So Excited!

I've been on cloud nine all week, as I signed a contract to write an article for Cat Fancy magazine!! This will be the first time I will have an article in a print magazine, and I'm beyond thrilled about it.

I couldn't believe it when I got the e-mail saying my query had been accepted, as I sent the query way back in January, and had completely written it off after all this time without a response. I was totally shocked when I saw a reply in my e-mail. For a few minutes I just stared at it without opening it as I was sure it was going to be another "thanks, but no thanks" response and, as I was having a good day, I didn't want to ruin my mood with another rejection.

I finally opened the e-mail, and needless to say it did not ruin my good mood. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that it was a personal reply from the managing editor, and she was interested in my article! I started doing a happy dance around my place, and I haven't really stopped dancing yet. (If you'd ever seen me dance, you would know what a scary spectacle this is. :D )

Anyway, I got the contract and it's all official, I'm going to write an article for the November, 2011 issue. I'm so excited I'm just bouncing off the walls, and I know when November comes I will buy up every issue of Cat Fancy that I can find. The people at my local Barnes & Noble will probably think I am more than a little crazy. Or that I just REALLY like reading about cats. :D

As I had shared in my Anniversary Giveaway post, June was already going to be a big month for me as it is my sixth month anniversary of blogging, and my first paid article in an online publication is scheduled to be published in June. Now, June just got even better! I still have to pinch myself to believe this is all true and my query really was accepted.

This writing journey has been such a thrill for me, and these past six months have been so wonderful, I honestly can't remember the last time I felt this good. I'm excited to see what comes next, and I am so grateful to have the chance to share this experience with my blogging pals!

So much for NaBloPoMo

I only made it a week with my daily posting for NaBloPoMo. I blame the NFL playoffs, as I was too distracted on Sunday to write. (Go Pack!) Unfortunately, I don't even have an excuse for Monday.

Monday wasn't an unproductive day though, as I sent in my first official query letter to a magazine! Even though it was only a 1 page letter, I spent hours obsessing over it. Now I know I will have a long wait before I get any kind of response, but just sending in the letter was a huge milestone for me. It's a good feeling to have one under my belt, and I am anxious to keep going and send in more.

Having never written a query before, I wanted to look at some examples of successful queries before I wrote my own. I took a writing class through ed2go.com and was fortunate to have a wonderful instructor named Eva Shaw. Eva shared several query letter examples that had been successful for her, and I tried my best to model my own letter after these examples.

If you're looking for a free resource on queries, I came upon this old blog by best-selling author Allison Winn Scotch. (I say old because she has since moved to a new address.) I thought she provided some great examples of queries here, and have bookmarked this page to refer to these examples again: Ask Allison

I also made sure to follow Allison's current blog at http://www.allisonwinn.com/ask-allison/ as it looks like an amazing resource to me.

In spite of my failure to write a post yesterday, I did look at the NaBloPoMo prompts, and saw this for January 10th:

Find a quote that fits your intention for today and tell us both of them.

That was an interesting prompt for me, as I had just come upon a quote earlier in the day that I liked so much, I immediately thought of adding it to my favorite quotes here. The quote was:

It's never too late - in fiction or in life - to revise. ~ Nancy Thayer

That quote fits my intention not only for yesterday, but also for every day, as that is exactly what I'm trying to do - revise my life.

I'm hoping this quote is true, and that it is in fact not too late.

And I think I will try NaBloPoMo again in February, as I'm hoping I will have a better shot at completion with a short month!