Monday 27 August 2012

I've written a book! Thank you, thank you, I know, great achievement. But that's not the half of it... what the blazes do I do now? I thought writing it was the hardest thing I'd ever done, but let me tell you, that was just the beginning! It turns out there's a whole load more involved in getting the wretched thing published. And I was soooo blasé about it, I figured once I'd written my masterpiece (it is, honest), I would just wing it over to a few agents, they would fight over it and promise me the world, and I would be hugely rich and famous in a matter of months. Well, it turns out that's not the case. Apparently, it helps if you're famous already... or at least have a few best sellers under your belt, that's when they're really interested in you. Not if you're a nobody... a random who has written a book but no one has heard of you. I guess it's similar to getting that first job you've always wanted. They only want you if you have experience. Then the cry goes up: how do I get experience if no one will give me a shot!! 

So, here I am, flailing about uselessly on the edge of a ginormous pond, hoping someone will toss me in and give me a chance to swim with the big fish! 

So I tried a few agents, and a couple of publishers, and what followed was a barrage of rejection letters. And let me tell you, it's harsh being told that your 'masterpiece' is not, perhaps, such a masterpiece, but we wish you all the best with finding another agent who will tell you it is. Hurrumph!

What I am learning - and this is why I hope it's sooo hard, and why it all takes sooooo long - is humility. When I think of some of the people that made it BIG, eg. Richard Branson, Lady Gaga, JK Rowling, et al, they all started out like me: at the bottom, fighting their way, all the way, to build something out of their talents. They didn't give up, they kept battling away until someone (it only takes one person, but it has to be the right one) believed in them enough to blow their trumpet for them. But until you have experienced that struggle you can't fully appreciate the rewards of the end success you are striving for. If it all falls into your lap then you take it for granted, and then it's more likely to slip through your fingers and be gone before you even knew what you had.

So that's what I'll do too, I'll keep persevering because I know that when I do get there, when I finally achieve my goal of getting my book published, it will be the best feeling in the world because I'll know I didn't give up just because it all got a bit difficult, and I'll REALLY appreciate what I've achieved. 

At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

I am a regular contributor on the Brit Writers blog.