Patience

I remember when Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief was published, I wanted things to happen faster than they were. The first four Sammys were written before the books were picked up by Knopf, and with a backlog of stories waiting, I wanted people to keep up, follow along, know what was happening next in Sammy's world.

My in-house publicist at that time told me that it was better to have a gradual build; that slow and steady was good; that it made for a solid career.

I could appreciate the theory of this...but I still wanted things to happen faster than they were!

I think this is pretty common, not just among authors, but in many facets of life. We want to hurry up and get there!

When my kids were little, I wanted them to sleep through the night. Then I wanted them to talk and to walk and to get out of diapers. Then I wanted them to quit clinging to me when I dropped them off at school. And on and on. Every phase seemed to come with a struggle attached to it.

Just like life.

But now my kids don't cling, and sometimes I wish I could go back and have some of those gonna-die-without-you hugs.

I try to apply these lessons to my career. Back when we lived in a 400 square foot house in a bad part of town and I'd get up at five in the morning to write a little on a Sammy Keyes book before going to teach school...I wanted that phase behind me. I wanted publishing success. NOW.

But it's like Sammy was in her infancy, and I was going through the sleeplessness phase. Now she's got a crush, for goodness sakes! Pretty soon the hugs will be gone!

Now, it's not like the pace has been torture. I've enjoyed this long, slow build. A lot of really good things have happened along the way, and my publicist was right--it has made for a very solid career. I think about the quick flash of some authors (or actresses, or whatever), and in a way I feel sorry for them and their skyrocketing success. How on earth will they ever top that? It's almost impossible, yet most will spend the rest of their life trying.

So I take a deep breath and tell myself to enjoy where I am while I'm there. In the blink of an eye, it'll be over.

Just like life.

So those are my musings for this week, probably propelled by the fact that things seem to be accelerating at somewhat dizzying rate. And for those of you who are following along, here's the low-down:

• The meeting about Sammy Keyes to TV went very well. (And if you're one of the people who has written in with concerns, I hear you. And believe me--I'm at least as concerned as you are! The last thing I want is for Sammy to come off the page and onto the screen in a way that will ruin her. Unless I'm 100% convinced that the transition will be a good one, I'm not going to do it!)
• The Swear to Howdy writers are a hoot! (And no, there's NOT a deal--they're just "shopping" the script, hoping to get a production company excited about it. There are scripts all over Hollywood and very few of them actually make it to film. It's just been nice to have these writers so enthused about my little 'overshadowed' book.)
• The Flipped movie is wonderful! And Thursday night's cast and crew screening at Warner Brothers studio was so much fun. (I was told at the party that the movie may come out sooner than September--obviously it would make sense to release it when kids are out of school--I'll be sure to let you know when I know more.) So two big thumbs up from Mark and me -- they've done a beautiful, heartfelt job.

So that's all for this week! Thanks for checking in. I'm looking forward to seeing you here next Sunday!

Wendelin