I’ve been writing romances since 2008, mostly in Afrikaans. I received a lot of help when writing the first few, but lately the procees usually goes like this: I send the manuscript to the publisher, I get an email thanking me for my story, a possible publishing date is set and we’re ready to go. But I’ve been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and usually in English, so I had this dream to publish a romance in English.
So I sat down and wrote a story about a romance writer and a science fiction writer who meet in a lift. And then I found a list of publishers and very confidently sent my manuscript off, hoping to hear from them soon.
It was right about that time I heard about the custom where a publisher phones a writer when they want to publish your story. A phone call? An acual person talking to one? Wow, I couldn’t wait for this to happen.
It took months before the first rejection email arrive. And then the next, and the next – you get the drift. I was crushed. My lovely story, why didn’t anyone want to publish it? I was determined to get it published, though and began a second round of sending off emails.
I won’t bore you with the whole story about My Year of Waiting Patiently but eventually I received an email – there was an actualy publisher out there who was willing to publish the story. No phone call, though, all done by email.
But within a few months the company closed its virtual doors and I had to start from scratch. Which I did. And I found a wonderful publisher in Australia who published that first story and a second one. Each time I received and email. I was happy and so pleased and I thought maybe publishers don’t call anymore, so I stopped thinking about it.
I wrote three more stories I found another publisher for each and each time the whole process was finalised by email, all very civilised.
And then I pitched to HarperImpulse during our ROSA 2015 conference. I was asked to send the rest of the story. And I waited. And waited. Forgot about it. And waited. And then I received an email with the wonderful news – I was going the get The Call!
I don’t think I heard a word of what the lovely Charlotte Ledger said when she phoned, I was way too excited, but an actual person was talking to me on the phone, saying she loved the story! It was such a surreal experience, for the first time I understood why authors talk about The Call in capital letters.
And today The Whisperer will be released and will be available on Amazon.
Thanks to all the readers out there who love the stories I write, to my husband who reads my words regularly although he is not a romance reader, to our kids who don’t read my stories but who support me and a huge thanks to Charlotte Ledger for The Call! Working with the team at HarperImpulse is such a wonderful experience, I’m so happy they liked the story.
I hope you enjoy the story!
