Acck! My Family Is Driving Me Crazy

Just had to stop work and post this blog.

I'm currently writing one novel, have revisions to do on the newly rejected one, and belong to a critique group, so have critiques to do as well.

I also type for other writers, and currently have two large jobs I'm working on simultaneously, plus have another client I have to make print-outs for.

Although I love working at home--it gives me more time to devote to my writing--here's my complaint.

Because I'm home, I'm expected to take care of all household things. This includes cleaning, laundry, dishes--no we don't have a dishwasher--keep the cupboard and fridge stocked and provide meals at dinner time, as well as paying bills, doing the banking and--it seems--everything else for everybody.

Currently, I have a husband and three adult sons living at home. The youngest is starting college in September, but will be staying home and commuting. The other two are in their early twenties. They both have jobs, but can't afford to move out just yet.

Because I'm home during the day and they're not, I wake up to notes like--Mom, Can you call my doctor so he can call in my prescription refill? I then get a frantic call from my husband--My filling fell out, find the dentist's phone number.

My youngest son, who was supposed to RSVP about a college orientation on Wednesday, told me to call the number again because he forgot to give them the date on which day he was going. When I told him to just call again, I got--My ride's picking me up. I got to go.

I can't count how many times I have to stop what I'm doing to help these men I live with.

Makes me wonder what they'd do without me.

Rejected Again

Just got the manuscript of my time travel romance, Erin's Rebel, back in the mail. The worst part, after a five month wait, was getting the standard rejection letter. "This project is not right for us at this time." Oh, well.

After giving myself time to get over the disappointment, my plan is to go over the manuscript again, make a few changes, send a few chapters to my critique group, then find another publisher and try again.

After looking over my submission sheet, I realized this manuscript has been making the rounds for the past four years. After the last rejection, I did an extensive revision, then started sending chapters to my new critique group. I stopped sending those chapters when I got a request for the full. But I'll resume where I left off, while I research other publishers where my book can find a home.

It helps having a critique group who thinks your story is great. And it also helps that I just got a request from another publisher for a short story I recently revised. Having more than one project out there, makes it so much easier when rejection rears its ugly head.

No matter what you do, never give up.

What To Blog About

So, while trying to make regular contributions for this blog, I've run into the problem of what to blog about when you feel there's nothing to blog about.

Freelance writing entails a whole lot of waiting around. I have to wait to hear back from editors on a book I submitted. I have to wait for my critique partners to go over my short story, so I can revise and submit the query for that.

I'm trying to move forward on my historical romance, but I'm in the middle and sometimes I just don't feel like writing that next scene. It just seems so overwhelming when you've still got nearly 200 pages left to write.

So, I guess this will be my complaint blog. Maybe what I need right now is permission to give myself a break.