The first time I tried to publish a book on colorism, I pitched it to a handful of academic publishers. I was a professor working toward tenure, so it only made sense. One editor said she was excited by the idea but didn’t have capacity to take on any new projects. Another editor invited me to submit sample chapters and said my voice was very strong, but my audiene seemed split - was it for academics or for a general audiene?
That rejection was my favorite. For one it confirmed that my status as an indecisive Gemini was still very much in tact! Lol. J/K. But really it made me face the truth that I didn’t want to publish an academic book. I didn’t even want to BE in academia! As you may know, I jumped off the tenure track shortly after to do my own thing. I was free to publish the kind of book I truly wanted, going back to my creative writing roots.
I love when the universe protects me from my own assumptions and expectations about how my path “should” unfold. I tried to reason my way along a defined, traditional path. But my soul had other exciting plans for me...
Sincerely,
