Euphoria! Bliss! Joy!

A writer friend in my online critique group sent exciting news this morning. She has signed with an agent who is sending her book manuscript to 12 editors. It happened just like we all dream about. Carla shopped around looking for an agent. She sent her completed manuscript to one of the agents on her list.

An email arrived saying the woman was leaving on a trip so not to worry if she didn't hear soon. She'd get back to her in a few weeks.  In a week, the agent wrote that she loved the book! She started reading and couldn't put it down. She wanted to represent my friend. The manuscript, she said, needed a few small tuneups and then it was ready to go.

I know this sounds like the writer fairy we talked about yesterday visited Carla's house, but she didn't. Carla did it all through hard work. Very hard work. She wrote her novel bit by bit, passed it through our crit group a chapter at a time, had a friend go through it from beginning to end, then revised and polished until she was ready to send it to an agent.

Landing an gent is only step one in having a novel published. But it's an important step. It gets the proverbial foot in the door. Carla wrote to our group that "...if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up." Euphoria, bliss or joy--I'm not sure which word  best describes Carla's message to our group today. Soon after she sent it, the return messages of congratulations began pouring in. We could all feel her excitement and responded in kind.

Hard work pays off sooner or later. For Carla, it happened sooner rather than later. Even if it takes a long time and contacting several agents, it's still one of the most exciting parts of a writing life when you meet with success.

I hope to be able to let you know when Carla's book is published and for sale. Meanwhile, I'm feeling very happy for her.