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Oh my god, I got published. I mean, I've been published before - in real, notable, places where I was paid - but that was online. And there is a part of me that always thinks that the online world is "less than" because really anyone can publish online. I mean, this blog is technically published, but you don' t see me getting all amped over it. No, this time I'm published in a real book that has pages. Something you'll find in the bookstore (I hope). It's "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk High School." No, I didn't write it when I was a teen. And yes, I'll wait a moment while you crack wise.
Ok. So it happened like this: I'm part of the Ladies Who Brunch networking group, which could be a blog in itself, so I'll save that for later. One of the ladies posted that she was working for the Chicken Soup people and they were looking for stories about...I don't remember actually. College life, or a funny work story...anyway, I thought "fuck it, I'll submit something." And so I banged out a story and revised it and revised it and revised it and sent it. And then I heard back a couple of weeks later, with a form that I had to fill out acknowledging that I was the writer, and I had to write a brief bio. Wow, I was sort of intrigued by this...I wondered if this was what they did for everyone or if I'd passed first base. Weeks went by and nothing happened, and I didn't give it much thought until I received another email. The book idea had been scrapped. "Oh god," thought I. "All the stories - including mine - were too awful to create an entire book." And so it goes. But now of course the Chicken Soup People are on to me and they have my email on their mailing list. I get lots of stuff from the Chicken Soup Peeps. Such as...Calls For Stories. And one such email was a call out for stories about high school experiences. This email happened to catch me at a good time, meaning a time when I actually felt like writing, so I banged out a quick story, revised it once or twice, and then sent it. And a few weeks later I got that email with the form that I had to fill out acknowledging that I was the writer, and I had to write a brief bio. Yeah yeah yeah. I signed it, wrote the bio, sent it off. Didn't think anything of it. Been suckered before. A few weeks after that, I received an envelope in the mail. It was my story and yet another form. This time they asked me to read it for any errors, and then sign the form acknowledging that my story was correct and approved by me. I did so, and off it went. I figurered I made it past second base. And then...a few weeks later...I received an email. And this email was entitled "Update on release of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk High School." My first thought was that the book had been cancelled. But then - click! - the update email informed me that the book was to be in stores on November 4, my check was being issued, and my 10 free copies were on the way. Those 10 copies arrived yesterday. And there I am on page 125. A published author in a real book with pages.
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