I was a greedy little kid. My parents weren’t the kind to give gifts willy-nilly, but I still got stars in my eyes at every discount store, every restaurant, every donut shop, every gas station (there were vending machines, after all). Every once in a while, my mom would relent with the words every kid (who’s been begging incessantly for some time) longs to hear: “Fine. You can have one. One.”
The celebration would commence. Yipee!
Then I’d stop, the panic setting in.
“Just one?”
Even now, it is so hard to settle on one. I know, I know. I keep writing about this. But I’m continually surprised how I tell myself I’ll focus on one project–just one–and the panic creeps in.
“I could work on the proposal tonight, but maybe I should pull out my old book and see if it’s time to resubmit. I’ll need a new query letter.”
“Or maybe I could do another story for the sports series; check online to see if there are any outlets for that.”
“I really should just finish that project from work, get that off my mind once and for all.”
“When was the last time I cleaned the bathtub?”
And you know what ultimately happens?
Nothing.
So maybe if I greenlight two projects–it’ll be less like saying I can’t have ANY cookies if I eat cake (which just makes me want cookies). So, here it is folks. My official proclamation:
For the next 4-6 weeks, I will work on the book proposal… and…
…and…
I’m going to have to think about that for a day. Maybe a cookie will help. And a donut. From the vending machine.