Hello friends,

 

Many of you have been following the publishing journey of my manuscript, Landslide. And while it hasn’t been the happiest of journeys, it certainly has been a memorable one.

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I thought I’d share an update on that journey now. But first, a little background.

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 I started writing the story about ten years ago. It began as a part-time project which gained momentum with each passing chapter. Finally, after retiring, I devoted more time to the game plan and finished it in early 2022. The editing phase took another year, and I finally began querying agents and publishers in February of 2023.

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People warn you about the rejection. And at first, it’s easy to rationalize. Everyone has different taste, right? It’s all subjective. But, as time went on, each emailed rejection took a chink out of the armor that was protecting my fragile author-ego and as more of my writing insecurities were exposed, imposter syndrome set it. Thankfully, I never got to the point of quitting because occasionally I would get an email from an agent or publisher who was intrigued with what I’d sent and wanted to read more. Phew! I guess my writing doesn’t stink after all. With that, I’d send out the next batch of query letters.

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I learned from the Women’s Fiction Writer Association, that for every ten queries you send, you should receive one request asking for more. If that doesn’t happen, you need to change your query letter. Then, for every ten publishers or agents who requested to read the full manuscript, you should get one offer to publish. If that doesn’t happen, you need to change your manuscript. Ouch!  That’s a lot of querying and a lot of rejection.

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Finally, in September of 2023, I received the email I’d been waiting for. Dear Lisa, we would like to talk to you about publishing your manuscript, Landslide.

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It was such an exciting time full of phone calls, contracts, and upset stomachs. I thought I’d made it. All of my hard work had paid off, blah, blah, blah. We’d hashed out all the details and were going back and forth with the editing process. I wasn’t alarmed when the email came in. I mean, it was time for another round of edits. But I wasn’t prepared for what it said. Dear Lisa, after much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to not publish any new titles in 2025…They were giving me my rights back. I stared at the email with such a sinking feeling in my heart. Was I disappointed? Absolutely, but I also understood right away that this letter was harder for them to write than it was for me to receive. My husband, Rick, and I had been small business owners, so I knew exactly what this letter meant. My story was not going to be published. True. But their business was going under, and their livelihood was in jeopardy which was way more devastating than my story not getting out to the world. That perspective carried me through the next few weeks as I reluctantly relayed the news to friends and family.

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Before jumping back into the querying fray, I did some research on publishing industry trends. And what I discovered was alarming. Roughly twenty to thirty percent of small, independent publishers were considered defunct or inactive by late 2023.

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The second time around, I had more people interested in publishing my work, but now armed with more information, I was more discerning and rejected a couple of offers for varying reasons. When the next offer came in, it seemed like what I was looking for: The publisher had the credentials, longevity in the industry, and they were even given a good review by a fellow WFWA member who had worked with them in the past. Check, check, and check. The contract was signed and another round of edits ensued.

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Was I nervous before the book launched? Yes. Were there little signs along the way? Yes. Was I prepared for how it actually turned out? No. Without getting into it too much, let’s just say that the published book did not meet industry standards. And I was devastated. At first, I thought it could be fixed. For two weeks, I tried to get the problem rectified, but in the end the only thing the publisher and I could agree to was that the book would be pulled off the market and my rights returned to me.

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People say these kinds of things happen for a reason. And when they did say it, I would smile and nod, even though I could never think of one good reason this had happened. What the hell? I didn’t believe it for a second.

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I thought my dream of publishing a book was over. Yes, technically, it has been published, but nothing about the finished product made me proud. Part of me wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. But don’t cry for me (Argentina), because another part of me was angry that The Little Story That Could, which had been chugging along looking for a home, had been pushed off the rails. I reached out to another publisher who had expressed interest in publishing the story after I had already signed my second contract. Low and behold, he was still interested.

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Landslide, is now (again!!) under contract with Ten16 Press, an imprint of Orange Hat Publishing. And that little story is back on (the) track. It’s not only gotten a new publishing house, it’s getting a new cover and a new interior design. And you know what? After meeting with Michael Braun, seeing the other books he has published, and talking with other authors he has worked with, I now totally believe these things do happen for a reason. And my little story and I are exactly where we are meant to be.

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I am now excited to share this next chapter in my publishing journey. Stay tuned for more updates about a fall launch--October 17, 2026.

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Thanks for coming on this ride with me,

 

Lisa

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