#WIPWednesday

My mind has continued to be aflutter with travel thoughts – reminiscing about past adventures and daydreaming about future destinations. I used that energy to write a post for our just-for-fun family travel blog,  which I then submitted for syndication and it was picked up by HADFOF on Medium.

Also this week, my piece about how our back-to-school prep is about more than buying school supplies was syndicated on Scary Mommy. It's that time, for us. School starts back up in less than 2 weeks. I picked up those books on our last trip to the library, conversations are ongoing and, of course, we're trying on new shoes and stockpiling supplies, too.

Things are going to be a bit busier these next few weeks as we try to squeeze some more fun in the last days of summer and also get ourselves ready for a new school year. I am already looking forward to having my quiet writing time back in the routine.

#WIPWednesday

Travel has been on my mind a lot this week. If you happened to read my recap, you know that our most recent trip wasn't my favorite. Considering our time and financial budgets, it was exceptionally disappointing to be on a vacation that I really just wanted to end.

I've been thinking about the quote I have at the top of our just-for-fun travel blog:



And, while this quote has held a special meaning to me through the years, I realized that it still applied, even to this last trip.

I also realized that, I still have a tremendous passion for travel, even after a not-so-great experience.

So, I spent some time the past few days recapturing the joy of travel. I made some updates to our just-for-fun family travel blog and I also started a just-for-fun Instagram to go along with it.

View this post on Instagram

Hello Instagram! I'm a little late in joining you, but I'm happy to be here now. We are just an ordinary family of five with limited vacation days, a tight budget, a passion for history, an appreciation of nature, and a grand desire to see things as they truly are. This account is a place for us to share all of our travel experiences. We are not professional travel bloggers nor social media influencers – none of our travel is comped. Here you'll find our honest experiences as ordinary travelers. We hope you enjoy following along and perhaps find some inspiration for your own family adventures. You can find our itineraries, reviews, and more information at joycefamilytravels.blogspot.com This pic is of the 5 of us at Muir Woods in California last year. It is one of the few pics you'll see with all of us posing and looking at the camera (though, admittedly, it is so far and we are so small, you can hardly see us). I don't share many pics of the kids faces. And, when I do, everyone in the picture needs to approve it to be publically posted. So, since that doesn't happen often, this seemed like my best option for a profile pic. #newaccount #newprofilepic #joycefamilytravels #hiking #muirwoods #california #familytravel

A post shared by Joyce Family Travels (@joycefamilytravels) on Jul 22, 2019 at 8:41am PDT

I did do some writerly things this week, as well.

I submitted another syndication query. I received another rejection. But I also received an acceptance.

I have my first piece up at Reality Moms and was excited to add another contributor badge to my collection.

#WIPWednesday

Summer break is killing my productivity and creativity. I miss my quiet time. So very much.

Though I haven't written anything, I did manage to submit an older piece for syndication to a couple places. I've already received a rejection back from one, still waiting to hear back from the other, as well as a few other outstanding queries.

I also noticed that my piece from February, "My Husband and I Never Say 'I Love You, Too',” had a little surge in activity this week and is now nearing 3k views and 2k claps on Medium. I'm not sure where it was shared recently to have it racking up views again, but I'm happy for it!

#WIPWednesday

Scary Mommy shared my piece about coming to terms with my traumatic birth experience again this week. I always appreciate when they run my essays again and give me some bonus exposure.

I did get a little quality writing time this week, one quiet afternoon alone in the house. Though I was fighting off a sore throat, it was the perfect time to finish up an essay for Twiniversity. I don't yet know when it will be published but I am excited to have my second piece submitted there.

No word on any of my outstanding queries, so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

#WIPWednesday

Back in February 2018, I sent my first ever manuscript to a publisher for consideration. It was for a children's book I never intended to write – a poem that, as I read it, I very clearly envisioned as a beautifully illustrated picture book. So, I felt the need to give it a chance.

I forged my way through the process of editing, beta readers, revising, formatting, researching publishers, and writing query letters. Over the following year, I pitched the manuscript to 14 publishing companies. Some sent kindly worded rejections, others silently passed on the project with the elapsing of their stated response time.

This week, two more silent rejections were received after 6 months waiting periods, leaving no outstanding queries for the manuscript.

I mentioned, back in April, that I was considering submitting the poem to children's magazines for consideration, instead. As much as I'd love to see it as a children's book, the truth is, I'd really just love to see it illustrated and published in any format.

The poem was timely when I wrote it in February 2018 and remains timely still today. I want to grant it an audience and I am not giving up on finding it a home.

So, this week, I sent off a query to an incredible children's magazine I'd love to work with and began compiling a list of other magazines to query in the near future.

This week, I received a rejection for a set of poems I queried a couple months ago, as well.

I also wrote and published a fun little piece about Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on Medium this week, and syndicated it on InspireMore.

Reality Moms quoted me in a collaboration post.

I made a couple new images for Instagram.

And Filter Free Parents shared my "Through the Lens of Motherhood" micro on their Instagram page.