The hubs and me

Last week was very eventful in my little corner of the world. My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. That’s a big deal.

The very same day, I was awarded a book contract from Armonia Publishing for my three-book Shelby Culpepper series for tween girls. Now that’s what I call a good day!

But the journey of the books I wrote is long and winding. It’s an exclamation point at the end of a run-on sentence. You see, I wrote that first Shelby book over twelve years ago. Maybe even longer. I base that time estimate on the oldest date I found on one of my computer files. But that could have been the date it was last updated. At any rate, it’s been a while.

I wrote and rewrote that story. I had it rejected by at least twelve different publishing houses and almost as many agents. Two agents took me on, based on my Shelby manuscript, but neither had success in placing it. We parted ways amicably.

Shelby lived comfortably in my computer for years at a time, only making occasional outings to different publishers. When I’d hear of a publishing house that might be a good fit, I’d bring her out, dust her off, do a bit of polishing up, and send her out again.

But here’s the thing. I believed in that story. I felt it was good. Did that mean I never reworked it or it couldn’t be made better? No. But the core of the story and its characters were strong. I never stopped believing in it. As we know, God’s timing isn’t always our timing. So I waited on HIm.

About a year ago, Rick and Renae Green started a new publishing house called Armonia Publishing. Renae put out a notice that they were looking for some squeaky-clean girls fiction. Hello! Yes, I have a book like that. I sent her my book proposal. She liked what she saw but felt it could be stronger. Renae suggested I buy some online lecture notes to strengthen my dialog, then rewrite my manuscript using what I learned. I did, then resubmitted my rewritten book to her. She loved it and offered me a contract.

Me signing my book contract.

So what’s the point? If you have a project you believe in, don’t give up on it. God may have a different timeline than you do for its fruit-bearing season. Be willing to grow in your craft, whatever it is, and make your product the best it can be. Even if my Shelby manuscript never got published, it has been wonderful training for me and I’ve become a better writer because of it. That, in itself, is valuable. Then, most importantly, trust God for the outcome. He loves you and is always working things out for your good.

What project are you working on? Do you feel God is making you wait on His timing or is it go-time for you? Tell about it in the comments.