Would you read this book?

I have begun to polish and edit. As I move forward in finding an agent and getting my query letter perfected, or at least really likeable, I reread the blurb I originally wrote.

A blub is mandatory in the query but it needs to be neat and compact. It can't take up too much of your letter or leave you short in character count for the other required bits. After a couple of days of reworking it this is what I've created:

Blurb: exceptionally average

My drug of choice was ibuprofen. Specifically, 800 mgs paired with my morning coffee. Together they managed to scare off enough symptoms which allowed me the façade of a healthy normal life despite being diagnosed as perimenopausal.

I ate well, exercised often and pushed myself to be the super involved active community member, Pinterest party planning PTA mom. I had few complaints, truly.

When the winter season increasingly pushed me to my mental limits I began to take on a new persona. They called me “Winter Melissa” followed by “and she’s not pretty!”

I admit I’ve never been ”in love” with winter but I’ve always handled it with upbeat tolerance. But in 2015 something changed, my tolerance turned into hatred and the hatred turned to madness. I felt suffocated and I had to get out of this place.

After much persuasion, I finally convinced my husband that a move south could heal me, and we accomplished a cross country move that left our heads spinning. As we eased into our sunny new southern lives a truth unfolded from the most unlikely place. An appointment with a new chiropractor revealed what had been ignored for decades. Not only did I have a wildly uncontrolled autoimmune disease, but I also had cancer. I was dying and no one had bothered to tell me.

So I ask you my friends, Would you want to read this book?

Let me know in the comments.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Melissa

Update Sesh!

Hey Everyone! It's been a minute and I figured I would update you on what's happening over here.

THANK YOU:

For everyone that piped in and voted on my last posts little Pitch Fest mini, much appreciation.

I love seeing which pitch spoke to you.

And if you didn't vote, go ahead and do so. I left it open. Hugs!!

SUMMER and my book writing progress:

First, It is in fact summer. While our summer break from school doesn't traditionally mimic the regular world due to year-round school calendars, this year we are leaning towards that and frankly it threw off my plans.

I was under the impression that we were going back to "normal" year round calendar and that one of my kids would be starting school moments after July 4th. I found out the first day of class that he was, in fact, not scheduled to start until early August. Ooops!! That threw a wrench in my book finishing plans. I have set up a cozy new office space in the corner of my bedroom that has an actual door that can be shut at will when the noise volume impedes on my creative process. I was so excited about getting back to it that I completely missed a school email with the correct start date. Yes, I could absolutely still write and sometimes I do bits but having both kids available allows for time to be spent making memories.

So in between board games and outdoor activities I am getting in research, jotting notes, maintaining my social media platforms and the like.

If you haven't already, you can follow me on your favorite platform: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Good Reads. Just check the contact page on my website here for the links.

PUBLISHING CONTEST RESULTS:

The contest results are in and it looks like I will be going the traditional route of trying to find an agent.

I have gotten rave reviews and positive feedback from my beta readers, which is always a relief for a writer.

So, Why didn't I win?

I'll be honest when I tell you that I knew there was a fairly large possibility that I would not be the right fit for the publishing house. I love Hay House and they produce amazing quality products and books however, they tend to skew towards more natural, enlightened, angelic material. I know that my book is needed and that it I was intuitively guided to physically move which in turn saved my life but that slim portion of my story isn't quite enough for them on a whole, or so I think. I was actually hoping to be chosen for feedback on my proposal, at minimum because who wouldn't love a professional tip or opinion but, alas, that wasn't the case.

If I compare the winners of the contest I can see without a doubt that I was not quite their niche as the main winners were a book with a companion tarot deck and a how-to daily guidance on becoming a divine goddess.

You can see how my memoir of an unknown extreme health issue and the uncovering of years of gross neglect may not quite fit.

I am thrilled for the winners as they have been given an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity.

And I think the contest in itself was a fantastic way for me to understand a process in the publishing world that I need regardless. My proposal is now complete which allows me to move forward in querying agents.

I have already begun the search and started a list of agents that are looking specifically for books like mine.

Onward and upward, as they say!

MY HEALTH:

As I continue to fight the good fight it appears I may actually be making some headway.

After firing my last endocrinologist, I have given the reigns to my amazing NP. She has been with me now through several functional doctors as well as handfuls of specialists, all of whom could not seem to muster up enough concern for my failing health. I found it fascinating that there are that many doctors willing to look only at a piece of paper (lab results) and base my care on that without considering the fact that each time they met with me that I was worse then the time before. My body has been / had been slowly self destructing and yet no one seemed to care why.

Here's a little tip I have figured out throughout this experience: Most people aren't textbook cases. Many medical practitioners have taken their learning so literal that they opt for what the book says over how the actual patient feels or is presenting live in front of them.

I won't delve into our healthcare system here, just yet. There are far too many pieces to this puzzle and lack of care, insufficient and short appointment lengths, refusal of tests and the money that surrounds all of it you know is a much longer discussion.

Until the next blog Happy Summer to everyone.

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather wherever you are.

Xx Melissa

Pick a Pitch!

I have slowly been sharing information about my upcoming memoir.

If you have been following me, most likely you have some idea about the subject matter.

If not, this may come as a surprise.

None the less, there was a Pitch fest on twitter a few weeks ago called #PitMad.

This event allows authors of every genre to post pitches about their book in order to attract agents.

While I did not get a "heart" from an agent, the group I was working with noticed amongst us, a group of over 600 writers, that only fiction seemed to get agent attention. This was not a scientific collection of data, just an observation.

So here in this blog today I am curious of your opinion.

If you were to choose, which pitch do you like the best?

Check out the

GOOGLE FORM HERE <------Pitchfest mini.

I appreciate your time and support.

*Now is the perfect time to sign up for email alerts and/or follow me on social media.

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