Spark

I just thought I'd let everyone know what's going on with my first manuscript, Spark. (It used to be called Till We Meet, but that just seemed too drab.) Some of you may know that last May I received a bitter rejection from Covenant (an LDS publisher) after several communications with them that led me to think it was in the bag (I got three positive reviews from their readers, one of them even saying it was the best book she had read for Covenant since she'd worked with them, and she'd been reading for them for several years.) In the end, they declined it based solely on the fact that it was written about a twenty-one year old, and they have difficulty publishing to the young adult (18-25 yr olds) market. Despite my immense dissappointment, I picked myself back up and sent it out to Cedar Fort, another publisher that generally does a good job with the manuscripts they handle. I got a letter from them this week, and though I won't post exactly what they said, I will tell you that it was a rejection--of sorts. They said that they were unable to publish Spark as it is, and that they believe a few small changes would do the trick. Basically, they found it too harsh for the LDS market at large and asked me to A. take the word "abortion" completely out of it, and B. tone down the harsh rock-star lifestyle my character Jake had before the story even starts. They also said I should bring out the act-consequence cycle a little better. I never really thought I was writing something edgy, but I'm not too proud to sugar coat it if that's what it takes to get published. So, though I got another rejection, I have hope that with my resubmission it will be palatable enough to be accepted by the LDS world at large (I'm subbing abortion with adoption) and yet still be thought-provoking.

Still, I sometimes ask myself if I want to "sell out." But when it comes down to it, writing is only a hobby until someone takes you seriously enough to publish what you wrote. This may be the only book I write for this market (I'm already working on another story, a retelling of a fairy tale) and though it won't be my greatest work, I did put a lot of energy and effort and feeling into its writing. I told Keaton in car terms: It's like building a hot rod from the ground up, sparing no expense or detail in your work, and then leaving it unpainted in your garage.

So, I'm going to take a couple of weeks to revise it just right, and then I'll hold my breath until Cedar Fort gives me the final word. Hope this works!