It's finger crossing time

Well I just sent in a book outline to the publisher. It's a beginner's guide to using a popular 3D animation package.

Crossed fingers, prayers and good vibes will be appreciated.

Thanks.

So far it's been a lesson in persistence and developing good relations with the editors. This is the third outline I've developed and sent to them, at their requests. Though the first two did not make it, at least they emailed me back asking for the third.

Time to take a break.

pandora1983 said:

Good luck. I will cross my eyes for ya.

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Can't do better than that. Thank you.

Thanks. So far they like the second draft of the outline as well.

I would like to thank all the finger-crossers and other helpful spirits. After a number of changes, I now have a small book contract.

It's a good tale for hopeful first-time authors, about the importance of developing relationships with employees of the publishers. The book idea was submitted, dropped, and a year and a half, later the publisher asked for a similar, but modified outline with a different editor. So it must have been, a basically quality idea, backed up with good answers to questions from the editors and making them feel that I was someone that they could work with comfortably.

PinkAmy said:

WTG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you do this w/o an agent? Do you have a publication date? What's your book about?

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Well, it started about a year and a half ago. I got an email on a programmer's email list that I'm on. A company was looking for people with book project ideas. I had given a series of workshops on using the Blender 3D animation program. So I wrote a query letter and then sent them an outline which was rejected, but they offered to let me submit another outline on another topic, which was also rejected. But there was some good correspondence.

About a year after that, I get an email from another editor at the same publisher, he's got a copy of the original emails from the first editor, and they want to know if I will make them another outline, but this time, I have to spend some time going to all the websites I can and find out what is it that other books on the subject don't have and what are the problems that neophyte users are really having. With that info, I submitted a third outline(using parts of the first). And that one was accepted.

I don't have a hard publication date, though I must get the first draft done by next January. The book will be a beginners guide to using the Blender 3D program.

Thanks for everyone's good wishes and crossed fingers.