The 8th Publisher

Something makes this month special to me, maybe because our names are synonymous, or maybe because of this peculiar story I am about to share.

It was dusk on the evening of July 31st 2012, I was lying on my sofa, trying to recall what was wrong with my last piece of work that have been rejected by virtually every

publisher I sent it to.

Something has pushed me to publish a story, and I had just finished one, out of the many that filtered into my milky skull. I have forwarded it to several critics who recommended it for publishing, after much dry cleaning on the manuscript to make sure it was spotless of grammatical, construction, language, spelling and creative errors.

Even my favorite critic, Nobel Gwenisner, a Professor of English at Massachusetts had opted to write a forward, after reading what he termed a mind blowing fiction, creatively constructed to stuck him to his swivel and cradle chairs at work and home.

What a privilege, a forward from Prof. Gwenisner was such a powerful jerk to my work; I humbly obliged his request of writing the forward.

All was set except a publisher, at this moment; my system stopped understanding my programming language. I had no publisher in mind; all I needed was a reputable one that can get me an international ISBN.

Relatively meaning I needed international publishers. I made my research and forwarded my manuscript to several of them, and like pack of cards they all returned the scripts with varying excuses.

Either they had a lot on the table, or they couldn't publish such a story which deals with the raw side of reality. Everything was an excuse. My mind-blowing story became a mind-boring story in the hands of the Publishers.

Sometimes I wondered, maybe Prof. Gwenisner maybe right, they never read it at all. Why would they waste their time reading a story from a young Nigerian without a literary name; turning me down was so easy.

For 7 months I hustled for my story to be published. At a point I considered self publishing the story, but on a second thought I reconsidered.

Prof. Gwenisner sent me a list of 8 Publishers that might read and publish the story; he told me they are good, though my royalties wouldn't be much, that wasn't a problem for me.

I began writing to them, and like curse, they all rejected one after the other. But I never gave up.

When I wrote to the last publisher, I was expecting the same answer as the rest. I was so reluctant; if 7 had rejected the story, why wouldn't the 8th one? Yet I wrote to them. And had to wait for 7weeks, just like some, they wouldn't even acknowledge receiving your story. For 7weeks I waited without a word from them. Within me, I have finalized that they wouldn't publish the story.

The next morning I was woken by the buzz of my doorbell. Only then did I realize that I had slept on my sofa after harboring some shots of John Walker.

The hangover was still on, but the doorbell kept buzzing. I headed to the door, to meet a Post Man from FedEx

"I have a parcel for you sir, please you may sign here"

He gave me a sheet on which I signed across my name that I have received my parcel, and he left.

As I returned to my room, I checked the parcel to realize it was labeled AUGUST, I concluded it might be a mistake on my name, that wasn't the first time, people often misspell my name.

I hurriedly opened it, and was surprised at what I saw, a Laptop and a letter. Who would send me an Apple Laptop, I never requested for any.

I tore the seal of the letter apart, and fixed my eyes on the juicy content.

"We apologize for our late response..."

The 8th Publisher has not only agreed to publish my work, but has also offered me a job as a columnist on their website.

"...You shall find attached herein, an apple Laptop, see it as our token of appreciation, as we await your positive response to our offer..."

That was the much I read, before I gulped down the remaining content of my JOhn walker brew.

While I was still celebrating, my phone beeped, and it was my mum stopping by to wish me a happy new month.

Just then it occurred to me that it was a new month, I headed to my calendar to confirm, and it was AUGUST 1st.

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Never give up, you might have tried for 7 months, waited for 7 weeks, but this might be your 8th Publisher.

Welcome to the 8th month of the year, your month of blessings and pleasant surprises.

#HappyNewMonth

Augustus Bill

©2015