Scout Out Other Possibilities

There are stories I have worked on for months – years – that may not see the publishing light of day. Yet I invested so much time and brainpower in developing them, I hate to see that go to waste. What to do?

Rewrite.

A couple of years ago, I came across an article about Daisy Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts. I learned that the 100^th anniversary of the organization was in 2012. After checking on Amazon to see what books were already written about her, I discovered that there were no current picture books. Aha! Opportunity!

My book idea was filled with hooks – the Girl Scout anniversary tie-in, the selling strength of a large, built-in audience, possible endorsements from the Girl Scouts and successful women who were once Girl Scouts, and women’s history month.

I found an editor who was interested in my manuscript yet wanted a rewrite. I wrote and rewrote because the editor needed the manuscript to be in nearly perfect shape before she would present it in the acquisitions meeting. After much fine-tuning, she took it to the meeting. My manuscript was turned down.

After many tears and a string of swear words, I put it away. But I couldn’t let it go. I didn’t want to waste all that time and effort for nothing!  I thought about ways to rework the information so that I could still publish something about Daisy Low.

I thought about putting out a book of Daisy-isms. When I contacted the Girl Scouts to have them double-check the list of quotes that I had compiled, I was told that many were not things she had said. “The internet has a lot of misquotes,” they said.  There went that idea.

Instead, I took my book manuscript and reworked it into a magazine article. Highlights Magazine bought it! So even though what I was paid for the article is nowhere near the book advance I was hoping for, I was still compensated for part of my time. Plus my ultimate goal of informing girls about a wonderfully quirky and inspiring woman in US history will be realized, and for that I am thankful.

As a past Girl Scout, I did learn something from the Girl Scout Law that has stuck with me to this day.

The Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
 responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Be a good Girl Scout and use your resources wisely. Take a second look at a project that isn’t selling, and see if you can rework it into something that will.

If you respect yourself and your work, the world will be a better place.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/srcprogramphotos/458024245/sizes/o/in/photostream/