-guessers! Thank you to all of you who played along with us. Thank you to our readers for making the online writing community the coziest place on the interweb. 

We're very excited going forward with fourteen Operation Awesome bloggers, all at different stages of publishing, including authors in every genre, from picture books to adult fiction. We know our readers will enjoy the new content and fresh voices these eight fabulous people bring to OA. And you'll still get posts from the familiar voices of Angela Townsend, Kell Andrews, Kristal Shaff, Lindsay Scott, Michelle McLean, and Katrina Lantz.

2013 will be phenomenal. I can't wait. And I hope you'll let us be part of your journey, too. Come share your successes and struggles, and especially book news. We all love book news!


If you won a critique, please send the material you'd like critiqued to operationawesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with subject line: MYSTERY BLOGGER WINNER

Mystery Blogger Contest #5-8: Guess the Lie and Win

Source

In case you missed our BIG news at Operation Awesome, we are welcoming eight new bloggers to the owlery. 

We could just announce their names, but what fun would that be? 

So instead, we're holding a Mystery Blogger contest, and you have 4 more chances to win a critique by one of the newbies. The first four Mystery Bloggers were revealed yesterday:

Mystery Blogger #1: Angelica R. Jackson

Mystery Blogger #2: Becky Mahoney

Mystery Blogger #3: Max Gladstone

Mystery Blogger #4: Abby Annis


Today we'll meet four more Mystery Bloggers! They've each given us three truths and a lie about themselves in random order. To win a Mystery Blogger's critique, guess which fun fact is really the lie. Out of those who guess correctly, a random name will be drawn for the prize critique and announced tomorrow -- along with secret identities and the real truth about their fun facts.

Four people are offering critiques today if you guess their lies correctly.

*rubs hands together*

Here are the final four: 


Mystery Blogger #5: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a choice of 2 PB manuscript critiques {700 words or less} OR 5 pages critique of a middle grade novel)

• Author Verna Aardema blurbed my first award-winning book.

• To date, three people have had to save my life by performing the Heimlich Maneuver. Each incident involved me talking too much at the table and an oversized piece of steak.

• I single-handedly delivered a baby in less than 50 minutes in a bathroom.

• I've been in a commercial and a movie, seen only from behind a ketchup bottle in each one.

Mystery Blogger #6: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a first 5 pages critique)

• I almost cut Rachel Weisz with a tappanyaki knife as she was being stood up for a date.

• I once hunted boar with the natives of Kauai, with nothing more than a knife and a pack of hounds.

• I broke through the 18th mile wall of a marathon without ever running a mile.

• Michael Jordan and I used to sell underwear together.

Mystery Blogger #7: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a first chapter critique)

• I have eight years of Martial Arts training, and secretly look forward to the day my skills can be used for more than just writing. 

• I did the unthinkable by sending a nude picture in reply to an editor's form rejection.

• I love cooking, especially when the wonders of spice and flare are appreciated by my characters. 

• I built a writer's cave disguised as a treehouse, and am patiently waiting for the kids to lose interest so I can reclaim it as my own.

Mystery Blogger #8: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a first 5 pages critique)

• When Mystery blogger’s first novel was 80% finished, her hard drive, along with her zip drive backup, were deleted by a helpful twelve-year-old. There were many bitter tears, but she pieced it back together from old pages she’d given her preschoolers to scribble on.

• Mystery blogger wrote a middle grade novel while driving with a van full of judo kids into the mountains of Idaho for a tournament. One of them asked her when she was going to write “a real book.” Surprisingly, he is still alive.

• Mystery Blogger’s favorite rejection is her query letter with “No!” written on the top in red ink.

• Mystery Blogger gathered all her old-school paper rejections and papier-mâchéed them into a piñata. She filled it with chocolate and took a bat to it when she signed her first book deal.

Which one is the lie?
Guess only one lie for each Mystery Blogger, and list your guesses in a comment below.

Good luck!

(Remember, winners will be announced tomorrow along with the big reveal of who these people are and what lies they told you.) *cue ominous, mysterious music*

Mystery Blogger Contest #1-4: Critique Winners!

Yesterday we announced that 8 new bloggers were joining Operation Awesome! The first four were introduced mysteriously. They gave us three truths and a lie, and you took your best guesses on which fun facts were LIES. 

Now meet our Mystery Bloggers, discover who won each critique prize, and find out who lied about what!


Mystery Blogger #1: 

ANGELICA R. JACKSON

Hi, I'm so excited to join the illustrious Operation Awesome group and lend some credibility to my writing career! I'm looking forward to seeing the "behind-the-scenes" drama of the contests, as well as continuing to learn from the collective wisdom of my fellow bloggers and the commenters.
Where you can find me on the web:
My Facebook
My blog
My Twitter
My photo website (oh yeah, I'm also a photographer/artist)
Angelica will be blogging at Operation Awesome every other MONDAY.

Truths and a lie about Angelica:

• On her very first time volunteering at a regional SCBWI conference, Mystery Blogger introduced Well-Respected Editor without any verbal stumbles. And then as MB exited the stage, she promptly tripped over Well-Respected Editor’s purse and nearly faceplanted.

• The most cats that Mystery Blogger has ever had piled on her at one time is seven, distributed equally between her lap, feet, head, face, and shoulders. There were another five in the queue waiting for an opportunity. Or a fight to break out, which also clears the decks.

• Mystery Blogger once scared an agent on Twitter by trying to make a joke. Agent had tweeted something along the lines of “you don’t ever want to send me a query so bad it ends up on my Special List” and Mystery Blogger responded with “Challenge Accepted!” Agent tweeted back that the Special List was not meant to be aspired to and Mystery Blogger apologized profusely. They shared a laugh and became the best of friends.

• While recording a video pitch for a PitchFest, Mystery Blogger misspoke “sets a ship afire” with a bad word that rhymes with ship. And then couldn’t stop laughing for the next twenty takes. Now whenever she talks about that book, most of her brain cells are devoted to screaming, “make sure you say ship!”

THE WINNER of Angelica's query critique is Steph Scott!




Mystery Blogger #2: 

BECKY MAHONEY

I am a longtime Operation Awesome fangirl, and I am super excited to join the big leagues and become part of this amazing blog. I am an unassuming admin by day and a young adult writer by night, represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger Inc. My preferred genre trifecta is fantasy, mystery, and horror. I am a lover of good food, awesome fashion, and any and all things creepy. You can find me here:
Blog: Rebecca Mahoney - Writer
Twitter
Becky will be blogging at Operation Awesome every other FRIDAY.

Truths and a lie about Becky:

• Mystery Blogger's favorite non-writing hobbies are handicrafts, especially origami. Mystery Blogger once signed up to help out at an origami instructional workshop, and ended up teaching the class entirely by accident.

• Mystery Blogger has a serious scarf problem. She was pretty sure she had one in every possible color, until she obtained three more over the holidays. Now she has every color. Maybe.

• Despite (or due to) the many gallons of coffee Mystery Blogger serves her bosses during her day job, Mystery Blogger is forever loyal to tea. No writing session is complete without a mug of red milk tea by her side.

• This Mystery Blogger began the first book she ever queried during a 13-hour car ride across Japan with her host parents and their two very restless young children. Mystery Blogger would like to thank that manuscript for saving her life that night.

THE WINNER of Becky's first 5 pages critique is Manju Howard!



Mystery Blogger #3: 

MAX GLADSTONE

I met my agent at an Operation Awesome contest, sold my debut novel soon after, and feel that Operation Awesome does exactly what it says on the tin. In various lives I've been an EFL teacher, researcher, tour guide, translator, smart grid analyst / cube operator, and an editor. These days, when I'm not making up stories about necromancers, I'm hunting my manuscripts for errant semicolons. I just deleted one from this paragraph!

My blog: Max Gladstone - Myths for Hire
My twitter: @maxgladstone
THREE PARTS DEAD
Max will be blogging at Operation Awesome every other SUNDAY.

Truths and a lie about Max:

• Mystery Blogger has been an illegal alien in the People's Republic of China.

• Mystery Blogger has shaken the hand of the Dalai Lama.

• Mystery Blogger has shaken the hand of a Vice President.

• Mystery Blogger has shaken the hand of Stephen King.

THE WINNER of Max's 5 page critique is Eliza Tilton!



Mystery Blogger #4: 

ABBY ANNIS

I am mom to three brilliant and talented kids. No bias there. ;) I write YA sci-fi and speculative fiction. My day job is in numbers (yes, I’m one of those weirdos who enjoys math), but I love words and writing. Taking beautiful writing and making visual art is one of my favorite things to do. Photoshop is a great procrastination tool. :) And I have a tendency to overuse smilies and the word awesome.

I’ve been a longtime lurker on the blog, and I’ve learned so much from the fabulous folks here. I’m excited to be a part of the awesomeness.

Blog
Twitter

Abby will be blogging at Operation Awesome every other SATURDAY.

• My AP English teacher from my junior year in high school made me HATE writing. And though I’ve journaled my whole life, I didn’t discover that I actually enjoy writing fiction until four years ago.

• I love anything peanut butter—PB&J, cookies, smothered in chocolate, plain—but I especially love to put it on waffles with maple syrup. Yum!

• The first piece of writing I got published was a poem I wrote in tenth grade titled “Down Yonder”. It was written as a joke and it was so very, very awful, but my English teacher loved it and put it in the annual school anthology.

• I really enjoy taking things apart to see how they work. So much so, that I get a little thrill of excitement when something breaks because that means I don’t have to feel bad about dissecting it.

THE WINNER of Abby's first 5 pages critique is Tiffany!

If you won a critique, please send the material you'd like critiqued to operationawesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with subject line: MYSTERY BLOGGER WINNER

If you didn't win, come back tomorrow to meet our other Mystery Bloggers. There will be four more winners on the 31st, when our last four Mystery Bloggers' true identities are revealed!

Mystery Blogger Contest #1-4: Guess the Lie and Win

Source

BIG news at Operation Awesome as we welcome eight new bloggers to the owlery. We could just announce their names, but what fun would that be? 

So instead, we're holding a Mystery Blogger contest, and you will have 8 chances to win a critique by one of the newbies. The first four are posted below. The last four will be posted January 30th, 2013. 

They've each given us three truths and a lie about themselves in random order. To win a Mystery Blogger's critique, guess which fun fact is really the lie. Out of those who guess correctly, a random name will be drawn for the prize critique and announced tomorrow -- along with secret identities and the real truth about their fun facts.

Four people are offering critiques today if you guess their lies correctly.

*rubs hands together*

Here are the first four: 

Mystery Blogger #1: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a query critique)

• On her very first time volunteering at a regional SCBWI conference, Mystery Blogger introduced Well-Respected Editor without any verbal stumbles. And then as MB exited the stage, she promptly tripped over Well-Respected Editor’s purse and nearly faceplanted.

• The most cats that Mystery Blogger has ever had piled on her at one time is seven, distributed equally between her lap, feet, head, face, and shoulders. There were another five in the queue waiting for an opportunity. Or a fight to break out, which also clears the decks.

• Mystery Blogger once scared an agent on Twitter by trying to make a joke. Agent had tweeted something along the lines of “you don’t ever want to send me a query so bad it ends up on my Special List” and Mystery Blogger responded with “Challenge Accepted!” Agent tweeted back that the Special List was not meant to be aspired to and Mystery Blogger apologized profusely. They shared a laugh and became the best of friends.

• While recording a video pitch for a PitchFest, Mystery Blogger misspoke “sets a ship afire” with a bad word that rhymes with ship. And then couldn’t stop laughing for the next twenty takes. Now whenever she talks about that book, most of her brain cells are devoted to screaming, “make sure you say ship!”

Mystery Blogger #2: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a first 5 pages critique)

• Mystery Blogger's favorite non-writing hobbies are handicrafts, especially origami. Mystery Blogger once signed up to help out at an origami instructional workshop, and ended up teaching the class entirely by accident.

• Mystery Blogger has a serious scarf problem. She was pretty sure she had one in every possible color, until she obtained three more over the holidays. Now she has every color. Maybe.

• Despite (or due to) the many gallons of coffee Mystery Blogger serves her bosses during her day job, Mystery Blogger is forever loyal to tea. No writing session is complete without a mug of red milk tea by her side.

• This Mystery Blogger began the first book she ever queried during a 13-hour car ride across Japan with her host parents and their two very restless young children. Mystery Blogger would like to thank that manuscript for saving her life that night.

Mystery Blogger #3: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a 5 page critique)

• Mystery Blogger has been an illegal alien in the People's Republic of China.

• Mystery Blogger has shaken the hand of the Dalai Lama.

• Mystery Blogger has shaken the hand of a Vice President.

• Mystery Blogger has shaken the hand of Stephen King.

Mystery Blogger #4: (prize for guessing right: random entry for a first 5 pages critique)

• My AP English teacher from my junior year in high school made me HATE writing. And though I’ve journaled my whole life, I didn’t discover that I actually enjoy writing fiction until four years ago.

• I love anything peanut butter—PB&J, cookies, smothered in chocolate, plain—but I especially love to put it on waffles with maple syrup. Yum!

• The first piece of writing I got published was a poem I wrote in tenth grade titled “Down Yonder”. It was written as a joke and it was so very, very awful, but my English teacher loved it and put it in the annual school anthology.

• I really enjoy taking things apart to see how they work. So much so, that I get a little thrill of excitement when something breaks because that means I don’t have to feel bad about dissecting it.

Which one is the lie?
Guess only one lie for each Mystery Blogger, and list your guesses in a comment below.

Good luck!

(Remember, winners will be announced tomorrow along with the big reveal of who these people are and what lies they told you.) *cue ominous, mysterious music*