And just as I began itching to write again, I was given an excellent reason to do so: An editor at a Big Important Publishing House asked me to revise my second middle grade novel, Let it Shine!, (aka: the un-publishable one) according to her specifications, and resubmit—and to think, I had actually given up on that book! Did they put the book under contract? Um, no, not yet, but they called the book “rare” and “unforgettable”—so I’m very hopeful! (Also, anytime that any editor says anything to me, short of, “Buzz off!” I consider it a victory!)
The truth is that we writers work and work and work, for weeks and months and years, and then we wait and wait and wait—and hope and pray—for small victories like this one. But small victories are enough for me, enough to keep me happily moving forward. Yes, yes, I’m sure there are other, far better writers than I, for whom editors show up at the front door like the Prize Patrol from Publishers Clearing House, offering balloons and gigantic checks. But I don’t need all that.
I don’t need any encouragement, as a matter of fact. I would write no matter what—as I’ve proven over the years—so to be given the opportunity to write for an interested editor, fills me with a quiet brand of happiness—the kind of happiness you feel when you’re on your way home; you’ve come to your favorite little stretch of road, and your favorite song is just starting to play on the radio. It is enough for me, this September song. It is more than enough.
