The Right Time to Write
AUTHOR
PHOTO I was cleaning the kitchen counter one afternoon in January 2011,
when my dogs started barking. It was the FedEx truck. The cheerful driver
handed me a flat document package. I wondered if it was a belated Christmas
present. When I pulled out the packet of papers inside my heart did a strange
gallop in my chest and I thought I might actually faint. It was a publishing
contract at long last for my book, From a Distance.
The idea for the book first came to me in a creative writing
course I was taking at Southern Illinois University way back in 1992. The
assignment only required a short piece, but my story had a mind of its own and
went way beyond the minimum word count. But it wasn't complete and there was no
time to finish it, because life got hectic after graduation when I became a
teacher. My time was spent grading other people's writing with no time to
practice my own. My secret dream of being a
published writer was put
on hold so that I could make a living.
But I continued to work on my book when I could eke out a few
hours here and there. And the story evolved and improved with each revision
until I had the courage to submit it for publication. I studied the proper way
to approach an editor and how to write the cover letter and the query letter
and the proper format for the manuscript to be in. (Whatever you do, don't
staple it!) And I did it all.
No one was interested. I thought it would help if I got an agent,
so I read up on that and approached approximately one million. I eventually
badgered an agent until he agreed to accept me as a client. But he couldn't get
anyone to look at From a Distance
either. He explained how difficult it is for a new writer to break into the
field. It's like any new job. They want you to have experience, but no one
wants to be the one to give it to you.
REJECTION
LETTER PHOTO The stack of rejection letters continued to grow until one day I
cried “uncle.” I boxed up my manuscript, all the chapter samples, queries, and
rejection letters and stuffed it all in the closet. I sadly filed away the
sequel I had begun. And then I mentally closed the door in my brain labeled
"Author". God must want me to
just focus on being an English teacher, I thought. But then that door
slammed shut too. In a series of bizarre circumstances, I lost two jobs and
found I couldn't get a new one, even after innumerable interviews. Now what did
God expect me to do? What was the purpose of my life?
The years passed and I stayed busy, but it wasn't writing that
filled my days. I didn't even think about it anymore. Then one day I stumbled
across a publisher's website. They said they specialized in new and unpublished
authors. They said they would read any manuscripts sent to them and respond
quickly. That's nice, I thought. So I
emailed my manuscript to them.
And then I forgot about it. All I was thinking about was getting
the house cleaned and the Christmas decorations put up and the food cooked for
all the family that would be converging at my house. When the contract for From a Distance (now known as Time
and Again) arrived in January, I was totally surprised.
Then began the revision process, and I was surprised all over
again. When I reread my story, I saw that the challenges and struggles of my
life were woven all through it. The very lesson my characters learn—that God is
good whether we understand our lives or not—is the one I needed to be reminded
of. Ironically, re-reading my own book ministered to my wounded heart. I still
don't understand why it had to take eighteen years to become an author. Maybe
if I could see my life from a distance
as Abby and Merrideth see Charlotte’s it would be clearer to me. But that's
okay. Now is the right time for me to write.
Today, I am an official, actual author! (I still can’t believe
it.) The very week I got the contract, I pulled out the sequel and began where
I had left off. And now, Unclaimed Legacy continues the story
of Abby, John, and Merri, and I’m hard at work on the third book of the
trilogy.
BOOK COVER IMAGES FOR TIME AND AGAIN AND UNCLAIMED LEGACY
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TO LEARN MORE:
About the Author
Website:
http://www.deborahheal.com
Facebook:
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Where to buy the books
