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It Happened! I Submitted My First Book Manuscript! 🥳

Lilyana Page

girl holding a big yellow envelope


It really, really, really HAPPENED!!!


Thursday morning (January 30th), my mother and I went to the post office to mail my first book submission to Boulder Books, a Canadian publisher based in Newfoundland. 🥳


You may be aware that I told myself I would have Three Feet of Trouble in the mail & on the way to a publisher by the end of January 2025. I fiddled with readying Three Feet of Trouble for submission here and there, but didn't really set to it right away. January 22nd rolled around, and I began seriously digging my heels into the project. I had a "This is stupid," moment when I realized that January was running out, and that I was fully capable of having Three Feet of Trouble in the mail by the end of the month if I'd just get down to it. So I did.


I just barely squeaked by, mailing my submission the morning of the 30th.


Cover letter, story synopsis, and the first fourteen pages of my story all sealed into an envelope along with an SASE, on the way to Newfoundland. It's really happened, y'all! I am so proud of myself, and so thankful that I finally reached this point with Three Feet of Trouble.


I've dreamed of this moment for what seems like forever, so when it finally came, I did my best to make it everything I'd dreamed of. As I was preparing, this unwritten list of things kept popping into my mind. Things like...


  • I want to mail my first manuscript instead of emailing it.

  • I want to use my "fancy" address labels. a.k.a. plain white ones with my address in Times New Roman, printed for just this sort of thing!

  • I want pictures of me and my manuscript, as well as pictures of me, my manucript, and my parents.


I love getting mail ever so much, so it seemed fitting to mail my first submission of this sort. Acceptance or no, I cannot wait to hear back from Boulder.


I used my "fancy" address label, and I got my pictures. The picture of me is at the top of this blog post, and here are the pictures with my parents:


girl and man together, holding a big yellow envelope
Dad & I before he left for work. He didn't go to the post office with me, so we did our pictures outside, at home. :) My face and hands just about froze off, but it was worth it. Thanks for letting me make you stand in the cold, Dad!

two women, holding a big yellow envelope
Mum & I outside of the nearby post office where we went to drop off my submission. Poor lady inside. We had a bit of confusion over how much postage to put on my SASE (self addressed, stamped envelope)!

I'm so happy to have these pictures. They're a small way of capturing the wonderful experience that submitting my first book manuscript was!


To all of you (you know who you are!) who have told me I ought to have Three Feet of Trouble published, those pictures will make you smile as well, I imagine. I've taken the first step towards publication. Lord willing, I'll hold a physical copy of Three Feet of Trouble in my hands one day.


The dream of holding a physical, published copy of one of my stories has not yet come to fruition, and may not for a good while yet, but for now, here's a peek at Three Feet of Trouble's timeline so far:


timeline graphic


 


Boulder Books tells me that they typically take three months to send a submission response. Oh, the waiting is going to get on my nerves! I believe that three months is a fairly standard wait time, but it still makes me antsy just thinking about it. Just tell me already! 


So...What's next for Three Feet of Trouble?


It's very possible, even likely, that Boulder will say no to my manuscript. It is common for writers to receive several manuscript rejections before a publisher finally picks up their book.


It's highly unlikely that I will land a contract the first time around. I would be quite shocked if that was the case.


Because submitting my manuscript to Boulder Books in no way guarantees a book contract, I don't want to just sit around and wait for Boulder to get back to me. The next step is to draw up an "itinerary" for Three Feet of Trouble. What this means is that I need to make a list of a few different publishers I think may be interested in Three Feet of Trouble, in case Boulder Books says no. This list is designed to help prevent my story from returning to me & then simply gathering dust in the corner, so to speak. If I've got a clear action plan for what to do if I receive a rejection, it will help me keep moving and help me continue the search to find a home for Three Feet of Trouble.


After Three Feet of Trouble's itinerary is drawn up, I have a novel to resume progress on. My Beauty and the Beast retelling has been languishing in the back corner for various reasons, one of them being the fact that I was working so hard on Three Feet of Trouble.


The main reason you haven't heard much about BtB is because I got stuck and overwhelmed by some research I was trying to complete. I have been thinking about how to get around that, so never fear. I do plan to get back to BtB sooner or later. For now, you can meet one of my MCs, if you haven't already!



 


Update 01/03/25: Since writing the majority of this post on Friday, I received an email inviting me to participate in a 50k in 50 Days challenge with three lovely ladies, Sarina, Julia, and Sarah, all graduates from The Author Conservatory. Now, writing 50,000 words in 50 days might sound crazy to you, and that is fine, because it sounds the same way to me. Nevertheless, it sounds like a good way to get back on track with BtB. I'm excited and a little unsure if I will really be able to hit 50k, but I am pushing for it. I am hoping for the best, and planning to work hard. This challenge lasts from February 1st to March 22nd. Ideally, I will write 1,000 words each day, although I know it will be more or less than 1,000 some days. I have created a simple spreadsheet to make sure everything balances out, and to make sure I stay on track. 😊


Until next time,


Lily Page

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