Those who know me are saying to themselves, Marathons? Cheryl does not run — or marathon. I mean, I’ve jogged before, willingly, even. I’ve participated in a few 5K events, but I mostly fast-walked those. No, I’m definitely talking about different kinds of marathons here, and it struck me today, as I was thinking about how I stayed positive during the querying — and overwhelming rejection — of my YA novel, that it was these other marathons that kept me going.

As most of my friends and family — and probably all three of my “followers,” if you can call them that — know, I wrote a book this summer. Yes, amazingly for me, 2020 has been pretty fantastic if you discount the whole worldwide pandemic thing. So I wrote a book. And if other writers want to know, I am a plotter, not a pantser. I sat on this story idea for months, writing scenes in my head before typing a word of it. Then I created an outline and timeline, both of which I revised as my story went in unexpected directions.

Anyway, I finally wrote this book, and I knew I wanted to get it published, and I knew I had to start by getting a literary agent. Simple, right? I mean, I loved my story so much; why wouldn’t agents be knocking down my door to represent me? Turns out it’s not that easy.

My book is young adult historical fiction, set during the Great Depression — there’s apparently not high demand for that, no matter how awesome I think my story is. To make matters worse, my character’s age in the story ranges from 11 to 15, which is too old for middle grade but on the young end of YA — not high demand for that age range, either. Of course, I ignored all this and researched literary agents to create a list of the ones I thought would love my book, and I sent queries out rapid-fire because I can be a bit impatient. And obsessive.

Long story short, I received rejection after rejection, which can be discouraging, to say the least. Here is where the marathons come in, because I certainly needed something to help me keep my chin up and keep powering forward. So, without further ado, here are my favorite marathons:

• Movie marathons — I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter, both the books and the movies, and watching the entire series from beginning to end makes me happy. I’ve also been known to watch the Hunger Games movies repeatedly. For some reason, once I’ve finished one of these marathons, I want to start from the beginning and watch them again.

• Writing marathons — Just as writer’s block is a real thing, so are writer’s marathons. It’s like the opposite. I sit down to write and I just can’t stop. I want to write all the things.

• Reading marathons — Sometimes I go through book droughts because I get so busy with work and everything. But when I finally make time to read, I can go days with my nose in a book every free second that I have.

• Dessert marathons — I just made this one up, so maybe it’s not a thing in real life — but it totally is for me (which may explain why I’ve gained 15 pounds since March, but I can absolutely blame Covid for that). Cookies, cake, brownies, ice cream, chocolates, cupcakes, doughnuts, mmhmm, bring ‘em on, one right after another. That is true happiness right there.

• Friends marathons — There’s at least one TV channel that seems to be showing Friends episodes all. the. time. So if I’m home, and I’ve already watched all the Harry Potters, Friends is a good choice.

  Well, there you have it. My favorite marathons. Why, yes, I do happen to be in the middle of a marathon at this very moment. I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. By the end of my Thanksgiving week off, I will have watched all of them. Is that weird because I’m so old? Maybe. Do I care? Nope.

  As always, check on your menopausal friends. They might need a marathon to cheer them up.