Fitness and health have never been primary concerns for me.
I've been lucky to have high metabolism and a relatively lean frame, so up through my twenties, I never focused too closely on what or when I ate. I always stayed on the skinny side. Not so much in my thirties. Since having two kids, I started to notice the pounds add up and extra fat spill over my pants. Over the years, I would join a gym or take up a particular fitness routine, which would last two to three months. It would always end because of something disrupting it--a vacation or getting sick or just telling myself I'd take a short break, but then never returning to it. I found excuses more than excuses found me. Late last year, something clicked for some reason and I've decided to get in the best shape of my life. It was early November, 2018, and I haven't stopped yet and have only added to my routine in different ways. Not that writing was expressly to blame for my bad health, I must say that as a writer, typical writing routines don't help. Like many writers, I spend many hours upon hours sitting down and staring into a computer screen. That type of stasis over long periods of time doesn't get the heart rate going or shed extra pounds. This is what has worked for me. Of course, long walks can be brain fuel. In terms of writing or ideas for your stories, nothing helps more than time at a park, in the sunshine, or a walk away from the buzz of a city. Just immersing yourself in nature is both healthy for you body and food for your mind. More deeply, though, for extra fitness, I've found that going to a gym has always been a barrier I found hard to cross. If I brought the gym home, so to speak, then I'd have one less excuse, right? Right. So, I joined an "online" gym and it's much cheaper than a typical membership. It's called Beachbody and for a year, it's about $8/month, with dozens of videos, different workouts and various regimens taught by different trainers, all dependent upon where you happen to be in your fitness journey. I also purchased a pair of Bowflex adjustable weights so I wouldn't have to shell out thousands on an intricate weight set-up. I found an eating plan that works for me. Diets always struck me as difficult because you're typically denying yourself something: certain foods or amounts. I've been eating low-carb/Keto for about six months and I don't ever feel hungry after meals, although I have to resist certain things like sugar and carbs. All in all, it's the easiest "diet" I've ever tried. Now that summer is here, my wife and I have made it a mission to kayak more. Our boys love the water, its fun to get on a boat and explore, and it's good, free exercise. You're outside, in the elements, basking in sunshine, and we'll often picnic on the water or land on a beach to eat. It's been an awesome journey so far and it's given me purpose and goals outside of the pursuit of publishing.
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I'm tired.
That was my initial thought upon receiving two more publisher rejections from my agent. I'm tired. So, so tired. Between my first agent experience, which turned out to be very shmagenty, and my current, real agent who does all the things an agent should do (and is great, truly great), my novel has been on submission for about ten-ish months. First round was about four months before I parted ways with the first "shmagent" and now the second round (as I'll call it) has been around six months so far, with each round separated by close to a year. As I've said in a previous post, waiting is so, so hard. It's the hardest part. Sometimes, my agent will reach out with news first, but other times, I'll send a question because I can't wait any longer than a month between news. I don't know if that's good or bad. It just is. Attempting to get published is an exhaustive marathon where you continually run into closing doors, when all you want to do is continue running. But you're also blind. Without any sense of where or how to go. And lobsters with razor sharp claws are chasing you, attempting to push you off a cliff. Maybe not that last part, but the prior descriptions are totally apt to the business. Between my full time job as a stay-at-home Dad for two CRAZY BOYS, regular life stuff and attempting to get published, I'm just so damn tired. Tired of being told no, tired of not knowing, tired of not understanding what I can do differently, tired of wondering if the other books I'm writing will stand a chance, tired of getting critiques, tired of self-critiquing. I'm tired. I don't write this for sympathy. Just a need to be honest. All of us--published, unpublished, agented, unagented--should probably be more honest about our journeys. So, I thought I'd share some of my rejections. Be open and honest and all that. Soon after starting on my own writing journey, I discovered a blog by Julie C. Dao, author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, wherein she shared many (maybe all) of her publisher rejections to show how subjective the nature of this business is. She had the happy ending that I haven't yet found, but I thought I'd share a few of my rejections so far anyway. This is just a sampling, lifted directly out of the emails, and of course, no names or publishers are mentioned. Maybe it'll help some of you out there. Maybe it's just interesting. I don't know. Take a look, leave a comment, share your stories or rejections. "James does a wonderful job infusing the atmosphere of the story with a sense of mystery and wonder. However, I have to admit that I wasn’t connecting with the voice as strongly as I’d hoped. Given this, I don’t think I’m quite the right editor for this project, so I’m unfortunately going to have to pass." "I loved the writing, but after reading it, I’m afraid I’m not the best fit for books about magicians or traditional magic." "I found the concept to the story a lot of fun and definitely appealing to the middle grade audience, but I just didn’t love the voice enough to see this as a project we could break out on our list." "James Fryar’s bio is a lot of fun, and that same sense of whimsy and passion comes through in the manuscript itself. There’s a lot to admire in the novel’s pages, but ultimately I worry it might be a little too close to our own TITLE OMITTED to be a fit for our list." "James is clearly a strong writer, and the engaging voice drew me in. That said, while I enjoyed much about the read, ultimately the plot didn’t fully click into place for me, and so I suspect that I’m not the right match for the manuscript." "I really enjoyed the high-stakes adventures and getting a glimpse into the all the work that goes into performing magic! Unfortunately, I have another book on my list about a kid magician, and though this is a very different story, I don’t think I can take it on, too." So, there you go. That's where I'm at. Novel's still on submission. There's still hope, blahblahblah, but honestly it's hard to see that at times. |
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January 2021
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