This part of the eSKay “striptease” is at present under cover. We’ll reveal more below in “update form” when the time comes….For now just know: I finally dared to “submit” a manuscript expcerpt, a synopis, and cover letter on 5 May 2020. The results are still pending.
Footnote: (from Haley) I mentioned in the cover letter sent with the submission that, “Furthermore, by the time you read this, the Stoned Kitchen homepage should be available publicly (stonedkitchen.org.) The planned launch date is mid-May 2020.”
Hm. Today is 22 June 2020, and the website still isn’t on-line yet. So, obviously, that “plan” went astray. However, as of today, there is still time to launch so I fulfill that “by the time you read this” part, though. (The person I’ve submitted to says it can take up to “eight weeks for them to get back to you – or not.”) My new planned launch date is tomorrow! We will see if the “take-off” happens then in reality-or not.
Miamou: So Haley finally launched the website on 23 June 2020. Dan and I were both really relieved. We celebrated it, too – the two of them with a good deal of ouzo, etc. I just was glad for the chance to sprawl on Haley’s lap again.
Today, (14 July 2020)Haley realized that the eight-week “deadline” she wrote about above has come and gone and that she is not likely to hear back from New York. So…. She has moved into the next phase of her “Submission Plan.” (whispering). More on that later!
Haley: It’s 18 July 2020 and well, Dan and I are both kind of in “rest and relax” mode following a socially distanced birthday party for our friend Rose held at a beach here in Greece last evening.
I came here to my “submission page” on a whim to just give a quick update. Step 2 of the Submission Plan above was “writing to a literary agent in Germany who is a friend of a friend.”
A reply came the very next day! I’m grateful for that. However, it was not “positive news” in the sense of, “Oh, yes! I would love to be your literary agent in Germany, or help you find one” kind of email.” It did, though, inform me kindly that this agent is retiring and not accepting any new authors. It also included some advice for me – and today, I suddenly found myself following it…I’m making a list now of “Literary Agents accepting (stoned) cold submissions.”
FYI: I have also begun a new blogcast post that contains Stoned Kitchen’s Advice for the USA on “How to reopen schools.” Stay tuned!
In other news, Stoned Kitchen is now the proud owner of a USB microphone – a powerful tool (once I’d figured out how to get the recording volume set to a level I could hear.) That “mic test /soundcheck” I did after getting that problem solved gave me chill bumps…I might even post it someday – or transcribe it for the book, or send it to the people I ended up talking to: Zeus and Hera! (Also known as “my parents.”)
Oh! And I have reached out to an actor about possibly taking on the role of Hermes…
(Time passed…..)
23 November 2020: We regret to inform you that regularly updating this Sumbission post was interrupted by Stoned Kitchen’s extreme focus on the 45th President of the USA. Indeed, we let him have undue influence over most of our “Summer 2020 Season (and the three before that, too.) However, we “owe” our first three recorded blogcast episodes to him, and are busy saying Adios, President Trump, as we remember our purpose – and get on with turning some good dreams into reality.
One of mine remains: “Winning a publisher” for this work….
Submission status (progress report): The actor I spoke with about taking on the role of Hermes has declined for now. Also, numerous drafts of submission cover letters and supporting documents “were lost” in the Stoned Kitchen episode “Laptop Disaster” back in September. I continue to work on the basic concept of “back up your files.” The silver lining here was: I once again got to experience what amazing friends I have. While one arranged for my laptop to be fitted with a new hard drive in Germany, another lent me a laptop so I could keep working. Just an aside: I had spent a great deal of time trying to write the perfect cover letter to a selected literary agent (again, in New York.) I was all excited because: “This agent wanted to see the first 50 pages of the manuscript!”
Well, I kept putting off sending that letter, then my laptop crashed, and that letter in its “almost perfect” version was lost. By the time I got back to trying to write it again, I learned it was too late: The agent I had written to so often that I was starting to think of them by their first name has stopped taking submissions for the time being. This was a disappointment!
However, some weeks later, I finally “just did it.” I searched the internet again for “literary agents” and had had fun choosing one. (Once again, the agent I chose is based in New York. One reason I “selected” them was: This agency offered a form to fill in – and also, wanted the manuscript excerpt as an attachment.) Anway, as said, “I did it.” Submitted. I was amazed to see a response just a few days later. It said:
“Thank you for reaching out with STONED KITCHEN. I found a lot of voice and personality in the sample pages you provided, but unfortunately I’m just not finding a strong enough connection to the work overall to take it on. It’s such a subjective industry, another agent may connect totally differently. I appreciate the chance to review this and will be wishing you the very best of luck as you find that perfect partnership.”
Warmly”
That’s a very nice way to let someone down lightly, don’t you think?
So, today, a week after getting that letter, I am moving on with “the next step” in the submission “plan.” (I have come up with an intriguing idea. It’s a bit risky, though…I plan to toss it over with a couple of friends first…)
So for today, I’ll end this update with a lovely comment from a Stoned Kitchen goddess and friend:
“I think getting that first rejection is a badge of honor! It is par for the course of getting a project off the ground. So congratulations! 
Keep going! You are doing great!”
Hearing those words from my friend was such a help to me! Funny how kindness and encouragement can do that.
