Write2Ignite

The Beginning

On January 16, 2008, I submitted an article retelling the events of the evening my 10-month-old son stopped breathing in the back of an ambulance. I believed the magazine I submitted the article to was a perfect fit. However, before long, I received a nice rejection letter telling me the article was not something the editor was looking for at the time.

Disappointment

All through 2008 I submitted that article to numerous magazines. Every one of them rejected it. Although some rejection letters were encouraging, they were still rejections. From 2009 to 2011, I sent the article out several more times. Each time it met with the same fate. Thanks, but no thanks.

An Open Door

I let the article sit in my files until May of 2012. I never gave up on it. I really believed the article I wrote telling how God brought me through an overwhelming situation was something others would benefit from reading. So, at a writers conference in Colorado, I showed it to an editor.

She liked it! She requested I submit the article, and submit I did.

Finally

On October 21, 2012, I received an offer to publish the article. Yay, God! On July 10, 2013, “Letting Go” posted on Today’s Christian Woman Parent Connect.

If you’ve done the math, you saw this was a long journey of over four years of closed doors from initial submission to acceptance.

Keep Knocking

God knew the people he wanted to read my article. He knew who would benefit the most from reading it. God also knew when the perfect time was to get the article into readers’ hands.

God orchestrated it all.

Was I happy when the article kept being rejected? No.

Was I discouraged? Yes.

Did I give up? Not completely.

Over the years from first submission to acceptance and publication, I persisted. I kept knocking on doors until one finally opened.

Perhaps you’ll find this as interesting as I do. The magazine I initially submitted my article to in January 2008 was Today’s Christian Woman print version. Who knew that in 2008 there would eventually be a digital version of the magazine that would publish my article in 2013? Certainly not me.

God’s perfect timing.

Your Turn

Are you in a place with your writing where you are knocking on closed doors and waiting for them to open? Are you waiting for God to connect you with the right publisher, agent, or editor?

As difficult as it was for me to understand, and, truthfully, accept all the rejections and delays, there was a reason for my closed doors. There’s a reason for your closed doors, too.

We don’t need to know that reason. Although sometimes, we’d sure like an explanation.

What we need to do is keep knocking. Keep persisting. Keep trusting. Keep learning, so that on the day God opens our doors and connects us with the people he wants us connected with, we’ll be ready to move through those open doors.

Keep on knocking, my friend. I wish you all the best in your writing adventures in 2026.

I wish you well.

Sandy

Here’s what you can expect from me. In my posts, you’ll find words of encouragement for writers, book reviews, and discussions on the craft of writing. I am a former elementary school teacher, regular contributor to Guideposts devotional books, and a conference speaker. I write articles, devotions, and stories for adult and children’s publications. You can find me every Tuesday and Thursday at www.sandykirbyquandt.com. Please stop by.