Today as I was ironing the bedclothes (as I needed to put some onto the bed) I was wondering what to write for my blog as nothing really special happened and I did not feel like going down-the-memory lane to create something.
But there is something small going on which is quite important to me. Today I wrote to a British magazine: Living France, which “consists of practical, friendly information and advice on becoming an owner of French property” in their own words. They also accept articles about different regions of France, and are looking for professional writers to take interviews from property owners. I believe I could write articles about different regions of France because I love travelling and writing as well as taking pictures; but I am not a professional writer in my eyes, though my husband thinks different. He thinks that the fact that I wrote a book makes me a professional writer. Yes I did write a book and it is getting dusty on my hard-drive as Lithuanian publishers weren’t interested in it, in fact they are never interested unless you pay them to publish you, and yes I wrote children’s story too, I am actually thinking of putting it here so you dear readers can see it and the ones that have children could read it to their kids. So, when I was writing an e-mail to the Living France magazine offering myself as a writer, I called myself professional. I do not like lying, but I keep convincing myself it wasn’t a lie. I hope they will never come across this blog! I am full of anxiety and I know tomorrow I will be checking my e-mail box like mad, waiting for their reply.
Now I will explain why becoming a writer for a magazine is very important to me:
1. It would be great to get myself a “real” writing experience and to build up some kind of reputation to my name.
2. Every penny earned from it would go to my future English language and literature studies fund which at the moment is completely empty. But the diploma in that subject would give me the confidence I lack to write a book in English, as I would feel educated enough in that field to do so.
I actually wrote an e-mail to the same magazine a week ago, but because I was nervous I made a spelling mistake in the e-mail address and it came back to me yesterday.
It took me twenty four hours to bring myself to write to them again. I believe it could be my chance. Maybe I am being silly and naïve (which is totally normal for me) trying to come out of my bubble to live in the real world. It is a scary place for romantics (that are tipsy at this particular moment) and I like my bubble! It is full of dreams and sweetness of sur-reality; I guess I should have lived in a different epoch but it is the way it is. So I am scared to death, tipsy and waiting for a reply from the magazine already! I guess I should not have drunk the whole bottle of cider!
Reality = I have a mountain of ironing that I do not want but have to do and it’s late. The washing up is waiting in the sink and I know my husband is tired. I am a late night owl but I like going to bed with him. Sometimes I stay up to enjoy the silence in the house (or to listen to the snores of my two men) and write write write. These days I have to struggle and think well before I write, words just don’t flow as they used to. Maybe I am pushing too hard, but no, I know I haven’t reached my personal best and I will work hard until I do. I would like to pour another glass of cider to myself, but I haven’t put any into the fridge as I took out the one that’s already finished. In reality, there is no cider (or champagne) coming out of my tap!
The question is do I want to go back and live there, as my "bubble" is pretty comfortable...
7 comments:
Good luck with the writing. My children love your story! It is very funny and cute.
By the way, your blog looks wonderful.
Thank you Pumpkin I hope the publishers like my story as much as your children! And thank you for the compliments about the blog! It took me whole day and it is still not finished, I'm like you it's never really right for me!
Oh, how I wish we lived down the street from each other Carra. We could definitely commiserate together over lots of cider! It is interesting...how we both posted about our writing anxieties on the same day! I too tend to remain in my safe little bubble but those risks outside the bubble are so rewarding. As I've said to you before...your writing style is so engaging and I believe that you have more than what it takes to be published.
You may find putting your book into English to be a more effective route. May I ask what your book is about? I know you offered me the same advice and I agree wholeheartedly with you (somehow it is so much easier to encourage others and give them hope than it is for me to find hope for myself!) that there are a lot of ways in which you can seek out publishers. And you may even find it beneficial to pair with another writer that can read your work and help you edit, etc.
And finally, I know this may not be the ideal publication you ultimately desire but I am starting an online magazine with a couple of partners. The magazine will be introspective and artistic. The name of our online magazine is Urban State of Mind, and while it implies urban attitudes, lifestyle, etc...we will focus more on the state of mind, the introspective feeling of a place, a topic, etc. I know that is very vague but we will hopefully be launching in a couple of months and once we have some examples, it will give you a better idea of what we are about.
So, I would love to keep you in mind as a contributing writer down the road...if you are interested. I'm not sure what the compensation rate will be, as that will depend on how much advertising revenue we can generate, etc. but I thought I would mention it to you.
Keep plugging away with the writing! And yes, it is advice I too need to heed! :-)
Dear Breal you gave me a perfect Birthday present! Yes I am more than happy to be a contributing writer down the road! You made me jump up to the ceiling!
My book that you sked about is about a girl in Paris (an Eastern European obviously) who is struggling for more than existance. If you would contact me on skirmante (at) btinternet (dot) com I would tell you much more!
And by the way we can always meet up online and "consume" cider together while talking about literature or our fears! Anyway I am too excited to make any sense right now!
carra, i will definitely email you. i'll send you a test email now to make sure it goes through. and i know that i'm probably confusing you...i sometimes sign as b, sometimes with my real name, which is bernadette, and my blogger display is breal. all the same person...sorry for the confusion...I need to be more consistent!!!! i look forward to hearing more about your book and working with you to get your writing into our online magazine one day.
and YES...we can sit online drinking cider and discussing literature, writing, and fears! :-) the time difference issue will be interesting though!
oh and Happy Birthday!
I don't have much time, so I will comment later more thoroughly!
But happy birthday!!!!
kim
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