Nothing annoys me more...

Nothing annoys me more...then an empty pot of coffee on a cold winter... err fall day.

Yah, it feels like winter here lately... we have received more snow then all of last year combined. I digress.

Nothing annoys me more than unprofessionalism... when you are supposed to be a professional.

I won't point any fingers because quite frankly that annoys me... Goodness, am I annoyed easily?

In any event, I sent an email to said professional with a question. I sent it in a professional manner, addressing the professional and my question. Expecting to receive a professional response I was perplexed to get an email a day later with two partial sentences in the body. No signature line.

While the person DID respond to my question quickly... it certainly was NOT professional. In fact, very far from it. I was going to disregard the answer based on her tactlessness but then decided to go ahead with what my initial question ensued.

I received a response three days later, not bad response time really... but the professionalism in the email... lacked again.

You know what I did? I laughed. Then when I was done laughing... I laughed some more.

Seriously? You are supposed to representing a professional agency here... and you are emailing me with badly formed sentences, terrible formatting and a "Cheers"... Really?

(not that i have a problem with "cheers" but seemed very... odd for the tone of the email and the one before.)

So while she didn't email me with the golden egg of an answer... I was annoyed, amused and thankful...

My tips for today...

1. 
   
   If you are a professional... before you respond to a client question or possible client question... read your website. Make sure you are answering the question the way you have reflected in the past.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   If you are a professional... act like a professional even in the small responses. I mean come on, it takes two seconds to sign you flippen name. In fact, they have things you can set up in your email to sign your name for you, if you are that lazy!
   
   
   
3. 
   
   If you are a professional... do your homework and format your email in a somewhat readable form at least one that is uhh, professional. Even just a properly formatted txt email would have been better than this.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   If you are seeking a professional... read their website thoroughly so that when they do contact you with bonehead responses... you will know to RUN!
   
   
   
5. 
   
   If you are seeking a professional... wear your running shoes.
   
   
   

Remember, I am not a professional, nor have I ever claimed to be... I just play one on the internet.

Ready? Set? Balance...

I am not talking circus acts either... though, now that I am forced to think about it... my life sometimes does feel like a circus act. Sometimes it even resembles one.

*shudder*

However, the balance I am referring to today is of writing, family, editing, family, submitting/querying, family and coffee.

Mustn't forget the coffee... balance. It's all about balance.

Never mind that I had a whole pot of said coffee yesterday, let's talk balance for today.

So, how does one balance the tugs of life and still do the thing that makes them happiest. Like say, writing?

Good question, let me know when you find the answer.

Wait.

This is my blog, I am suppose to give an answer, huh? Ahhh, okay.

Well, I don't have any definitive answers... in fact, I am a work in progress. Just like my novels.

However, I do try hard to balance the things in my life. I am a firm believer in the idea that where the majority of my time and energy go, my heart will go there too. I am not saying that putting your heart into your work is wrong but… how much of your heart goes into it? Is there enough to go around?

Believe me, I understand deadlines. I understand emergencies. I even understand entertainment.

I understand my novel isn’t going to write itself. Nor will it edit itself or jump out at an agent/publisher and say, “Hey, read me.”

However, I also understand that my children are 10, 8 and 6 and will never be 10, 8 and 6 again… and if I can’t find balance between all these things… then I fail.

It won’t matter how many novels I write… nor how many I sell…

So, in the midst of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I challenge myself to take a moment and make sure I am in balance.

There is nothing like an unbalanced tire… it’s rubbed so raw in places that eventually it explodes… and that could be messy. No exploding for me thanks.

Where’s my coffee?

(Pictures above: DD10, DS8 and DS6.... they are so adorable. And it's okay that you think so too ;))