Submission Rejections can be Acceptance Successes

I’ve always loved a submission call. They have a way of triggering my muse and bringing ideas to the surface of my mind in a way I never would have otherwise. I think the timeline appeals to me too. It can be easy when writing, especially something long like a book, to just keep picking, and tweaking forever. Having a defined end date for completing a project pushes me to finish and focus.

I’ve written books for many different submission calls over the years. Some have been selected for the collaboration, like Menage on the Rocks and Working for Him. And some that have not. But I have never regretted writing any of them. I love the way my mind can take an idea and it can send me off in one direction, and someone else might take that same submission call and go in the exact opposite direction. That’s one of the things I love about writing. There is not one right way to do it. We all bring our own experiences to the table, our own passions and insights, and each of us can create something exciting with it. 

And most of the books that I have been rejected from submission calls I have been able find a different home for. Some with a great deal more editing. None were ever a loss. No good story is.

Here are a few of my books that were written for a submission call, that they weren’t selected for it, but found a wonderful home somewhere else.

Wandering Off the Path was the first ever erotic romance I ever wrote. I had just discovered this up and coming genre, and began reading and exploring as many as I could. I found a few my way to the websites for a few of the publishers whose books I enjoyed and discovered a submission call for Fairytales Retold. Why it caused me to think of Red Riding Hood, I don’t know, but the story suddenly took on a very sexy energy to me. A man—or wolf—creeping into your house at night, sneaking into your bed…

Not surprisingly, since it was my first attempt at the genre, it didn’t get selected. And I understand why. When I read over the old drafts now, I see a lot of the mistakes I made. A lot of the areas I needed to improve. And I did. The book was eventually accepted by a different, but equally lovely publisher. But I also got the freedom to turn the story into a series (something that might not have been possible if it had been selected for the original anthology). I have two more books written in this series, and I hope to have them published very soon. And who knows, I might get an idea for a fourth.

Through one of my writer lists, I got the notification that a magazine was looking for quickies. Sexy stories that would fit in under a very low word count. I though the idea was a nice challenge. Write a story with lots of sexual tension and intrigue, but make it snappy. And I liked the idea of being in a magazine. At the time, I was yet to have a story in print.

I don’t know why (the muse is a fickle girl) but my mind immediately thought up a sexy historical story. And considering the story was a quickie, I imagined my characters having a quickie too. But instead of the clandestine meeting of a man and a woman, it was of two women, trying to cram a little love into their evening undressing. And that’s how Serving Madame was born.

But alas, I could not get the story down to the word count needed for the publisher. The editor and I went back and forth a few times, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t cut it down to a low enough number to qualify without sacrificing the tone. So I found another publisher to publish it. And I even go the idea for a sequel, Monsieur’s turn, where Madame’s husband gets a chance to join in on the fun.

Unfortunately, both stories are currently out of print, but I will be trying to do something about that soon.

Reunion Makes Three started with a very simple idea. A publisher was looking for books featuring characters filling their fantasies for one night. Whatever those fantasies were. When I thought of what kind of fantasy my characters would enjoy, the idea was very simple to me. A full out sexcapade with two men (would you really expect anything different from me). And that’s exactly what I wrote. Along with three characters that desperately needed the escape. And a mysterious fantasies fulfilling service that allows them to find it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work for that submission call for whatever reason, and it found its way to Siren Publishing instead. But because it changed hands, I was able to write a sequel to the story, and expand the world and town featured in the story in both books.

I always intended to write more books in the series. And maybe I will someday. But for right now, I truly enjoy the two books I did write. And the fantasies that all my characters got to fulfill, at exactly the right time in their lives.

And today, in honor of the anniversary of its release, Reunion Makes Three is available for only $0.99 at bookstrand.com. If you have not read this story, or experienced the magic of the Fantasies Fulfilled service, now is the best time to give it a try.

Buy Link: Reunion Makes Three (MMF) - BookStrand | Bestselling Erotic Romance eBooks

Blurb: Beth Lewis has always had a fantasy to be with two men who also want each other. For her birthday, her sister gifts her with a subscription to Fantasies Fulfilled, an exclusive online service to help connect people with the same desires. After losing her job and her fiancé, she deserves a little fun and to live out a dream that's been tempting her since high school.

Since his reunion invitation arrived, Dell Harrison hasn't been able to stop thinking about his high school sweetheart, Beth. When he and his live-in boyfriend Marcos Vitagliano receive a mysterious invitation to participate in the exclusive Fantasies Fulfilled services, they decide to add a woman to their dynamic duo. What Dell couldn’t have guessed is that the woman they connect with is the same woman who's haunted him since graduation.

Will Marcos be able to accept Beth in their bed and their lives? Or will adding an old flame to their couple turn their duo into a crowd?