When I Came West (Part Eleven)
The rejection from OU Press came a complete shock to me. The two approval committees did not support publication because they felt the manuscript "need[ed] more work to reach its potential." While they found the story gripping, they also felt it was too uneven and that there were undeveloped areas and problems with the writing.
The good news is that Matt Bokovoy, Chuck Rankin and another editor with a Ph.D. in Literature suggested a reversal of the rejection if I would agree to fully revise the manuscript. Matt Bokovoy, bless him, said that he suggested that the board "table" the manuscript, which meant that it was not outright rejected, but that it was being held until revisions were complete at which time it could be submitted again as a fresh project.
This also meant that OU Press could not offer me a contract at that point. However, what Matt offered was to do a full developmental edit on the book for me in hopes that a "better, more thoroughly developed manuscript will be seen again." He also soothed my spirits by saying, "It does take some time to write a really good book, and maybe this is just the way to naturally proceed, to take some more time."
Everyone who heard about this scenario urged me to pull the book and find another publisher. Many fellow writers expressed indignation and outrage at the suggestion that my book needed to be completely revised. I, however, took the advice of one of my oldest colleagues who said, "How often do you get an offer to have a manuscript edited by a professional for free?
What a great opportunity for learning more about craft." That alone, and the desire to have a "truly memorable and worthy story" gave me the courage to write Matt Bokovoy and say that I was happy to work on the book some more with his guidance.
