Going, going . . .

Mar 16, 2012

Mar 30, 2012

April 1, 2012

This blog has been in hibernation over much of the winter, but things should be picking up soon, now that the snow and ice are beginning to clear.

On the manuscript, I'm still waiting to hear from my last reader.  He's promised to be done sometime next week, which is spring break down in Missoula.  As soon as I hear from him, I'll start sending portions of the manuscript out to literary agents.

Conventional wisdom says it's almost as difficult to get an agent as it is to get published, but these days many publishers won't even talk to anybody but agents.  It's time to take a shot and let the universe have it, whatever the odds.

As the song says, "Can't go half at it—gotta nail it hard."

(Hat tip to BMac, who posted a reference to this tune in a comment almost two years ago)

I'm also keeping in mind the remark of one would-be author, who said whenever he gets a rejection letter from an agent, he plays this song:

There's always a chance I'll need to adopt it, too, at some point, though a baritone version, and on a mountain instead of a rooftop.  But as I wrote in the manuscript, it won't feel like a failure if I don't become a published writer.  It would have been a failure not to have tried.

While agents are looking at the manuscript (or not), I'll be shifting to the next project.  If things go as planned, this will be the Summer of Yellowstone.  Since it's not really plausible to hike across Yellowstone National Park like I did in the Bob, I'm planning to do four deep backcountry trips into some of the more remote areas.  In national parks, you can't just camp anywhere like you can in national forests, so I'll need to have an itinerary of backcountry sites reserved in advance of each trip.  I've already sent off my requests for those reservations, but I won't hear whether I got them or not for a little while.

As the snow continues to clear, I'll start doing a lot of day-hiking to get back in long-distance backpacking shape.  At some point in early summer, I'll likely be moving closer to the Yellowstone area, as much as I hate to leave this wonderful cabin on the river.  But the backpacking season is short in the high country.  My four trips are planned from late July to mid September, with a week or less between them, and it would be tough to drive five and half hours between Sula and the park before and after each trip.  Being closer will also allow me to do a lot of day hikes in the park and a bit of research in the heritage center.  It'll put me closer to Mari, too, which is always nice.

A lot of things are still up in the air, but that's the plan.