The Contract

This afternoon, I got the e-mail that all authors dream of. A publisher likes my stuff enough to want to publish it. Here is the e-mail:

Dear Sirena Robinson,

 

At PDMI we want to congratulate you on your book entitled "DEVIL'S DILEMMA". We love to acknowledge talent when we see it. Therefore, PDMI Publishing would be honored to take on your manuscript. If you are interested in this offer, we will need the following information as listed below to process the agreement between you and PDMI. Please respond to this message within 14 days.

 

 

I think I read it a dozen time before it sank in. I had an advantage in that I was referred to this publisher by a friend of mine who is published through them, and she had spoken to them about my work before I queried. However, I still submitted a query letter, sample chapters, and then a full, just like anyone else. 

 

Today is overwhelming. I feel like a kid at Christmas. I'm happy, and excited, and overwhelmed. People are going to read what I write! -- The emotions that go along with that statement are elation and paralyzing fear, in equal measures. 

 

On one hand, I know I'm prepared. This book has been fully edited twice by me and by three separate people. It has been test read by eight people, whom have all given me feedback that is both very useful and encouraging. 

 

I've also had a couple bad reviews, from a person who decided to tell me I needed to rewrite the whole thing after reading two chapters and who had the ego to think I would do so, solely on their say so, and one person who refused to read past the prologue because they said my writing was "painful".

 

I survived them, and while I have my personal thoughts about each, I didn't stop writing or dissolve into tears. I can take criticism. 

 

Ultimately, it boils down to this. Someone likes my writing well enough to want to spend money publishing it. That is humbling and thrilling. I am honored to have people read what I write, and I can only hope that they get 1/10th the joy out of reading it that I got out of writing it.