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Happy Fourth of July

Well, boom boom boom, it's official! The 4th of July has begun, and, if you stick your head outside for a little you can hear the pops and crackles from every direction (even though, I might add, they are illegal in town)!

I am supporting the holiday by wearing festive colors and preparing for a night of blowing stuff up! I spent the morning making creamed corn (grandmother's recipe, and yes I am well aware that the name sounds wrong) and cupcakes! The cupcakes were intended to be blue with yellow stars like the American Flag, but they kind of came out looking like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss Movie! Which was cool to me, but I wonder how my friends will react in the area of being brave enough to try them! BUT, I know they taste good...*ahem** because I ate like, 4 of them already!

Currently I am sitting at a Subway using their free Wi-Fi to update blogs, check class grades and play on Facebook! Fun stuff! Seeing as I don't have work today, I am officially declaring it a stress free day! No researching for publishers, or homework for class... just fun and explosives!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their holiday and stays safe! Happy 4th of July!

-Kat

Little things...

I am at work so I can't write much! But things are moving right along in the way of research on publishers! Last night I went to Wal-Mart with a friend to get milk and vanilla to make cinnamon rolls and ended up buying the file box and files to start sorting all the information I have already printed off (there is quite a bit)! My apartment is a bit of a disaster because of all this! I plan to clean and sort everything out tonight.

Other than that, this is a great day. It's a work day, but... there are little things that are making it wonderful. Some more than others, but... all in all, they make me smile. But I won't get into all that on my writing blog, as much as I want too! *smiling*

Back to work!
-Kat

Monday

It is absolutely beautiful out today! One of those days where it is hard to be working inside! Although during my dinner break I did take a nice long walk and it was great. Then, I found a table in the shade and continued working on the list of possible publishers. I think I could have worked for hours, but I only had 30 minutes! Which was better than nothing, and I did get quite a bit done.

I also had the chance to review some of the publishing websites for the first time today and that, my friends, was a blast. It is amazing to see how many types are out there and have the chance to review their lists of already published authors. The best part is imagining that someday, I could be a part of those lists!

Other than that, the day has been rather slow. I have been working since 12 p.m. and there hasn't really been too much going on. I am getting ready to look up some information on a few reference books but that is about all that is on my list of things to do! As far as manuscripts and all that stuff, I am still working on the same thing; learning more and more as I go along! Have a great day all, and stay creative!

-Kat

Update on Progess of Getting Published

Although it may not not seem that I am working on my actual books and the process of getting them published, I am I swear! I have entered the slow and at some points, painful process of creating lists of publishers and contacts. There is over 200 pages of publisher information in the book I am currently going through. Each with their own requirements and steps I must go through before they will even look at my manuscript!

Currently I am going through each entry, and after reading them carefully, highlighting the ones I feel are good candidates. This means that they are accepting manuscripts like mine in areas such as age level, genre, etc. It's almost like playing Guess Who! I go through each time saying "does this and this match this?"

I did go ahead and put together a worksheet that I will fill out each time I send out any material. This is key to keeping track of what you sent where and when. After all, there are over 100 publishing companies; each that require different things! Not something you could memorize and not such a good post-it-note project.

Today I am prepping to write a few general Query letters as well as a Cover Letter. First completing a little research before jumping in! I hope to have those completed today, or at least have a rough draft.

Other than that, not much else is going on! I will say that my (**cross fingers**) planned date to send out my first round of mail is on the 14th of July. That gives me approximately 14 days to get everything together. It also falls right after payday so that I can afford the stamps! Then, the slow and painful (yet exciting) waiting process will begin!

In other news, I am still working on the book reviews! It's been crazy lately, but I have checked the first round out! So look for a review soon! Also, Sally and Conrad (my fish) have survived 3 days and my new desk is still standing strong! Things are going well... and now I am off into the library world!
-Kat