The Key Ingredient to Getting Your Book Published

The manuscript is finished. It is edited.

You have endured all the glitches that popped up like Spring flowers in the plot, characters, and setting. The End.

If only that were so. Spring flowers seems an odd reference, doesn't it? I mean, who imagines glitches and brick walls when thinking of the life or beauty found in Spring flower sprouting on a sunny day.

So, what is the key that can get your book published? 

Allow me to share this last month with you.

(Backstory alert!!) Once upon a time, last August to be exact, a teacher from a school 1,500 miles away wrote a letter to me. She said, "I have read your manuscript, Fire and Thorn, to my students for years. Yesterday, several seniors visited my classroom. They asked that you finish the book so they can buy a copy before they graduate. The school year never had enough time for us to finish the story, and they are very curious how it ends."

I said yes!

Then - dedicated many hours, days, and months to perfecting this book for these and the other students who have had this teacher. Four editors, a book cover illustrator, map making, and other extras found in a fantasy book found their way nearing publication.

The work seemed on target for the end of March as I had planned. Copies could be ordered and shipped in time to reach the students! 

In appreciation for their interest, I planned a trip to visit the school, talk with the students, listen to their thoughts, and answer their questions. The principal said yes. An event scheduled at the school. Everything seemed to go according to plan.

Until the glitch. Make that glitches. 

The programs used for the various pieces didn't play nice with other programs used in the project. Production delayed. Issues sprouted. 

Sigh.

I prayed. "God, you knew the need before this very moment when I am asking for help. This story has evangelism threaded into a dragon, castle, knight, and a quest that interests the students. The trip is planned."

With that, I said amen and got busy. I reworked issues. Copied the information into other programs. Worked the problems with new ideas God gave me. It was really cool.

I cannot deny my concern that the books would not be shipped in time to reach the students, but getting a quality product trumped my concerns. I stayed up late, rose early, all to get the pieces to work together.

This morning, at 6:50 a.m. I received the email: your book is now available, both ebook and paperback on Amazon. It was like the sweet perfume of the beautiful yellow Spring flower in the photo. The students would not only have the book on time...they would hold a quality product.

So what is the key ingredient to getting your book published? Patience. Trusting God's timing.

~Mary Vee
#Patience #GodsTiming #TheWritersAlley #bookpublished #springflowers #spring #amwriting

Link to Mary's books: https://amzn.to/2Fq4Jbm

Mary Vee -Rock climbing, white-water rafting, and hiking top Mary’s list of ways to enjoy a day. She was homeless for a time, was a teacher, a missionary, and married an Air Force vet. Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her King.

Visit Mary at her Website, Blog, and her ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids. Or chat on Facebook or Twitter

 Meet my new fantasy story, Fire and Thorn. 

The Perfect Easter Gift!

The day the king of Aerlis heroically dies and his lovely queen is viciously carried off to the dark north, dragons invade the land. Crops and homes near the border burn to the ground. Prince Gilbert must give up what he wants most to save his father’s kingdom and himself. Far away lies the answer. Something unseen. To save the kingdom he must go on a quest to bring the unseen back. A quest filled with danger. There seems an easier solution in the vast north. One that offers great wealth and power. Time is short. One choice will save his kingdom. The other will silence him and his people—forever.