I forgot to mention that I received an early Christmas present. It arrived in the last post before Christmas (being Friday 22 December). It was a “form” rejection letter from Koala Books. Perfect timing, one might say.

Yes, I was disappointed, but rejections are part of the journey. When the manuscript is sold I need to have a great rejection story connected with it, don’t I?

Anyway, it has been suggested that I do something creative with the rejection letter, which, I might add at this time, isn’t the first I’ve received, but it is the first for Cat’s Eyes. One suggestion was to make a Cat Origami with it. Now that’s an interesting thought.

However, being an old stick in the mud, I’ll do the “secretary” thing and just file it with the others. I know that’s quite boring, but…that’s me all over.

I’ve been working on a database, getting a list of manuscripts together. It’s amazing how time flies, because most of my early manuscripts were written much earlier than I thought they were. That was a surprise to me, but it was also a let down, because it shows how much time I’ve been procrastinating, how much time I’ve wasted and how many projects remain unfinished. I will do something about that in 2007.

My next step is to start entering the data for Markets. I’ll start by going through my copy of The Australian Writer’s Marketplace. I may as well submit to Australian markets first and then branch out overseas.

Also, Helen Parocha, winner of the 2006 Frustrated Writers’ Mentoring Program competition, suggested I enter Cat’s Eyes into the 2007 competition, which I am seriously thinking about.

Even though I received a rejection, I still feel positive. As I said to a friend on the phone, “If a writer can’t take rejection, then they shouldn’t be writing.”

Filed under: Cat's Eyes, My Writing: