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A Writer's Blog: Making It Happen 9/26/2005 9:56:18 AM
Story of J.J. Michael's publishing journey.
A Writer’s Blog: Making It Happen By J.J. Michael
August 2005 Unbelievable. I call my daughter Michelle. She asked, “Where are you?” I responded, “I’m in Border’s bookstore in Silver Spring, Md standing in front of you know what.” I ask her where she was, she responded, “I am in Border’s bookstore in Columbia, Md standing in front of you know what.” We laughed. How absurd this may look or sound to others--two grown women staring at a book on a shelf in two different Border’s. But, it was not just any book. It was my ‘dream book’ Life is Never as It Seems. I had waited a lifetime to walk into a major bookstore and see my book on a shelf. I took a picture with my phone camera. I smiled as I left the store. “Ridiculous,” you say. Not really let’s rewind to four years ago.
May 2001 I am in grief. My son had made his transition only 6 months ago. He was born with Hydrocephalus and he had finally succumbed to it. My friend of many years, Leticia Peoples, the former owner of the first black romance publishing company, Odyssey, invited me to stay at her home in Palm Coast, Florida. It was a safe haven. For two weeks I cried and I wrote. After two weeks, I had fifty pages of a fiction book and a bucket full of tears.
October 2001 Five months later, I stared at the fifty pages. I decided to try and write the middle of the story.
December 2001 I went back and read the first fifty pages. They did not fit in with the middle section of the story. I liked the middle the best. So, I decided to write the ending. I didn’t get to do it because of the holidays and family. I made a New Years Resolution to finish the book in 2002.
February-May 2002 It‘s been a year since I first started the novel. I deleted more than half of the first fifty pages. I rewrote. Rewrote. Rewrote and rewrote the first section... I was ready to throw in the towel. Doubt set in. What made me think that I could write a novel and get it published? It’s wasn’t easy. I remembered going through all the rejection letters for my first book. I finally settled on using Publishing on Demand (POD). I learned a lot about the publishing industry from self-publishing. However, for this one, I want to go the traditional route ---a literary agent, publisher, contract, published work on the self in the major bookstores. I have got to get rid of the doubt and frustration. I am the one that teaches you can create your life with your thoughts. Hey, I wrote about fulfilling your dream in my first book, Path to Truth. What happened to my dream of being a writer when I was nine years old? A book from my library fell off the shelf and almost hit me in the head. I picked it up and read the title, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy. I opened it and these words leaped out at me: Whatever the conscious, reasoning mind of man believes, the subconscious will act upon it. When you imagine the reality of the fulfilled desire and feel the thrill of accomplishment, your subconscious brings about the realization of your desire. Ok, God I hear you. I pushed on and finished the first section.
June 2002 I combined the three sections. I had a draft! WOW. I rewrote and rewrote. I sent a copy off to the Library of Congress. I searched the Net for editing services. Found several. Not sure which one I should use. It was a toss up. I finally decided on a company in upstate New York, after I submitted a page or two to them. I liked the way the editor made the corrections and the price was right for me. In less than two weeks, chapters rolled in from the editor. I had to learn a new Microsoft Word technique which allowed for corrections to be done electronically. All I did was accept or not accept the corrections. I was more worried about what the editor thought about the book. I waited for her overview that wouldn’t come until she completed the editing process.
July 2002 The editor finished the book in less than a month. I received the overview. I was thrilled. She gave the content the highest rating of a five. I started going through the chapters. I was not happy with the results of the editing. The editor missed too many things. I found out that the editor who did the first two pages did not do the manuscript. I called Leticia and cried. Leticia who had edited a number of her books told me to send it to her. I did. She was not happy with the editing either. She cleaned it up even more.
August 2002 I sent out query letters and the first three chapters of the book to literary agents and publishers. Rejection letters. I handled them because I had experienced with rejection letters. I visualized seeing the book in bookstores not only on the self, but people buying it. I pulled out my books and articles that told about all those famous writers whose books were rejected. I felt better. I received a letter from Genesis Press, a small publishing company in Mississippi. The acquisition editor wanted me to send her the full manuscript but she made no promises. I was told that they were interested. I passed the first scrutiny. Yeah. Visualize, see that published book on the shelf, I told myself.
November 2002 I waited to hear from Genesis. Leticia called me to tell me she read a review about a book called the Da Vinci Code, which has Mary Magdalene in it. I was upset. Why? Because my book has a subplot involving Mary. This is what happens when the universe disperses creative energy. We all get it. I searched the Washington Post and found an article on the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I must get this book. When I woke up the next morning I knew what to do. I wrote a letter to the Genesis publisher outlining my marketing program for my book and attached a copy of the Da Vinci Code article explaining that books dealing with spirituality and the supernatural were hot. I waited and waited.
January 2003 I received a call from Genesis and an email. It worked. I got the contract for the book. It’s Christmas, a time to celebrate. The real work was just beginning and I thought it had ended with the writing of the book. Little did I know?
