In the Name of Perseverance by Ruben D. Gonzales

 

In the Name of Perseverance

I’m not going to say I submitted my just out, “Murder on Black Mountain” book manuscript, to a hundred publishers and agents, but it was pretty close to that. Of course the manuscript that Fire Star Press accepted was not the same one I first submitted to a publisher a year ago. It had changed, and changed quite a bit. My perseverance was tested, but it held out thanks to doses of positive feedback.

I was lucky in my effort to receive quite a bit of feedback along with rejections, most of it encouraging. I always thought I had the makings of a good writer and it helps to get some confirmation of that. The publisher of my first book told me my book was one of the best they ever published. Of course it was a small publisher but still the praise was big.

During this time I also submitted a short story that was a finalist in a contest the NC Writers Network sponsors every year. That was a great boost to my confidence and greatly needed at the time. Another short story I submitted to a contest sponsored by a local university MFA in Writing program also garnered a finalist note. The note said my story was the only non MFA authored entry to make the finals. Take that!

No, really, positive feedback is important. Of course there are other ways to get feedback. Our local chapter of Sisters in Crime, “Murder We Write”, offers a special service to members; a free critique by one of our members who happens to be an “Agatha Award” winner for editing. Her book, “Don’t Murder Your Manuscript”, was and still is a great resource. Let me tell you when my work came back liberally sprinkled with red marks it was humbling. She sweetened the critique however by including a personal note on how much she enjoyed the story. That helped.

Like a lot of people, I don’t enjoy criticism, in fact dread it. The problem with that is, unless you are in a classroom situation where a letter grade is the proof, it’s hard to improve if someone doesn’t tell you what you are doing wrong. Harsh critique can be a blow to the psychic and easy to understand why people avoid it, but gird your loins and ask for critique and your work will improve.

So the story first submitted had the opportunity to change and grow, like a living being, maturing and reaching for its potential, a potential it finally achieved when Cheryl decided my story was just what they were looking for. Of course I did say “potential”, because the manuscript was not perfect. In fact during the editing process Cheryl had several suggestions for improving the book. All of which I agreed to and all of which I think made the book better. I hope you will agree. Murder on Black Mountain

Thank you, Cheryl and Livia.