Whatever happened to those three dead moths ...

And so it ends as it began. It was a cold and lonely Tuesday evening, felt like Thursday, when I dragged my butt home from aquasize. There was a chill in the autumn air that a cup of steaming chai with an extra dollop of organic honey couldn’t stave off. Needed to check my e-mail before shoving some curried vegetables down my gullet and bolting out to meet a friend for coffee. There it was. An email from Crystal Stranaghan the publisher of Gumboot Books. It was the e-mail we all wait for. Quickly scanned over the line apologizing for the delay, complete with a winky-face emoticon. A line about how much she liked the manuscript. Then the line we all wait for: “It’s something I’d be interested in publishing….” I did the classic OMG scream then phoned my sister. Forwarded the e-mail to my writer’s group with an ‘in your face’ message.

Then I wrote back to Crystal to begin the process of negotiation. I was unable to acquire an agent, even though I had a contract, but I will keep in touch with the agents I meet at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference and continue stalking them as I progress in my career as a novelist. I went back to Surrey that year with a contract in hand and it was announced in front of all 700 participants as a success story. The novel comes out in the fall of 2009.

After the offer from Gumboot, the other Vancouver publisher got back to me suggesting some rewrites and resubmission. I wrote them that I had an offer and thanked them for their interest. 

Success comes through persistence, rewriting, and following up on every opportunity that comes your way. Let the frustration burn off like the morning mist on the Ganges.

I never thought about giving up … and it never once occurred to me to clean out the three dead moths in my mailbox.