Hi, Friends!
I am so excited to announce I have signed a publishing contract for my novel, Periphery! My debut novel has been a labor of love, written in 2020 and edited for the past three years. I sent it out to a few agents over the past few years, only to be met with the expected form rejections. Was I surprised? No. Was I disappointed? Indeed.
One very kind agent sent me a personalized rejection letter. Her words about my story kept the spark of hope alive in me, even though she ultimately passed on the project. My friends and family pushed me to continue sending my manuscript out. Sometimes I did, other times I let it sit untouched on my laptop for months on end.
Stephen King is quoted to have said the nail with his rejection letters impaled upon it fell, unable to support the weight of all the rejections he received before he published his first work. His solution? Replace the nail with a spike and keep on writing.
So, I kept on when I could. I continually edited, revised, re-read. But life happens, and with a job, kids and a home and a husband to tend to, I struggled to justify the time I’d spend writing. Some days, I’d get angry with myself. I mean, what was I thinking spending all that time writing 80k words just to let it sit on my laptop forever? I don’t have any writing credits past a few work-related publications and articles from when I was younger. Some days, I would get close to deleting the entire manuscript just to free up the space it occupied in my head. As any writer knows, once you create characters, they tend to stalk your mind and haunt your dreams, begging to be brought to life.
But I’ve always believed in magic. Sought to get a glimpse of the impossible. So, every now and again, I’d open the laptop and send out a query or two. Much to my surprise, over the summer I had an acquisitions editor respond, requesting to read the full manuscript as she enjoyed the synopsis and partial I’d sent in. Within 90 days of that correspondence, I was offered a contract!
I once heard a saying that when you’re about to give up is right when the magic happens. In my case, that is exactly what happened. I was prepared to give up, stop tinkering and ‘wasting time’ on something I didn’t feel good enough for.
And, thanks to a healthy dose of imposter syndrome right now, despite getting a contract, I’m still not sure I’m good enough! But what I am is determined, and the stubborn Capricorn in me refuses to give up. Even if I’m not good enough, I’ll work until my fingertips bleed, until my words, my story, is worthy of being read.
Until then? I’m here to tell anyone who reads this not to give up. Whatever your dream is, when you are at your lowest and ready to give up, push on. It’s means you’re just a thin veil away from the magic.
With a little luck and a lot of perseverance, nothing is impossible.
AA DaSilva 