I've been working on my submission materials for a while, and I promised myself I would submit my first query by the end of last month, and of course everything had to be perfect. I got the query email all ready, but then just stared at the Send button for a long time. I'm not sure why. Maybe because querying makes me feel like I'm about to jump off the high dive into a pool that may or may not have water. My 5-year-old daughter meandered into the room and asked what I was doing. I explained briefly then said, "You can help me! Come hold my hand." So she climbed onto my bed and clasped her little hand in mine. I took a deep breath. A moment passed, and I still didn't send the email. She looked at me in consternation. "Just cwick it," she whispered. "I will, it's just kind of scary!" After another few moments of inaction, she reached over with her free hand. "I'll do it." "No! I'll do it." I gently pushed her hand away. "Thanks though, darling." Another moment. Still holding hands. "It will be okay, Mommy." I looked into her bright, hazel eyes as she half-smiled in wonder at her mother's silliness. I chuckled. "You're right, here we go." I clicked Send. Whew. Threshold crossed. Journey begun. "Good job," she said, simply. I smiled and thanked her for her support. She immediately picked up the pretend phone she'd made out of a flattened toilet paper roll (complete with drawn on buttons), and started a one-sided conversation. "Mmmhmm, yeah, I think so too." She looked at me and said, "I'll be your agent, Mommy." Ha! I laughed and pulled her into a big hug. "That would be amazing, thank you!" I think there's some water in that pool after all.
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