Sweat

I've done it. I've just submitted my application for the NEA. They changed their system this year so that the entire process is done online, using Adobe. Last weekend I had a meltdown because the whole process seemed so overwhelming. Today, it went more smoothly than I could have hoped; however, like filing taxes online, you do have to sweat the small stuff...down to an exact system for naming the files.

Kudos again to my Mac Guru, Sean Chapman, who pointed out the button for converting Word files to PDFs (as required by grants.gov, the website handling the submissions). So much easier than I imagined.

Two things were different this time around. One, I didn't have to submit the 20 journal publications, much thanks to Blood Almanac and Anhinga Press. (Although, it is much easier now. You don't have to copy anything, just create a list of publications. It's basically an honor system with a stern warning not to cheat.) Two, I have been submitting applications to summer residencies, which require a 10-page manuscript, so I already had the poems mostly selected and didn't fret over them too much.

Grants.gov has confirmed that I sent the whole thing correctly. Now, I wait for an email saying the NEA has gotten it and it checks out. One reason to submit early--if there is an error in your file(s), and you submitted before the March 3 deadline, they will apparently tell you and you have time to fix and resubmit.

Exhausted and off to nap.