Back in 2004, I mailed query letters and manuscripts of my first two books, Zamboni's Bath and Zambonis Goal, to nearly 100 publishers. Yes, I mailed them all USPS. This was before the days of electronic submissions, and before having an agent was the ONLY way to get your work to a publisher. Ahh, for the good old days!
So. . . nearly 100 submissions. A few publishers never responded. I received letters from 85 of them--each and every one was a rejection letter. A few were personalized, but most were a standard form letter.
That REALLY stung. Imposter syndrome quickly took hold. But I was an elementary school teacher at the time, and I was positive that kids would love my books as much as I did. So I decided to revise them and try again.
Just as I was about to begin, I came home to a life-changing voicemail from Kaeden Publishing. They loved my books and wanted to publish them! Twenty-one years later, they're still available here in English and Spanish.
Fast forward to 2020 when I signed a contract for my Charli series. Then COVID hit. Everything shut down. Contracts were delayed. Four years later, my contract was terminated. I'd been rejected once more.
Setting aside my deep disappointment, I found a fabulous editor who gave me very sound, and very honest, advice. Instead of seeing it as yet another rejection, I took it as an opportunity for growth. I completely revised the series and took it in a different direction. Now, the first six books will be out within the next year!
Lesson learned: being an author requires a thick skin. Writing is a long-haul endeavor requiring infinite patience and perseverance. But the thrill of knowing that kids are enjoying my books is the pot of gold at the end of my personal rainbow!
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