Athena Rayne Anderson

I’m totally NOT hovering over my email, waiting for news from the publishers to which I’ve submitted my book proposal. It drives me crazy when people do that… it’s a waste of energy. “Don’t you have a life!?” I wonder to myself. It’s just like giving your number to a hot somebody and hovering by the phone, waiting for them to call. Quit being lame, and go live your life!

What does it mean that I haven’t heard anything from Publishers 3, 4, and 5? Does silence mean they’re busy and haven’t looked at it? That they’re trying to figure out whether it fits with their current plans? Or that their head exploded in amazement and they’re picking their grey matter off the floor before they send me a check?

You know you do that when Hot Somebody hasn’t called you immediately. Over-analyze the silence until your head is spinning with possibilities.

Nope, I did NOT just look again.

I imagine you’re wondering what this is all about. I’m trying to publish my first book, which will be the next big sensation in educational professional development. It’s tentatively called Simple Instructional Design, and it will revolutionize classrooms. No more instructors just “covering the content.” No more students bored with busy-work. It’s a BIG DEAL!

At least, it is in my head. Isn’t it obvious to everyone else how great it is? Everyone I talk to says it’s a fabulous idea. That’s a very large sample size of 5-6 people… including family and close friends.

Ugh. I’ve always hated trying to sell things. Why am I putting myself through this mind-numbing torture? I guess it’s because I love writing, and I think this book could help A LOT of people. I wish all the instructors I’ve ever had had used this book.

And rejection. Let’s not forget the joys of rejection. Actually, I’m used to it now, after earning three graduate degrees and having many, many grant applications turned down. I’ve learned that one can count on being rejected more often than accepted. Instead of, “Boo-hoo, I suck,” my response is now, “Damnit! Fools! Who’s next on the list?”

Did my eyes just pop back up to my email tab to look for that number in parentheses? I think not.

Another thing I’ve learned is that a lot of the decisions come down to “fit.” I already know that my book doesn’t fit with one publisher, who said something along the lines of “K-12 teachers don’t need this book.”

Apparently I didn’t convince them that ANYONE who does ANY kind of teaching needs this book.

Maybe I didn’t use enough exclamation marks in my proposal.

Another publisher’s rejection message said my book is “both valuable and viable,” but doesn’t fit in their “current publishing program.”

Huh? Maybe I’ll just cherish the little encouragement that it’s “valuable and viable.”

Both of those rejection messages came within 24 hours of my submission… Does that mean taking longer to reply suggests good news?

NO! I’m not wasiting my energy doing that. I’m going to go live my life and not over-analyze this more than I already have.

At least for today…