Topics: Alertness; Books; Challenges; Complacency; Devotional Life; Diligence; Enthusiasm; Indifference; Obstacles; Persistence; Reputation; Word of God
References: Joshua 1:8; Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy 3:16
Getting a novel published is extremely difficult, especially if you are an unknown author. Chuck Ross, a freelance writer, decided to test the system. He retyped the first twenty-one pages of a novel by Jerzy Kosinski, titled Steps, which had won the National Book Award six years before and sent them to four publishers, using the name Erik Demos as a fictitious byline.
All four publishers rejected the manuscript. Two years later, Ross retyped the entire novel Steps and submitted it under the pen name Erik Demos to several more publishers, including the original publisher, Random House. It was rejected by all with unhelpful comments, including Random House, which used a form letter. All told, fourteen publishers and thirteen literary agents failed to recognize a book that had already been published and had won an important award.
Sometimes our approach to the Bible is a similar “been there, done that.”
—Noah Lukeman, The First Five Pages (Simon & Schuster, 2000)