From self-publishing to the family of a publishing company.

When I started my first book I had no idea of the publishing process. I just wanted to put down all those overwhelming thoughts and images that filled my head, the voices of the characters demanding to come out. So I wrote. I only followed my insticts. Writing rules came much later, when I joined writers' groups and did my little research.
Inevitably, I wanted to share my stories with others. So what did I do? What every new author does: send query letters. The response was encouraging; some found my writing interesting, others advised me to keep trying. It seemed that for about a dozen of publishers my book was not what they were looking for at that time. I'm sure you've heard this before.
Then my research came to self-publishing. And I made the big step with Lulu.com. Overall a very satisfying experience. But to try to make a self-published book in English marketable when you live away from your audience, in a non-English speaking country, is unbelievably hard.
My research showed that most publishing companies are not interested in self-published material so I stopped sending query letters and e-mails. Who wants more rejections?
Two years later, I came across a call for submissions from a new publishing company and I thought "What do I have to lose?"
Today I have a signed contract for that first book. It's going to be a revised,
polished, freshened up story and I hope it will finally reach its audience. I have two sequels in my PC ready to join it, whether it will be by self-publishing or not I can tell for sure. But I can tell you this: if you're looking for that publisher who will believe in your book please don't lose heart with the rejections.  Trust your insticts. I know I did. Find me here
http://pulsepub.net/Our_Authors.html
I really want to know your thoughts on this so feel free to contact me or comment here.

In the meantime, keep that inspiration going! :)