I am pleased to announce that for the first time I have been offered a bonafide contract from a publisher for one of my works. It is a Western I wrote while working in London earlier this year. The story came to me fast and furious and I typed more than 97,000 words in less than two months. Never before has a story line been so clear in my head. Not once did I get writer's block while pounding this one out.
To have this happen to me is to meet my first goal as a writer. That goal was to actually be recognized by someone in the business. Getting published is a tough racket because there is a lot of competition out there. I came real close several years ago and made it through the first two reviews with a non-fiction I authored. It wasn't until the final review by the publisher that my work was culled from going on to the production line. I did get something rare, however. Usually, one only receives a form letter saying thanks but no thanks. It is normally very short and very terse, but polite. This time, the Managing Editor sent me a note on company letterhead. He advised that he was in my corner on the book, but was overridden by the publishing board. They were a small press, only printing about twelve books a year. He told me that I was a good writer, and to keep on working at it. He also urged me to re-submit the book in a couple of years. I never did, but I always took comfort in his kind words and never let myself get discouraged. After all, a managing editor of a publishing company confirmed that I was a good writer. Now, someone else has thought so. I couldn't be happier.
By no means do I believe this is my ticket to retirement...though that would be nice. My new goal is to continue putting my work out there. I already have an action/mystery novel in the can and ready for submission. I'm 27,000 words into my newest offering, which is a horror novel. I have started the skeleton on two more books, a sci-fi and another that I will keep the genre secret for right now.
It's going to take a few months for my Western to go on the market. We will now enter the editing stage and the cover design stage. The title of this new work is "Hell's Gunman" and if you like that genre I'm almost certain you will like this book. Wish me luck and send your thoughts and prayers my way. It would be great to write for a living. Man...can it happen? We'll see.