August 24th

The problem with not blogging on the regular (read: I'm lazy.) is that when you do blog, there's just way too much to say. So I'm going to jump around but stick with me, y'all.

The most amazing Jenny Martin sold her book! If you don't know Jenny, then you should! Check out her PM announcement for TRACKED!

One of my critique partners and dearest friends, Jessica Taylor, came to see me for a whole week! We had never met in person, so while we were excited, we were a little anxious too. But. It. Was. Awesome. We watched the entire first season of Alias, cuddled like maniacs, ate tons of great food, bought The Hunger Games DVD at midnight, fueled our sleep deprived selves with cupcakes, and talked about that big thing in the sky called WRITING. Jessica also received an offer of rep (!!!!!!!) while she was here. I won't tell the story, because that's all Jessica, so keep an eye on her blog for that! Oh and we shopped like socialites. It was pretty awesome. Here's a few pictures from our escapades: 

Today is August 24th. (DUH!) August 24th is important for lots of reasons. Today is my sweet friend Kristin's birthday. And Valerie Cole's too! It's also the birthdays of Yasser Arafat, John Green, and Rupert Grint. On this day in 2006, Pluto was announced as a dwarf planet. (SAD VIOLIN MUSIC.) In 1995, Windows95 made its debut. Tons of shit has happened on August 24th. Seriously, check out this list. But the thing you won't find on that list is this: August 24, 2011- Julie Murphy finished her first manuscript.

It wasn't very good and it was kind of boring. It was really quiet and the voice wasn't quite right. But on this day last year, I finished my first manuscript. It's been a super effing crazy year. Everything has happened really fast. But something I've learned is that there's no set path to publication. Sometimes it's a ten year journey. Sometimes it's a one year journey. You are not lacking because it's taken you so long or because it hasn't taken you long enough. There's no right way to do it.

I signed my contract with HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray a little over a week ago. And, WOW. This time last year, all of this felt so far off and out of reach. Still, nothing feels quite real. I want to document as much of this experience as I can, so here I am signing my contract!

I don't think anything will ever happen with that first book, but it totally had to be written. The whole experience taught me so much. I'm working on a third manuscript now. I'm not sure what will happen with it and if it will ever be something. But with every word I write, I grow. So here's to a year of words and many more to come!