Tuesday, October 30, 2007

balloons

The noisy boys both love balloons. But a strange thing happens when you offer one to Twin B.
“No thanks,” he says.
“But you love balloons!” I prompt.
“I don’t want one,” he explains, “it might fly away.”
And he’s serious. Two years ago he asked me to hold his balloon and I lost my grip and it was gone. Now, to avoid even the chance of experiencing such heartache again, he’s sworn off balloons.
“Isn’t it better to have a balloon and lose it than to never have a balloon at all?”
“Nope.”
And so he continues his journey through childhood balloonless.

I do the exact same thing with my writing. I’ve been writing for small-run publications for four years now. I joke that I’ve been published plenty, but in magazines that nobody reads. I write for ten bucks and five copies, and suffer very little rejection. Unlike writers with reams of rejection letters, I have just one. Because if I don’t send the query or pitch the book idea, it can’t be rejected, right? If I don’t ever take a balloon, it can’t fly away. I’ll never be disappointed.

Of course, I’ll never have a balloon either.

10 comments:

Lara said...

A lot of wisdom there. I hope to hear soon that you've taken a balloon (or two). You've got a better grip than you think. ;)

Anonymous said...

Take a balloon! As a matter of fact take several! I'm with AMM, you've got a better grip than you think! You are very talented and there is a world out there that needs to hear your wisdom. Put it out there.

Craver Vii said...

My, my! What a lofty idea!

Llama Momma said...

Thank you, friends, for your encouragement!

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

yep - rejection is just some person's opinion, so who cares - you write well - so send it out there!!

Anonymous said...

Balloons are fun. You should get one.

Llama Momma said...

halfmom -- yes, but some people's opinions matter more than others.

SP -- I know, I know. I'm workin' on it!!

Marmot Mom said...

LM: I'll let you borrow one of my favorite bits of information. It concerns a guy named Dr. Seuss---ever heard of him?

"Many encouraged him to become an artist, but he did not think he could make money at it. Eventually, he began to write and illustrate children's books under the name of Dr. Seuss. It took twenty-seven rejections from publishers before his first children's book was published. It sold for one dollar...however; ten thousand copies sold immediately."
My mom bought some of those $1 books and I started reading them at the age of 3. I directly attribute my speed in learning to the creativity of Dr. Seuss!
Go get'em Llama Momma--somebody's out there waiting for you!

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

If you feel like God is pleased with what you wrote and He is directing you to submit it, then send it in. Ultimately, His is the only opinion that matters anyway, not the ones doing the rejection.

God will teach you from it with lessons filtered through hands of love - no matter how unloving they seem at times (and surely they must to you because they do to me at times too) they really aren't and they hold what is best for us whether it seems pleasant for the moment of not.

I agree with Marmot - go get 'em - someone out there is waiting to read what you have written!

Llama Momma said...

marmot mom -- thank you for your kind words! Now, I'm not sure you can compare the llama momma to dr. Seuss, but I see what you're saying.

halfmom -- thanks for the encouragement.