Published!

I posted a few weeks ago about a little dream I have... a dream of being a real writer.

One of my shoot for the stars goals for the year was to become published in something with a readership beyond the Mid-Willamette Valley.

So, when a high school friend of mine posted on facebook late one night regarding two ladies that were accepting submissions about motherhood for an upcoming book, I thought about what I might be able to write about.

But it was late, and I was tired and I wasn't really in the mood for writing at that particular moment. However, I knew that if I didn't submit something that night I'd probably close my browser and fail to remember to come back to the site before the submission deadline. So I racked my brain for any inspirational mom stories that I might have already written on one of my blogs that might be worth submitting.

I couldn't think of anything particularly inspiring I'd written about, but I did remember about a post I'd written two years ago that I had a number of people comment on even long after I'd originally posted it. So I went back and read this post, but decided it probably wouldn't really work for what they were look for.

Ah, what the heck, I thought. I'll submit it and if they like it they can publish it but if it isn't the kind of story they're looking for than no one will ever know the difference and I'll go on with my merry little life. So I quickly shot an email off to one of the authors with a link to my post and crawled into bed not expecting to hear back from them.

Within a few short weeks, however, I got an email from one of the authors telling me that my post had been chosen for publication in their upcoming book, Beyond the Diaper Bag.

I told Rob, and a few other people, but I haven't wanted to tell very many people until the book comes out and I actually see my story written in print. I had this random fear that maybe they would drop my story at the last minute or botch the details in their editing process.

But today the book was finally released, and I was sent a digital version. For better or worse my story is written, in print, on pages 175, 176 & 177. In a real book!

For succinctness and readability the story was changed a little bit by removing the information about the kids' ages and the fact that two of them were foster kiddos (though also my half siblings who are the same ages as my two kids). Therefore, the sister/mommy parts were changed to mommy so it appears as if all four kids are actually mine. But, other than that, my story is published in a book for the whole world to see!

Okay, at least for the small corner of the world that will be reading this particular book about motherhood. If you happen to desire a copy of this book it can be yours for a small fee at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/beyond-the-diaper-bag/15691627. Eventually it might be carried by your local book store even.

Here's a description of the book from their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/BeyondtheDiaperBag :


"Beyond the Diaper Bag' is the second book in the Beyond Books series. It is a collection of humorous stories, inspirational moments and helpful tips from real moms. This book has it all! All authors' proceeds are donated to The Mommies Network!
http://www.facebook.com/TheMommiesNetwork"


So there you have it. I am officially published! I have recently decided that I'm going to add being published in Reader's Digest to my list of writing goals. Now if I could only decide what to write about... any suggestions?