God feeds the birds, but he doesn’t throw the worms in their mouths. Matthew 6:26
For a long time, I used to wait for publishers to find me. I felt if my writing was good enough, eventually a publisher would discover me and offer me a book contract. It’s the same philosophy I’ve had about my daughter’s desire to model; instead of doing the work required of compiling a portfolio and visiting each modeling agency, I did nothing, hoping like the models of old, an agency would discover my daughter and offer her a modeling contract.
But I’m learning it doesn’t work that way. Just like the birds have to search for the worms God provides, and I have to search for a modeling agency for my daughter, as aspiring authors we have to search for the right publishers for our manuscripts. We have to search by investing in a market guide and reading and highlighting the publishers that publish the type of books we want to write; we have to search by writing and submitting an effective book proposal to our targeted publishers; we have to search by knowing when the representatives for our targeted publishers will attend various writing conferences, so we can pitch our book idea to them. Publishers are located all over the land waiting to publish the next great author; but book contracts won’t just fall in the laps of aspiring authors any more than a worm falls into the mouth of a bird; if we want to receive a contract for a book, we have to go and find one.
Ready to find a publisher for your manuscript? Then go get your blessing!
Sharing the journey,
Jeaninne
Writer’s Prayer: Father, I commit today to doing my part to find a publisher for my manuscript. Amen.