On Sunday morning, I woke up to one of the best things a writer can receive: A request, from an agent, for my full manuscript.

Almost before I had finished reading the email, I was running downstairs to my wife to tell her the good news. Of course, this good news is colored by the fact that it was only a request to read the full manuscript – that there was a good possibility it still wouldn’t be published – but as a writer, this is one of the strongest affirmations I can get. A query, along with five pages of my manuscript, was good enough that an agent was interested in seeing the entire manuscript.

Before I get any farther, I can’t really continue without thanking everyone who has taken time to help me out. To everyone who read my work, looked over my query materials, or gave suggestions/provided resources on how to do things – I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you! You’re the best!

As much as I’d like it to be, this post isn’t meant to be a celebratory one. Even though an agent has requested to see the full manuscript, I’m far from out of the woods. While I believe in the work, the agent has to, as well. While I hope that this agent won’t be put off by anything (I am really excited about the prospect of this agent representing me), there are any number of things that could cause that to happen. That isn’t me being pessimistic…it’s me being realistic.

Regardless, the request is proof that there is a way forward. Before Sunday morning, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be one of the people who would receive a request for a partial or full. Perhaps I was in my own head about everything, but that possibility never really seemed probable for me. Now, I know that it can happen and that changes the game. Now, I have no excuse to do anything other than write my brains out every time I sit in front of my computer. Since I’ve done it once, I can do it again – will do it again.

With Over the Edge now in the hands of an agent, I have hope that it will someday see the shelves of a book store. I’m excited about it getting there – about the prospect of sharing the words I’ve put to paper with willing readers. Even more exciting is the prospect of stopping by a local bookstore and taking my own book from the shelf, holding it.

Whether this agent extends an offer or not, I can see that possibility now, as if it has emerged from the fog of the future and cemented itself as an eventuality. Maybe not for Over the Edge, or the next few books I write, but for one gem that I eventually piece together one chapter at a time.

That manuscript is somewhere in my mind, waiting to be invited into the light. I just have to write it and find the person who loves it as much as I do. And thanks to one agent, I know that it’s something I’m capable of.