When my alarm clock rang this morning and I painfully aimed to turn it off, something suddenly got me very awake, excited and scared.

A notification on my phone popped up to say that I’ve received an email from one of the publishers I have submitted my work to.

Big pound in my chest. I always expect a rejection to lower the disappointment but raise the excitement in case of great news. It’s a self-defence thing that I do.

I am already scanning the email to read the words “sorry” or “not going to pursue” in the first paragraph. Instead, I read this:

“We would like to invite you to submit your full manuscript for further consideration for our new lists.”

Hooraayyy! My first step to victory!

Of course, nothing is settled. It’s not a publication offer yet. But what this email says is so valuable and priceless to me: YES, my manuscript is worthy of interest for publishers.

And that is all that matters.