Just push the button

That last blog article was enough to get me out of my slump. The finished book has been dwelling on my laptop computer for three full months. I've been busy, sure, but not that busy. So I've submitted it.

How does an author submit a book these days? Everything goes by email. Many publishing houses have a page on their website with instructions for submissions (here's one). My late night project has been to identify a few prospects and draft a book proposal. Publishers have hints on those, too. 

I'll start with Westminster John Knox Press, my denomination's publisher, along with a couple of others. Best to shoot high!

Stay tuned. 

The Dating Game, Updated

Here is one of the painful memories of high school: getting the courage to call up somebody attractive and ask them out to dinner or the movies. I didn't do it a lot, most because there were a few occasions when I was turned down. That hurt. Made me shy. Took a while to recover.

One memory in particular: I dialed the number, identified myself, and asked for somebody named "Cindy." When she picked up the receiver, I played it cool and said, "Would you like to go out sometime?" She said, "No." Shot down immediately. As I tried to recover, I could hear tell someone what she said. Then she started to laugh. And hung up.

I chewed on the cold coals of humiliation.

This is the fear of sending a book manuscript off to a publisher. What if my fine effort is rejected? What if they laugh?

It's curious that I haven't sent out the book yet. True, the editing phase took a lot longer than I ever expected. There have been delays, some of which I do not understand. And there's the quiet fear that it will not be wanted. So I'll wait until confidence is regained.