Musician, Doula, ...author???

Clicking the "send" button was one of the scariest things I'd done in a *long* time.

I sent a sample of the introduction to my book to *FIVE* publishing house representatives. All of these particular publishers put out books in the category of Jewish life/customs/spirituality/Torah, etc. (strange to put an "etc" after the word Torah, right?)

I sent these emails as a way to make contact with the publishers who are having their reps at the writers' conference I plan to go to on Monday.

I worked on the cover letter for over an hour. Wanna see it? :-)

Dear__________,
I am writing to you as a preliminary contact regarding the writer's conference this Monday, the 16th of May.

I believe there is a possibility that ______ would be interested in my writing.

I am 43 years old, and I immigrated to Israel from the US 16 years ago. I currently live in Be'er Sheva.

I have been writing for four years on a web log about the aftermath of surviving near death from an extremely rare and deadly bacteria. My writing is a mixture of my physical/medical travails, and the extraordinary journey of which I have been granted the zchut [honor]to travel, with the Maker of the Universe. My spiritual journey has been tremendous, and I believe that the two rare diseases I've had (the first one landed me in a coma), and the multiple surgeries and seemingly endless days of pain, were tailor made for me.

The idea that Hashem wants us to take His hand and walk together is one I stumbled upon early in my  "Ba'al tshuva" learning. If a person is supposed to really be a partner with Hashem, but that person doesn't notice Hashem's hand, then Hashem has to make his hand more noticeable.  Hashem will have to create situations that the person will need to go through in order to learn the need to extend his own hand, grab on, and become a partner in the process of holy life.

I am in the process of turning my experiences into a book. I am attaching what is being formed into the beginning. It is only the beginning of my journey. There are more than a thousand pages of blog writing which I am editing. The emotional aspect of this time period started about six months after the first illness, and slowly the holy and spiritual concepts begin to take root and grow. It has been a tremendous journey.

I would love the opportunity to meet with you and show you excerpts of other parts of my blog, and receive feedback from you regarding your experience with _____, whether or not they would be interested in my book.

I can be reached at tel # ____.
How may I reach you?

Thank you for your consideration,

 ...yours truly :-)

So, with that, I attached my teeny start of an intro to my book, and then as I said in the beginning here, I clicked 'send'.

My heart actually raced before- and as- I clicked that button.

Then I got responses... really positive ones!

OK, I'm holding back on you, actually. What I mean to say is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY positive responses!!! Multiple! And one Well-Known publishing house mentioned the word contract... like "may we send you *a*.

I did a lot of bopping and happy dancing around the house on Friday, and called my nearest and dearest to spout the good news. When was the last time I bopped and danced around the house? I am sitting here at the moment trying to answer that question, and it is taking way too long. Good thing, too, I suppose, because bopping and dancing are not the most recommended things I could be doing in my condition...:-)

So Monday it is. I have three appointments with publishers, and a few good workshops I am looking forward to attending.

And so it begins... I stretched my big toe into the Red Sea... and it just may very well part. With Gd's help.