Published after all these years

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Marcy Buchanan says it’s been a dream come true to have her book published after 20 years of serious writing. The book is due in July. (Amy Satterwhite photo)

Irving College community resident Marcy Buchanan is living proof that persistence pays off.

The grandmother of two had almost given up on her dream of becoming a published author when her novel, a 244-page thriller about a psychotic woman, received the nod from publishers late last year.

“Hidden Souls,” published by Publish America of Baltimore, is due to arrive on bookshelves next month, with Buchanan’s understanding it will be offered through local bookstores such as Bookland and Hastings.

It’s the result of more than 20 years of work and overcoming the rejection that can come with freelance writing. Over the past 15 years, Buchanan has submitted six novels to publishers, only to be rejected and caught in a catch-22, with most publishers telling her they didn’t accept work from non-published authors.

But in mid-December, she sent one more query letter and was surprised to find they were interested in publishing her book. She went on to sign a contract with the publishing company only days later and received actual copies of the book two weeks ago.

“It’s a little dark,” she said of the novel, which is the result of an idea she had five years ago while she was sitting in a car on a Florida interstate. The idea formed after the Pink Floyd song “Dark Side of the Moon” came on the radio.

“I had about three books going and then I finally got back to this one,” she said, adding total working time was actually only a year despite working a full-time job as a bookkeeper.

Today employed at Supreme Building Products, Buchanan is more than thrilled about finding success, even if it came later than she expected. She credits her husband, Rocky, for helping her get published without a publishing agent.

“I had submitted four books and had gotten all the rejection letters, saying, ‘Sorry, we don’t accept unpublished authors,’ so I just kind of abandoned it. He pushed me back into getting into it again,” she added.

Success came even as Buchanan was becoming frustrated and decided to search for publishers on the Internet. She found Publish America and thought about giving it one more try.

“They had an invitation to send a query letter and I sent it e-mail. I think it was later that day, they said it sounded intriguing and to e-mail the manuscript, which I did. It was about two days later that I got a, ‘Thank you very much. We definitely are interested,'” she said.

Buchanan has more books she plans to publish and the confidence to go with them.

“My main goal was to get a book in print, without having to pay for it. And then when I finally did, my dream was met,” she added. “Now that I’ve got this behind me, I know that I can do it. It’s a satisfying feeling to know your dream can happen.”