All Sheilah Vance wanted to do was get her books published. But after numerous rejections from about 10 publishers and 25 literary agents, she decided to self-publish her own books. Considering the rebuff she received from publishers and agents, it is surprising that her first book, Chasing the 400 didn’t mean chasing the 400 publishers. And her second book Land Mines, referred to going through the land mines of divorce, and not the land mines of getting one’s book published.

All she wanted to do was become an author. But thanks to rejection, not only did she become an author she also became a publisher of authors. The rejection she experienced in the publishing industry inspired her to publish others who she knew had something helpful and relevant to say, but had been rebuffed too. She named her publishing company The Elevator Group. And the mission of her company is to help people rise above. Rejection promoted Sheilah Vance from author to publisher.

Usually when she receives a manuscript, because she is very busy and does not want to keep the manuscript’s author waiting for her response, she passes the manuscript to one of her employees for review. That person then determines if the work is something that Vance should look at. However, one day in October of 2009, something different happened.

Vance received a sample of a manuscript that was sent to her about a week earlier. The title of the work piqued her interest so much so that she did not pass it to someone else to review, but decided to read it herself. She fell in love with the manuscript because it encouraged and touched her heart. She wasted no time in replying to the author of the manuscript expressing her interest to publish his work.

The author agreed to her terms, a deal was struck, and his book is going to be published on September 1, 2010. The title of the book is Rejected for a Purpose: How God Uses Rejection to Help You Find and Fulfill Your Destiny. The author of the book is O. J. Toks. That’s how Sheilah Vance got my manuscript. But there’s a bit more to the story.

I had been working on Rejected for a Purpose for about 5 years. Within that time period my manuscript was overlooked by about 26 publishers and 66 literary agents. Using the grace and insight that God gave me in writing the book, I realized that those publishers and agents weren’t the ones appointed to publish the work. I believed that I was soon going to find the right publisher. It happened toward the end of October after I sent part of my manuscript to The Elevator Group.

Because of the rejections I experienced in trying to publish Rejected for a Purpose, I stopped soliciting publishers and agents for a long while between 2008 and 2009. Around the middle of August 2009 my contract was not renewed for a company I worked for. That meant I was out of a job. It also meant I was rejected…again. Immediately I felt that I had to use the time I was out of work, wisely. I was inspired to start seeking agents and publishers again, as new publishing professionals were always emerging. That was how I came across The Elevator Group. On September 1, 2010, the rest will be history in the making.

5 weeks after my previous employer bid me good riddance, they called me back for a special project. So, in retrospect I was rejected for the purpose of completing and sending Rejected for a Purpose to Sheilah Vance. I conclude that the temporary unemployment I experienced was time off for me to look for publishers and agents again. It paid off.

That is pretty much how God uses rejection for us. He uses it not only to help us fulfill our purpose, but help us fulfill it at the right time, and with the right person. Who would have thought that one of the elevators that God uses to help us rise above would be called rejection?