To Submit or Not to Submit

I never did get a delicious cinnamon chip muffin but did make some low-fat oatmeal ones that were pretty tasty. Too bad I lost the recipe.

Anyway, I attended this year's AWP Conference in D.C. It was my first time going and I have to say that I was overall pleased with it. It's a pretty lonely conference though. There are so many panels to go to that obviously you're not going to want to go to the same ones as your friends. My goals for this conference was to get as much information on publishing/editing/agents/query letters as I could. I also attended a few "Writing for YA" themed panels (one was better than the other). So, I learned a great deal.

I also realized that I should probably still be sending my short stories out to journals. The rejection letters had piled up (around 50 or so) and I was like "eh, no more submitting for a little while" <-- just to get my barrings back. But the great thing about the conference was the bookfair and learning about so many journals that I could (and probably should) submit to. So, I guess I need to start up a new submission stack. Hopefully they'll all be free online submissions (since I'm still unemployed and short on cash). I guess the first step is to develop a list and then consider which stories to send out. Such a headache, but if I want to go anywhere with my writing it's exactly what I should do.

Other random tidbits:

• I'm reading tons of YA fiction at the moment, but I'm about to read "Wench" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. It's probably time for some adult reading.
• I finished my YA novel and it ended up being 413 pages. Now, as I put my hand-edits into the computer it's 492 (and I'm only halfway through). I know that the ending will pack on several additional pages because I rushed through the ending (I was excited to be done with it). This process is incredibly rewarding and I feel like I'm going to have a strong novel in the end. Still there's a lot to do by March (that's my goal to have all editing done so I can send it to a few readers).
  
• There's something about unemployment that's fueled me to get this project done quickly. I just hope that I'm not rushing to the point of detriment. All I've ever wanted was to write novels and be successful at it. It's scary that I'm getting to the point of actually pursuing this dream (and the humongous reality that it may not happen).
  
• Today is Valentine's Day, but it feels just like a normal day to me. I remember a time in my life when it was super depressing not to be in a steady relationship on this day. I'm cool today (as long as I stay away from flower shops and the grocery store) although I may watch "He's Just Not That Into You" later. I've never seen that movie.
• Speaking of movies... I watched "The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" this weekend. My rating: C. It was entertaining, but... I don't know if I can get on board with Jake Gyllenhaal in an action role.
  

Anyway, that's my update for now.

Happy Valentine's day to all. :)