Experience the Happily Ever After

I’m sure there are some of you out there who just might roll your eyes at this, because honestly, who prays over their writing career this much? Well, I can tell you a lot of writers do.

I’ve been chasing publishing since 2006. I’ve been actively, if you call one query letter every few months active, chasing agents since 2009. At first I chased agents in the mainstream market. I had my top five posted on my wall, and then God moved me to write inspirational romance. I kind of dragged my feet because I didn’t want to be one of those preachy writers. I wanted to write about people dealing with real issues, and how they relied (or didn’t) on God, but God opened my eyes and I began to see this new move in the Christian market. The June Cleaver attitude had shifted to characters with a past learning to walk into the future with God . And I wanted to be a part of it.

So, I scrapped my top five and began praying about my career and the right agent for me. I thought I knew who that agent would be. She was nice, approachable and personable. And she loved my Western story, but she didn’t want to represent my Biblicals, even after they had sold. From there on out I just prayed and sent out queries, praying before I hit the sent button, praying until I received a response (many times I didn’t receive one at all). Yes, at times it hit obsessive levels until I was praying for rejections.

A few weeks back I sent a query to an agent and as usual I prayed. Then I received a ‘pass’ on one of my manuscripts from my editor unless I wanted to make a few changes, changes I wasn’t quite ready to make, especially since I’d have to cut over thirteen thousand words to fit the line. Any way, when I got that rejection I said, “Lord, if you want me to self-publish this book then I’ll do it, but if you’ve got better things in store then let me hear from one of the agents I still have a submission out with.”

I didn’t give it much thought, other than the fact that I believed I was going to self-publish. I mean seriously, I’ve been querying agents for a long while, some passed on me, some I passed on after that gut instinct said we weren’t a good fit. Besides, one full submission I hadn’t heard from in over 6 months, another I hadn’t heard from in her allotted time frame, and the other I had just sent a full to the week before and I didn’t expect to hear from her for at least a month or two.

But God Moved! I received an email offering representation a week after I sent a full proposal. I prayed some more, and I asked others to pray as well. Okay, if I’m going to be honest here, I ran ( a bit dumbfounded at God’s movement) to hubs, gave him the whole I ‘fleeced’ just like Gideon, yeah, I know it sounds silly (not that hubs rolled his eyes or anything), but hey, this is what God did, and, hubs simply said “Well, you got your answer.” Really? “You prayed, you got your answer.”  But, you don’t understand I just sent the proposal to her a week ago. “You prayed, you got your answer, what are you waiting for?” Hubs is an A+B=C kind of guy. Me, not so much. I have to look at every angle and analyze all possibilities until I’m so confused can’t see straight. Yes, he’s often a voice of reason in my chaotic head. Anyway, a few days later I signed the contracts, and guess what was waiting for me on the table when I got home from the State Fair last night? My copies of the signed contract.

It’s official!!!! I am represented by Hartline Agency!

Thank you to my agent Linda Glaz for being exactly what God had in store for me.