Tales from the Trenches: KEEP CALM and WRITE ON

April 8, 2011April 9, 2011

So, today my über talented and supremely generous cousin, Carla Essen*, sent me an enigmatic DM: What’s your favorite color? I’m making you something. My curiosity was immediately piqued, so I replied with: Pink or red, then I waited. A short while later I found this gem** in my inbox:

First, I’m so glad she chose pink for me. Second, how cute is that crown on top?! And third, I’ve taken the above statement on as my new mantra.

This industry has too many stresses that are too easy to get caught up in, especially if you’re stuck in the query trenches (like me!) or trudging down the long submission road (so I’ve heard!). I often find myself so keyed up about query etiquette, social networking, the perfect pitch, blogging and blog reading, the unforeseeable future of publishing, who’s gotten how big an advance, and (insert any number of trivial things here), that I forget my main goal: Write and write well.

So, from now on I’m going to KEEP CALM and WRITE ON. You should too!

*Carla has an amazing talent for photography, among many other things.
**You have Carla’s permission (and mine!) to lift this graphic to use on your own blog if you’d like. 🙂

9 thoughts on “Tales from the Trenches: KEEP CALM and WRITE ON”

Jessica Love says:
April 8, 2011 at 9:45 PM

I love this. I want to make it my computer background. 🙂
Amie Kaufman says:
April 9, 2011 at 5:12 AM

Oh, I love it. I’m with Jessica, I’m making this my wallpaper.
Sophia Richardson says:
April 9, 2011 at 11:22 AM

I have a turqoise Get Excited and Make Things version of this on my laptop, I should really get around to printing it out . . . Maybe they would look nice as a pair, hmm.
– Sophia.
Erin Bowman says:
April 9, 2011 at 1:03 PM

Love it! I adore how this WWII propaganda has taken on a life of its own nowadays. So fun. Thank goodness for public domain copyright laws. I mean, look at all these options: http://www.google.com/images?q=keep+calm+and

Anyway, Keep Calm and Write On! (I just might have to get something similar for my office!) It really is a great mantra.
katharine owens says:
April 10, 2011 at 5:28 AM

great! love it. Will steal and put on my blog!
katyupperman says:
April 10, 2011 at 1:56 PM

Thanks, girls! I think I’m going to print it out, find a pretty frame, and hang it over my desk. 🙂
Christine Murray says:
April 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM

I love this! Have put it on my blog, and will print it out for over my desk. It’s gorgeous 🙂
- Midge says:
  August 27, 2014 at 11:36 PM
  
  Unibblevaele how well-written and informative this was.
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