David Clarke's writing journey - "Never Give Up!"

In 1986, I got my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and went into private practice with my dad in Tampa, Florida.  No one else would give me a job, but that’s another story.  After ten years in private practice,  seeing individuals and couples, I decided to try and get a book published. 

 I put together a book proposal based on one of my Marriage Seminars:  Men are Clams, Women are Crowbars.  It is a funny and practical look at male-female differences and how they block healthy communication.   The material worked with live audiences and I was convinced it would make a great-and helpful-book.

 I had no agent and no contacts in the publishing industry.  All I had was the firm belief that I had a book that could keep couples together by creating intimate conversations.  My communication principles had worked with couples in my therapy office for ten years!  Over the next two years, I sent my proposal to nineteen publishers.  And got nineteen straight rejections.  Some publishers were gracious, some were rude, but they all agreed on one thing:  they didn’t like my book. 

 As I got each rejection letter, I would stand up in my office and yell: “Fools!  Idiots!  They just don’t get it!”  I’d file the letter in my rejection file and move on the next publisher.  I was going to send my proposal to every publisher in the world!  If every publisher said no, well. . . then. . . I was going to start over all over again and send it to all of them again!

 My twentieth publisher was Barbour Publishing.  I called Barbour and Hugh Barbour, the owner, answered the phone himself.  I thought, “God works in mysterious ways.”  Hugh was very gracious and said, “Send me your proposal.”  He gave it to one of his editors, Susan Schlabach, she loved it, and Barbour published it.

 I’ve had ten books published now, but that was the start.  Next year, number eleven will be published.  Oddly enough, guess who the publisher is?  Barbour.  The moral of my story is:  believe in yourself, believe in your message, believe that God can do anything, and never ever ever ever give up.  Oh, and get an agent.