Fiction writers in the real world

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For those of you who are wondering how the mural project went–first let me say that the box had big letters which read, “Easy to put up . . . Anyone can do it!”

Yeah, right.

This is fiction writing in the real world. Fantasy, to be exact. It wasn’t easy, and there was no way I could have done it by myself.

Or as my friend Leslie, who came over to help me, put it, “By the time you realize the truth, they’ve already got your money.” (Luckily Leslie had done wallpaper murals before, so she knew what to do, despite the box’s inadequate instructions.)

But I’ve decided not to blame the box writer. No, I actually think it was just a case of over editing. I think originally the writer had written the description as:

It will be easy to put up pictures on the wall to cover all your mistakes! Anyone who is a trained professional–and only trained professionals–can do it!

Editors will do it to you every time, my friend. (Can you tell I just got back the revisions on A Fairy Godmother’s Guide to Saving Troubled Teens? Except for that name got vetoed so who knows what it’s going to be called now.) More on revisions later.

11 comments

  1. The Golfing Librarian
    April 21, 2008 at 6:18 am

    Thank heavens for the “Leslies” of the world! It looks great!
    BTW, Leslie is right–they got your cash!

  2. Anne Bradshaw
    April 21, 2008 at 7:45 am

    Opposition in ALL things–remember? I’ve decided to never expect anything to be easy, and then I’m blown away on the rare occasion it is 🙂 The scene looks great, by the way.

  3. Stephanie Humphreys
    April 21, 2008 at 9:16 am

    It looks great! I think they must have the same editors on some sewing patterns.

  4. tenacious d
    April 21, 2008 at 10:20 am

    This post gave me a nice Monday morning chuckle. The mural looks lovely.

    I can’t believe they vetoed that book title. It’s great!

  5. Joelle
    April 21, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Oh, gosh…I feel for you on the title thing. I just got mine vetoed by my agent too. Maybe we should swap manuscripts and think up titles for each other!

    The mural looks great. I think I’ll stick to paint. You did better than me though because my kitchen backsplash did NOT get painted after all. But the party was great anyway and no one commented on the backsplash looking like something out of a trailer.

  6. Julie Wright
    April 21, 2008 at 11:16 am

    Dang and I liked that title. You’re a brave woman to dare such homemaking tasks. I shake my head and wonder how much it willc ost to pay someone else to do it, realize I can’t afford the cost of hiring it out, scrap the whole project, and eat ice cream. 🙂

  7. Lillian Syville
    April 21, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    It looks great. I would say that you should allwys exspect things to be about ten times harder than the packages say.

    Good luck on your revisions! We should have a chocolate drive for you. A life time supply for chocolate whenever you get your reviions back.

  8. Heather B. Moore
    April 22, 2008 at 10:17 am

    Very cute wall. I’ll not show my kids or else I’ll have to fly Leslie out.

  9. Tamra Norton
    April 22, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    Dang, Janette, you are so prolific! Can’t wait for another read from you. Hey, and great wall picture thingy! I’m with Heather though–better not show my kiddos, cuz this mommy only does Wal-Mart purchased, or booksigning freebie posters, or even homemade artwork posters on bedroom walls. Just keepin’ it simple…and within my scope.

  10. Enna Isilee
    April 24, 2008 at 4:54 pm

    Janette! Shannon just told us that you’re coming to our convention thingy in June! I’m so excited!

  11. blooberrymuffin@yahoo.com
    April 26, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    To bad, the mural looks good, but your kids probably will never get another mural.

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