By Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites
With life vest buckled tight, I climbed in to the red kayak. Although with my knees these days, it felt more like I fell into it and managed to plop onto the seat cushion almost at an upright angle. I had given David the choice of our anniversary adventure. He had taken me on a couple of excursions earlier in the summer so I told him he could pick whatever he wanted for our anniversary trip.
A five-minute kayak trip across the river later, and David began the meticulous execution of his fishing routine. He pushed spikes into the mud at the edge of the river first. He placed the poles with empty hooks in their waiting position. Then he grabbed his cast net and chased bait fish along the edge until he had enough for a couple of hours of fishing. Had we known how relentless the crabs were going to be, he probably should’ve made three or four more casts.
David baited the hook and sent the line soaring. Now my job began as the spotter while he collected just a bit more bait.
Several hours later, we’d reeled in a number of fish. The fishing adventure reminded me a bit of the writing submission adventure. As scribes, we cast our offerings out into the world. We don’t always know what’s going to come back to us, though we are hopeful it will be the big one.
One of our tugs brought in a ladyfish. My husband said it sometimes called the poor man’s tarpon because it doesn’t get very big. Some of my writing acceptances have come from really small presses, like the magazine devoted to stay at home moms that paid with two complementary copies. Yet a couple of those acceptances are some of my very favorite stories of time spent with my firstborn, and later, toddler. I’ll always treasure that catch I added to my net … I mean my résumé.
Another cast brought a catfish to the river’s edge. Typically, catfish tend to bite most often when the water is murky and muddy, after a storm. One of my submissions that found a home was an article written about a disagreement my brother and I had while my mom was hospitalized. The hospitalization followed a simple procedure that soon turned into a life-threatening stay in the hospital. Guideposts magazine published my story about forgiveness as a result of the storm in my family‘s life.
“This one must be a small fish,” my husband said as he reeled in the line. He was right about the size, but he wrong about the species. A crab had latched onto the bait and hung tight until David got it all the way to shore.
The angry crustacean was not happy and made his displeasure known. With clacking claws and an angry face, the crab attempted to lash out at my husband. This catch reminded me of the crabby editor I met at a general market children’s conference who seemed as unhappy to be there as the crustacean was on the end of our line. She lashed out with no kindness about my pitch and sent me on my way after our brief appointment. I’m pretty sure I heard her pincers clacking as I walked away too. Perhaps it was just her pen clicking.
When the inflated puffer fish emerged from the water, I couldn’t help but think of the editor at a Christian writer’s conference that gushed a little bit too much about my pitch and had a great deal of inflated ideas about publishing my book. Although he seemed to talk more about his own accomplishments during most of our one-on-one session. Unfortunately, just like the fish who deflated once it was back in the water, I never heard from the agent again about my writing opportunity. Nor have I seen him again at another conference.
The baitless hook that came back to shore obviously signified the void of nothingness that accompanied many of my submissions. I’m guessing those offerings were rejected. And the school of baitfish my husband caught in the net reminded me of my Homeschooling Today Magazine acceptances.
A nice flounder, the perfect size, reminded me of the easiest “yes” I received from an editor. Several months later after the submission, I’d signed a contract for A Gingerbread House.
Fishing excursions, much like writing submissions, elicit anticipation, excitement, anxiousness, and sometimes joy, sometimes disappointment. But always an adventure. An adventure worth taking part in!
What have you “caught” lately with your writing cast?
Julie Lavender is the author of Children’s Bible Stories for Bedtime, Advent Stories for Bedtime, A Gingerbread House,and more. She and her husband enjoy writing children’s educational books together, too.
