I’m also occasionally asked about the submission process. “How did you find someone to publish your book?”

I have to admit that I was pretty intimidated when the prospect first presented itself. I had heard from others and read what others had written about it, and it seemed like you needed to deliver your book with some fireworks or something just to get noticed.

I had also heard the stories about how rejection notices pile up on author’s desks. In submitting my short story work, I’ve found this to be very true. With the “The Canticle Kingdom”, however, I feel very blessed that it was accepted by the first publisher that I presented it to. This did not happen, however, because I used a special kind of scented neon paper (which, by the way, would probably get your submission thrown out), but that I was fortunate to meet a representative of Cedar Fort at BYU’s annual publisher’s fair. I really think that face to face contact helped me get remembered instead of getting lost in a mountain of email or mail submissions.

I’ll have to say as well, that the first answer was a “Yes, but…” They gave me a few things to polish up, which took considerable time. That sort of answer was good enough for me.

You cannot always attend a publisher’s conference, and even if you do, that is still no guarantee. In the meantime, just keep at it. Do you homework about the company and see what else they have published. Write a tight, interesting query letter, and let others critique it. I feel very blessed that I found a match relatively quickly for this book, and I know if you persevere, you can also find that match.

Let me hear from you and you’ll receive another shot at a free signed copy. Thank you for reading!