Refusing to Accept 'NO' for an Answer

What A Testimony for Aspiring Writers

Written by Mrs. Joylynn M. Ross, Acquisitions Editor for Urban Books 

Joylynn wrote: "Refusing to accept 'No' for an answer. On March 2010, as the acquisitions
editor, I received a submission for publication consideration on the Urban Christian imprint. I
rejected it, not because it wasn't an interesting storyline with great content, but because it was all
over the place. It was hard to follow because of all of the technical errors. It also lacked the
tension I knew could exist due to the struggle and conflict between the characters. I wanted to be
more connected and care more about what happened to the characters. I wanted to be
emotionally drawn in. But with two characters talking in the same paragraph, incorrect
punctuation and capitalization after dialogue...I just couldn't get into it. I rejected it.

The author didn't complain and ask why it was rejected? She only asked what could she do to
make it better, if not for me, but for another publisher, and most importantly, so that it could be
something she was proud to put her name on. I gave her some tips and some suggestions. She
went in and did the best she could and resubmitted it, but it still wasn't quite there yet. She
worked on it some more and hired an agent. I rejected it when the agent sent it to me as well
because there was still something missing from the ingredients. This woman went and hired a
professional editor and submitted it yet again. This time I said no just because I was tired of
reading it-LOL. Not really-I'm just kidding. I did reject it again, though, because by then it just
wasn't what I was looking for to publish on the line at that time. So she waited several more
months and submitted it again.

I said, "God, she did everything I asked, but I still don't feel like the time is now." So what then
entered my spirit as a reply from God was, "It will be my time." Needless to say, three years to
the day, almost, that I received her submission, Theresa A. Campbell's first book was released on
the Urban Christian line and I'm currently editing her second one. Between the notes I gave her
and working with a professional editor, this second manuscript, God Has Spoken, is bringing
tears to my eyes. It is so well crafted and put together, that if she were a student and I her
professor, I'd accuse her of plagiarism. That same author who sent me that submission three
years ago is not the same author who wrote this book I'm now editing. This Theresa is the never
give up, do the best that I can do and do ALL that I can to do, don't accept 'No' for an answer and
wait on a 'yes' from God Theresa. This right here is why I love my job!"

Theresa A. Campbell, author of “Are You There, God?”
www.theresaacampbell.com
https://www.facebook.com/theresaacampbell
https://twitter.com/theresaacampbel
http://theresaacampbell.blogspot.com/

About the Book
As a young woman in rural Jamaica, Dupree struggles to maintain a home for herself and the ailing aunt who is raising her after she was abandoned by her teenage mother. The effort of life with no electricity, running water, or money often leaves Dupree battered and bruised, but she refuses to be defeated. She might have been forced to grow up too fast, but she will not succumb to the wiles of the devil, choosing instead to rely on the power of Almighty God to help her through.
After a brutal attack that takes her to hell and back, Dupree must reach for her inner strength once again to survive. Her journey for a better life leads her to Kingston, a city some people refer to as “Jamaica’s Sodom and Gomorrah.” There, she sees and experiences things beyond her imagination. Dupree seeks comfort in the arms of her Prince Charming—but he might just be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 
Caught up in a web of lies and betrayal, Dupree fights to save her life. In pure desperation, she seeks an answer to her question, “Are you there, God?” Will she be around to hear His response, or will it be too late?
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