My book manuscript is officially accepted!

A few days ago, a book manuscript on which I had worked long and hard (twice) was officially accepted for hardcover publication in 2010. 

In 2004, I conceived the idea of a multiple-author daily devotional book, wrote author guidelines, solicited articles from about 50 authors, wrote more than 90 of the 365 articles myself, rewrote many pieces, and edited all of them. It was laid out for publication and printed at a Los Angeles vendor, formatted for the company website, and we sold several thousand of the 4-volume sets for $15 during the 2005 calendar year. All of the writing and most of the editorial work was done at home on my ice-age Mac with dial-up internet.

As an appreciation gift for helping with several other projects of mine, I sent the set to the book acquisitions editor at Review & Herald Publishing Association, who liked it so much that she and the Book Committee decided to knock someone else’s manuscript out of the six-year waiting list, and put ours in instead.

This year, the acquisitions editor, now assistant vice president in the books division, called to update me on the new editing and formatting to their specifications, and to set deadlines for submission of the manuscript and other pieces they need to publish and market the book. So, again at home on nights and weekends, I set about replacing weaker articles, finding new Bible texts and translations to fit every day’s entry, and format the manuscript to size, font, and space requirements. I finished one week before deadline and emailed it to the publisher.

The vice president’s reaction was extremely complimentary, and on June 8, she notified me of the official decision of the Book Committee to accept the manuscript for publication.

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Dear Christy,
The sound you hear in our office is that of hammers against metal, crafting a Medal of Honor for your amazing, unstinting, and thoroughly beautiful work! Even a quick glance shows that this is one manuscript that will be a pleasure to work on. Thank you, thank you!

I’ll be in touch after Book Committee with the official decision. God bless!
Jeannette
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Hello, Christy!
It is my pleasure to inform you that our Book Committee has recommended that we accept the manuscript We Shall Be Changed. Congratulations! There are still some hurdles the manuscript has to clear having to do with the cost of publication, but we are looking forward to seeing the book in print. You should have a contract before long.

Thanks for a job well done, Christy! This book will be a real contribution to our lineup.

Jeannette R. Johnson
Assistant Vice President, Book Division
Review and Herald Publishing Association