Last week I mentioned how much I enjoyed writing the first draft of Whisper on the Wind. I’d been away from writing, and once I sat down to write again it was as if God were next to me, affirming that He’d wired me to write and I was doing exactly what He wanted me to do: writing for Him.
But once the words gushed out and I counted them, I knew the manuscript was too long. I just couldn’t see where to cut. When I wrote historicals in the 80s, books were often published at around 125,000 to 150,000 words (have our attention spans shortened, or what?). The three books I’d published back then were certainly around that length.
So, with minimal cutting I sent a proposal out to a couple of publishers. This was back in the day writers could directly approach a publisher without going to a conference and without an agent. I also approached a few agents.
And received plenty of rejections. Too long. Not a popular time setting (glad that’s changed!). And of course the “Dear Author” rejections that gave absolutely no hint as to why it was being sent back.
But one agent did agree to represent me. Although she was wonderfully supportive, all we received were more rejections.
As much as I wanted to see that book in print, I’d reconnected with my creative side and wanted to keep going, exploring other plot and character ideas. I pulled out another idea I’d had during those years of largely not writing, and produced another manuscript. That idea led to another. I wasn’t published in the Inspirational market, but I was having the time of my life, writing every day.
I also joined American Christian Fiction Writers (which at the time was called American Christian Romance Writers). It was great to talk to other writers and learn more about the market (where I learned a lot about cutting!). 
ACFW also offered a contest for unpublished writers, and I entered Pieces of Silver, the second Inspirational I’d written, since that was my current work-in-progress at the time. I was thrilled when it won!
But I still wasn’t published, and the relationship I had with my agent was beginning to deteriorate. Communication wasn’t very good, and I began to be frustrated that publishers took such a long time to get back to her with any news. To me that signaled a lack of enthusiasm either for my work or for the work she was known to represent, or a combination of both. So we amicably went separate ways and for a while I just wrote and read, and joined a few critique groups to help hone my craft (and learn yet more about cutting).
Eventually I went to a local conference, Write To Publish, where I met an editor from Kregel Publications. I pitched a couple of ideas, starting with the story that had recently won the ACFW contest. But he wasn’t interested in my World War One stories, so I pitched another idea I was just beginning at the time. He was very interested in my new project, but kindly took back to his office the “one-sheet” I’d brought with me, a description of my manuscript Pieces of Silver.
Well, I guess it’s too late to say I’ll make this story short, but despite his initial reluctance about the WWI stories, he went on to publish Pieces of Silver and its sequel, Remember Me, both of which were completed manuscripts by this time.
That left Whisper on the Wind still on the shelf… Where it would stay despite several other subsequent sales. I was happy to be published, but continued to have a tiny little ache in my heart that this book was still hidden away.
Check back next week for more of the story behind the story. 🙂
Join Me!