This week’s prompt is a really good one.
Getting my first acceptance email was so exhilarating. I can remember it like yesterday. I was sitting in a hotel room in Columbus, OH while my then husband was in continuing education classes. I opened up my email and Bam! there it was. You’ve been accepted from Whispers Publishing.
Had I been at home, I’d have run around screaming and shouting the good news. Since I was in a hotel they wouldn’t have really appreciate that type of exuberance, so I kept it to a happy dance. And wouldn’t you know it the first three people I called didn’t answer the phone. I mean, c’mon my sister, dad, and partner have been there through all the rejections and they couldn’t answer the phone?! Do you know how hard it was to keep my excitement under wraps? Finally, my children answered the phone and they were as excited as teenage boys can be.
As for changing my life, it was outside validation that I was worth publishing. A professional saw my worth, my potential and said yes.
That first acceptance led to more acceptance. I met other authors, editors, attended workshops, fans, and publishers.
I’ve made friends, enemies, and everything in between. Being offered a contract allowed me to flourish and grow as a writer and a person.
I’m not rich yet, but I understand what makes a good story. I have what it takes to be a bestselling author. If some of today’s #1 best sellers can head hop well so can I.
You’re right–that first acceptance opens the door to the big kids’/writers’ table, and leads to more and more opportunities. At least, that’s how it feels to me. I’m blown away by the generosity of other romance writers as they share what they’ve learned with newbies like me.
I received my first acceptance almost 30 years ago, winning a writing contest by the fantasy magazine Otherworlds. I received three Dungeons & Dragons tee shirts (which I still have) and a really cool D&D chess set (I still have that, too). Unfortunately, I never did see that winning story in print.