today i received good news on two fronts that i wanted to share as a gentle reminder that effort pays off, even if it takes awhile to come to fruition.
as you may know, i'm working on a book blending yoga and lifestyle for the modern girl, and i've received offers from publishers this week. i came up with the concept two years ago, took a great "how to get published class" with local author carole sargeant, worked on the proposal for almost a year during any spare moment (namely vacations), submitted it to targeted agents, got a fabulous agent last october who really got the concept, finished my sample chapter in june, and submitted the package to publishers in july. we've received great feedback, especially on the presentation of the proposal which is a reminder of how important it is to spend a little extra time on the small details. for example, i tied a ribbon around the portfolio, added a bag of tea, used heavy paper, added colored tabs with computer generated labels to separate the appendices, and added color wherever i could. the result was a proposal that looked and smelled different from the others. i share this because it has been a long journey and it has only just begun. once an offer is accepted, i have 6-9 months to write the book with hopes of getting it into the market for holiday 2006. can you believe we're preparing for holiday 2006? i write this to share that dreams are truly a long time coming. when all is said and done, this will have been almost a 4-year project! the dream truly began though as a little girl falling asleep to the sound of my father's typewriter. i grew up surrounded by the writer's life and somehow envied the isolation, deadlines, creative juices, and long hours. let the writing begin..... and thank you for your support by reading this blog!
i'm also delighted to share that the tranquiliT line will be featured in this weekend's examiner. this creative journey began in 2002, and took new life in 2004 as i began drawing, designing more, traveling to tradeshows to purchase for the tranquiliT boutique, and choosing fabrics. it, too, is a long process of taking workshops, sewing classes, reading trade publications, putting together a design board with fabric swatches and style ideas, locating manufactureres, scheduling tradeshows, selling the line for 12 hours at tradeshows, photo shoots, linesheet designs, working with the webmaster on creating an online store, choosing the right tags and labels, putting together spec sheets, and writing press releases. it's amazing what goes into launching a line...but so fun to see people excited to wear something you've created! enjoy this image of the hip tranquil chick in the new gauchos, staple wrap top, velvet shrug and pucci scarf. pick up the examiner (free at the most dc metros) on saturday and remember, it often takes years to see the fruits of your labor.
think of yourself as a seed germinating below the surface and each step you take (research, classes, time away) offers you the opportunity to water and nurture yourself into full bloom!
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