Without the confidence I received from publishing in BrooWaha, discussions on BlogCatalog, and my own personal editor, Isabel Anders, I would probably still be writing nothing more than mummy drivel. In fact I would certainly not be writing a book and I might even have stopped writing a blog.
11 months ago, when I closeted myself in a room to sit down and write, I froze. I considered writing to be a solitary craft but looking at a blank screen or talking into thin air was a sterile exercise in futility for me. I could not translate the same creative energy that I experienced telling a story verbally to the keyboard. My intuitive, imaginative side stayed buried and my logical intellect wrote boring drivel.
Then I started to blog and people started to comment on my writing. They liked my stories. I was shocked. These new online friends helped me gain confidence which it turn helped my writing. The most influential mentor was and still is Isabel. Early on I read that bloggers are supportive and unselfishly helpful, rejoicing in each others success and offering free guidance . Well, I discovered that this statement is true. She encourages, interacts, and gives advice as well as sending me every article she can on writing and publishers.
The following is just the beginning of my proposal which I attempted to write 3 months ago. The task was simply overwhelming I needed a mentor.
11 months ago, when I closeted myself in a room to sit down and write, I froze. I considered writing to be a solitary craft but looking at a blank screen or talking into thin air was a sterile exercise in futility for me. I could not translate the same creative energy that I experienced telling a story verbally to the keyboard. My intuitive, imaginative side stayed buried and my logical intellect wrote boring drivel.
Then I started to blog and people started to comment on my writing. They liked my stories. I was shocked. These new online friends helped me gain confidence which it turn helped my writing. The most influential mentor was and still is Isabel. Early on I read that bloggers are supportive and unselfishly helpful, rejoicing in each others success and offering free guidance . Well, I discovered that this statement is true. She encourages, interacts, and gives advice as well as sending me every article she can on writing and publishers.
I have only been writing a year but with Isabel's encouragement, guidance and knowledge of the publishing world I just submitted my first proposal to a publishing company. Huffington Post also just published and article in the Religion Section. After editing my first shaky attempts at a proposal she read my third attempt and commented:
Isabel Anders@IsabelAnders
Book author at Isabel Anders' Uncommon Mother-Daughter Wisdom:http://isabelanders.wordpress.com/ http://tinyurl.com/bpypy6l and Miss Marple: Christian Sleuth http://tinyurl.com/cjgf2gt
Tennessee · http://www.IsabelAnders.com
This is wonderful! Very well presented, and a fine sampling of your work. They may want to use some of this material for article(s) too. YOU are worthy and so are these wonderful stories. But with publishers, it all depends on their need for a certain category of book at the time.
Try not to take any decision too personally. This is so hard. It's like trying to hit the bull's eye of an invisible target the first time. I've had many rejections over the years. Every acceptance is pure grace
A good friend at BlogCatalog wrote the following comment about mentors after reading this post.
helenafortissima I've had mentors and have served as a mentor myself. I think most people seek mentorship at some point in life, especially during the educational process or entry into a new field. It takes confidence in oneself--and courage--to ask for help. Mentoring isn't about conforming or micro-managing, it's about catalyzing one's own abilities and insights and honing them into a unique set of skills and knowledge. It's about sharing. For me, those have proven to be meaningful and valuable relationships that have encouraged both personal and professional growth and innovation.
Proposal Information: 1. my contact information
2. BIOGRAPHY
As a tiny English Major,with dreams of becoming a professor, I had never dreamed that God would call me to raise 9 children on a hobby farm. A combination of grace, cups of tea and a sense of humour enabled me to embrace chaos and tragedy. My little ones taught me what is really important in life and where to discover fulfilment and joy.
Qualifications
"Melanie Juneau—motherofnine9—knows that a woman's ground of creativity lies as close as her child's heart. In her delightful stories and memories of mothering nine children, she shows how a Christian mother bathed in love brings all the power and light embodied in her faith to that most important sphere of hope, the family."
—Isabel Anders, author of Blessings and Prayers for Married Couples and Miss Marple: Christian Sleuth.
Publications
167 articles published BrooWaha Your Citizen NewspaperSeptember 22, 2012
Articles published in family life, humour, spirituality, and health. 43,550 page views, on Feb.17/2013
Interviews(Link)BC Staff BlogsDecember 4, 2012
1.An Artistic Military Man Says, "Welcome to My World,"
2.Blogging Opens The Door To Writing
3. Passionate About Learning: From Bonsai Trees to Quantum Physics,
4. A Brainless Nod? Hardly!
Foundationlife Articles(Link)Foundation LifeFebruary 8, 2013
YOU had 9 Kids??
A God Led Life
The Joy of a Large family
A Challenge to Catholic, Pro-Life Men and Women
Horton the Who is Pro-life
Become a Baby Whisperer
3 Facts Our Catholic Kids Need to Know
Finally, A Pro-Life Doctor,
Remembering Life in the Womb,
Enigma to my Obstetrician,
The Call, Transformation,
The Wisdom of Mothers
Protecting Life in a Neonatal Unit,
Choosing Life
Why Did You Have So Many Kids?, Nurturing Your Baby Before Birth(Link)Prolifeblogs.comNovember 21, 2012
59 posts since September 2012(Link)WordcastersFeb. 11, 2013
ranked #6, one of 17 featured writers
Melanie Jean Juneau(Link)DiggMay 19, 2012
54 submissions promoted to the front page in Lifestyles on Digg
till Aug, 2012 when Digg was re-vamped
Mom Blog Society(Link)July 15, 2012
one of 34 featured writers till July 2012
now is re-organized
A page overview of my on-line presence can be found at http://www.twylah.com/mjmjuneau showing articles from broowaha, themotherofnine.wordpress.com, melaniejeanjuneau.wordpress.com,motherofnine9.blogspot.com
motherofnine9- twylah.com/mjmjuneau/
I am a mother who raised nine children on a hobby farm. The stories I write are humourous, thoughtful and thought provoking .
