Immm one thinks again about that comment, leaning on an elbow, tapping their finger on the chin, whistle looking skyward.

Think!! The planning, organising, laying out, editing/rescheduling, the contacts, phone calls or emails, the tension, nerves, excitement, deadlines, the coming together of all you have done…. Oh! and that’s just the lead up to the actual event….. Don’t get me started on the actual…. Well! I can’t really say too much about the actual.

But when you think about it…. Going on holiday is very similar to writing a manuscript and sending it off for assessment. All that planning done weeks, months before, the laying out of clothes to laying out of an idea. The possible rescheduling of times, dates etc…. as opposed to editing and re-editing your work. The contacts, phone calls or emails apply to both, different yet the same. All the tension, the what ifs, the nerves, the excitement the deadline, the closer of completion of a story is the same in a way as the eventual arrival of the day you leave for the airport. It all comes together.

You might be wondering what I am babbling on about …..well I am about to walk out the door for an overseas trip my hubby and I have planned for some time, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and we are really looking forward to it It’s especially exciting and I must admit (if I am honest) a little nerve-racking for me as I will be meeting some new friends in LA at the SCBWI Conference on my way home. The Conference itself will be a big deal, something I have always wanted to attend and never thought I would actually get to go to. So I am looking forward to it with excitement, and a lot of nerves, but I know I will come away with so much, and the better for it. Enriched with new friends, a more clear perception of what I am doing as a writer, and the knowledge wrapped in the excitement that is the SCBWI.

What has this to do with writing my manuscript you ask? Arrrr yes, well I have finally, (yes I know I am a bit slow here, but please bare with me), I have finally sent Emma the query to assess not one but two manuscripts of mine and she has accepted. Yep I have done it…. Whew!! It took a lot of doing I can tell you. But I have heard nothing but excellent feedback about the assessment of manuscripts that Emma my coach and mentor from the Children’s Book Hub has done.

So by the end of August I will have returned from my trip, enjoyed the company of wonderful friends, learned sooooo much, relaxed, (hopefully a little tanned) and keenly ready to press on with Emma’s encouragement to achieve my goal.

……………….Similar…… yet…….Different!……………………..

She closes the laptop before picking up her bag and heads for the waiting taxi…. I’ll send you a Postcard… Bye!