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A Tale of Two Emails
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So this morning, this greeted me in my inbox:
Congratulations Eve!
You’ve won the Chapter Winner Grand Prize:
A Day with Avon
Awarded by random drawing to one (1) of the six previous chapter winners, this prize package includes travel, hotel, and a day at HarperCollins. You’ll meet with an editor, get an introduction to our art department, and learn about the promotion of a title. Plus, you’ll receive a $250 saks.com shopping spree.
Thank God for that Saks card, because I have absolutely nothing to wear!
Shortly after receiving that email, I sent another one to my employer. I quit my job. Well, one of my jobs.
Sure, it’s just a little part-time, independent contractor gig that brings in about $1000 a month. But I’ve been working with this woman for over 2 years, and I really like her. It’s a very scary move, to quit a paying job to devote my time to writing. Especially when I have two very young children who are quickly filling the world’s landfills with disposable diapers.
This day at Avon is a golden opportunity, however, and I don’t want to live the rest of my life wondering what could have been, if only I’d been better prepared. I have to believe that I’m doing the right thing. Fortunately, my husband is A) fairly well-paid at his own job, and B) very supportive.
October 30th, 2006 at 9:12 am · Link
Wow! Congratulations on taking that first big step! I’m sure that we’ll be hearing that it’s paid off for you very soon. I can’t wait. 🙂
October 30th, 2006 at 1:40 pm · Link
Yikes! That’s a very scary move. When do you have to go?
Alice
October 30th, 2006 at 2:52 pm · Link
I quit my job earlier this year in order to write full time. It was scary, but has it ever been worth it!
Congratulations, Eve, and good luck!
October 30th, 2006 at 6:11 pm · Link
Wow–good for you. It’s a huge step, but I know it’ll pay off down the line.
October 30th, 2006 at 7:02 pm · Link
Congratulations!! You are an inspiration to us all — my kids are 8 and 12, and quitting looks quite a ways off still.
October 30th, 2006 at 10:38 pm · Link
Yay! Time for our shopping spree! Oh, right, the job… Hmmm. Can’t really say too much about that. The one full-time job I had – working in a children’s bookstore – fired me after less than two weeks for undisclosed reasons. I still maintain that I was over-qualified, and they feared a coup d’etat!
October 31st, 2006 at 4:26 am · Link
Good move, Tessa. I applaud your decision. Hey, I moved to China so I would have more time to write–that’s even more extreme. NaNo will be crazy, but it’s so great that we have other FanLitters to share it with us.
Lenora
p.s. I love your pseudonym! As someone else commented, it sounds like an intrepid girl reporter from the Forties. I’m picturing Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain. I bet your hair would look lovely in a Veronica Lake peek-a-boo bang style. Could be a good look for your meeting with Avon…
October 31st, 2006 at 6:55 pm · Link
Hi TessaD~!
I am so glad you have a blog, and that you are sharing the excitement with us…. So, I hear they have free ARC’s there~! another big YAY… and I’ve loved your chapters from the start so I hope that Avon gives you a contract, bc I am already a fan that wants to buy all of your Avon Romances off of the shelves~!
I have a few* favorites from that contest that I want to see published for my own selfish reading enjoyment lol. You are at the top!
Also, I am SO glad you quit that one job because of it. I am very glad you have your priorities in the right places~! You know, so I can read your books after I’ve bought them off of the best selling kiosks @ B & N!
YAY~!!!!!
I hope you blog this experience up, even just a little. You have a very unique and amazing story to tell about the road to publication.
November 1st, 2006 at 12:12 am · Link
So very exciting and terrifying, Tessa! It may be a scary step to take, but it will be so fulfilling in the long run. Yay for you! Stay the course. We’ll be pestering you for ARCs before you know it.
November 2nd, 2006 at 7:04 am · Link
You continue to amaze and inspire me! This is going to pay off big time for you! I just know it will!
November 7th, 2006 at 9:47 am · Link
Tessa – I just stumbled across your blog. As a mom of two preschooler boys (3 and 2) AND A TEENAGER girl (just turned 13), I feel your pain.
I didn’t do NaNo this year because it’s too much time and I needed to complete the novel I’m half done with.
I was luckily able to quit my job when we adopted the two boys just on 2 years ago (Jan 2005). It’s been an adjustment, but I love writing and have seen my output increase significantly (along with the dust bunnies, but that’s another story!)
Good luck again!
Pam
Good luck!