A – An Acceptance Story

May 2013 I had sent a query letter for Hurricane Crimes to The Wild Rose Press. It was a decision I made when I struggled to find a willing agent to even want to read a chapter of the first book in my series. I couldn’t even get acceptances from magazines or ezines for my flash fiction. I was depressed and desperate. I knew I had to do something to break into publishing, and that’s how I decided to write a hurricane story set in Florida.
On Christmas Day 2011, I started writing it. It took me a year to write and edit it because I was also writing the last book in my series. But when it was done and I created a list of possible publishers, I sent off the email query to the first place on my list with all off my hopes and dreams attached to it.
Then something amazing happened. The senior editor from The Wild Rose Press wanted to see the manuscript! I sent her the short forty-odd pages with about a dozen prayers and crossed fingers.
In June, I got a reply back. The editor said the story was good and that she enjoyed the characters as well as the plot but the manuscript needed a tad bit more work. They were easy fixes and I sent it back more nervous than ever. Everything was riding on this manuscript…this moment. The fear of rejection loomed over my head like an anvil hanging from a strand of hair.


This is an actual entry from my journal:
August 8th 2013,

Message to my best friend: 

“…I’m not optimistic. Nothing ever works out for me. I know, I know, have to be positive but I’m in a very depressed state right now…I don’t want to be in this situation much longer, so God better hurry things along!...I’m done with people thinking I’m a bump-on-the-log. I’m over [people] not understanding my situation. I don’t know how much more I can feel like a failure at this point and at this stage of my life.” 

I was so depressed that day that I didn’t even bother checking my email that night before I turned off the computer. Well, the next morning I found an email waiting for me from the editor, which was sent the night before. I started to panic, thinking it was a denial. It wasn’t! She offered me a contract!

What did I learn from that experience? When you ask God to hurry things along, he will. And sometimes you just need a few more hours of patience to have your wish come true.
This is my acceptance story for Hurricane Crimes, the start of my publishing career. I hope to have many more acceptance stories in the future. Including books 3-5 in the Disaster Crimes series. :)

QUESTION: What’s your acceptance story? If you don’t have one yet…don’t worry. You will one day. :)