Messing with Memoir: Sending off a proposal

Sending off a proposal

Last year at this time,* I was spending days in a blur, and getting extremely frustrated with how my husband’s knee therapy was advancing, or wasn’t, because of the quarantine. Days were long and unexciting.

Than I remembered my goal of getting a proposal off to a possible publisher by the end of April. My day suddenly became one sparked by purpose, by a goal beyond getting three meals on the table and surviving eight or more hours of my husband’s therapy and applying ice and making more. I was coach as we spent several weeks without a physical therapist due to Covid.

I still get much joy our of ideating, creating, writing, editing, correcting, tweaking, and finally, pronouncing it done. Well done, I hope, or at least readable, marketable and interesting to others.

I was able to snag extra time to work on my memoir because I purchased a column (for my syndicated newspaper column) from a great nephew, Stone, to use, which was well received. In early April his school had closed down for the year and he wrote a great Facebook post on being a senior finishing up his year. His “help” enabled me to finish drafting three sample chapters.

After doing my best, I left them rest a bit for breathing space before tackling another serious edit.

Then, whew. I hit send. After doing a final proofing of my proposal, three sample chapters, my vita, and a chapter outline, I was almost as giddy with eagerness as I was the first time I ever sent off a book proposal. Only now there’s no endless retyping on a manual typewriter (yes I did that!), and securing a large envelope and postage plus that all important SASE.

On a trot out to retrieve our morning paper, (yes, we still subscribe to the paper), I realized I’m still asking myself whether my project has merit, is it publishable, can I really do this, just like I did in 1982 or so! Nine books and many other brainstorms later, I still have a foot in the game, and anxiously awaited a response from a publisher.

And now, I will sit back and wait for a response, and do other things. Happy day!!

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If you are a writer, do you love to spend time writing? Or do you dread or hate it?

Is it a chore or a diversion or a hobby or your livelihood?

*I’ve decided to come clean and reveal that these posts on writing a memoir were first drafted last year as I worked on a proposal and various chapters. I am sharing the ups and downs and will lead up to talking about titles and subtitle options, covers, and eventually, I hope publication and launch. I will enjoy and appreciate any feedback or your own stories!

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An author I’ve worked with who helps writers be published is Margot Starbuck. Check out her robust resources and info here! She sparkles with ideas and pizazz!