On July 14, 2005, I sent Chuck Rankin my bio, a list of my previous publications, along with sample chapters of my proposed essay collection with the working title When I Came West. I had chosen that title because it mirrored a signature poem by the same title that had brought me some renown in the Cowboy Poetry circles. I gave a detailed synopsis of the book, my reasons why I felt the book was important and worthy of being published, why I felt the book would have a ready audience and a list of experts in the field who might be willing to review the manuscript objectively.
Within a week I had an email response from an OU Press editorial assistant letting me know that my proposal had been received and stating, “We will contact you when we have had the chance to consider this submission carefully (in most cases, within a month).”
By August 10th, I had a call and follow up email from acquisitions editor, Matthew Bokovoy, saying, “It was a pleasure speaking with you on the phone about When I Came West today. Chuck and I very much like the project, and the writing is very good.” He asked me to send my the whole manuscript (between 200 and 280 pages) and he felt they might offer me a contract based on the proposal. He mentioned that he would be contacting readers that week to see if they were interested and looked forward to receiving the manuscript.
On October the 3rd I wrote to Matt Bokovoy with an apology that I had been greatly delayed with my manuscript because I had been “swamped by a new novel, three new anthologies coming out, and a rewrite on a novel under consideration.”
I promised that I had the essay chapters organized and nearly ready to go and that I hoped he and Chuck Rankin had not given up on me.
