Okay, after six years of drafting, editing, re-drafting and re-editing, Cult of the Black Virgin was finally ready for readers. Or so I thought. It ended up requiring another two rounds of oh-I-didn't-know-that-let-me-fix-it-right-now before it was fit to be released into cyberspace.
For my first attempt, I targeted eXtasy Books, an e-publisher of similar stories. I laboriously conformed to their submission requirements, and fired off my manuscript. In less than 24 hours I received a response telling me that I would be offered a contract if I made a few changes. In retrospect, they were pretty major changes, but, hey, I'm all about learning how to do this. So I got down to work.
Apparently, romance readers like to read what's going on inside the head of the big, hunky hero as he chases after the heroine. My novel was mostly told from one point of view--that of the main character, Joanna. It never occurred to me to tell part of the story from her lover's p-of-v. It was her story, after all.
So I got to work and wrote half a dozen scenes from Lucien's perspective. And you know what? Not only was it fun to write, the results made for a much better story.
I was also guilty of doing a little head-hopping. I cleaned up those grave sins and fired the manuscript back to the publisher.
Okay. Done! I was issued my first contract, and told that my manuscript would now go into the editing queue.
I was pretty excited. And as I waited for my first experience of working with an editor, I reflected on the long, difficult road I'd traveled from the inception of that first sex scene to the signing of the contract. Many times, I almost gave up trying to get my work out there. Many times I'd stammer some excuse when a friend asked how the writing was going. But then I would remember the kind words of a woman named Lisa, back in the early days, when I was trying to get an agent.
"Remember one thing," she said. "Never, ever, ever give up."
Thank you , Lisa. Wherever you are. You helped me believe in myself.
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