Page 86 of Unconventionally, Elle
Rach:I can't with this guy.
Me:HAHAHA
Sarah:Elle, clean up your manuscript a bit and submit it. You can feel confident knowing that it's good if it was good enough to beat out thousands of other submissions.
Me:Okay, hold on one sec. I want to read over the rules again in my email and see if they say anything about publishing it in like an anthology or anything. Stand by.
I opened the rules of the competition and began to read. What I read next sent my stomach through the floor. My excitement vanished and anxiety crept through my mind.
Me:We have a problem, Houston. A really big fucking problem.
Rach:WHAT?
Sarah:Excuse me?
Me:The fine print of the competition. They keep the rights to my manuscript.
Finn:NO! Fuck.
Sarah:. . .
Me:I imagined winning so much that I didn't think losing the rights would be a big deal. But yeah, once I submitted it, the competition gets to keep my story.
Rach:So, you knew about that fine print? Elle, what were you thinking? That's awful verbiage. They aren't publishing it without your consent, are they?
Sarah:What the actual fuck?
Me:I don't think so, I could probably get a lawyer or something, but I mean, you guys, it was a shitty first draft, right?
Rach:I don't know, Elle. You slaved over that story. Now you're going to walk away?
Sarah:Yeah, Elle, you can't walk away from that. It's a labor of love.
Me:I'm not walking away from it. I'm going to write something better. Maybe that was the whole point for me. I don't know, maybe it's only for me to understand. Now I know I can do it. I can get paid for my art and my talent. I can win, I can do this. Maybe I can find an agent with the first manuscript I scrapped.
Sarah:The one inspired by your grandparents?
Me:Yeah, it was almost a completed first draft. I bet I can make something happen with it.
Rach:Do you think you'll go back to corporate?
Me:No, I don't think so. I could if I needed to, but I'm not there yet. I was nervous for a bit about my savings depleting, but I've got a steady stream of income from a few clients I do copywriting for. I can't believe it, honestly.
Rach:I don't get it. You could make so much money going into corporate publishing if you wanted to.
Me:Rach, could you ever imagine being a stay-at-home mom? Seriously.
Rach:God no.
Sarah:Thanks, Rach. *Eye roll*
Finn:Sign me up for the stay-at-home dad train. Please. K. Thanks, bye.
Me:See though? Everyone has their own thing. Their own success. That's what makes this so hard to figure out sometimes. It's not one-size-fits-all in terms of life choices.
Me:BTW, Sarah, you're an amazing mom, and I could never do what you do either. It's too hard.
Sarah:Thanks! I love momming, but James better start making his own doctor's appointments, or I'm going on strike.
