Hi everyone. Getting published wasn't easy. Here's what worked for me:
Wanted to write a book.
Wrote a non-fiction book.
On the third submission, I got picked up by a university press – hurray!
The university press got ‘restructured’ - didn’t want my book anymore.
Sigh.
Wrote a novel for a competition.
Got bad scores.
Wrote another novel.
Self-published it, against all the advice. Was told I might as well have flushed it down the toilet. (The person who said that has since seen the chain of bookstores he worked for go into receivership).
Started another novel.
Pitched it to an agent, and she liked it – hurray!
A year later. The agent is still thinking about it.
Decided there had to be a better way to use my talent.
(Yes, I still believed I had some).
Started submitting to slush piles.
Started to get some ‘encouraging’ rejections. Who want's one of those?
Felt increasingly impatient about the long wait times with big publishing houses.
House burnt down (mine, not the publishing house – though I was tempted).
Moved to a rental property while house was being rebuilt.
Wrote a lot, to take my mind off it.
Submitted a novella to Embrace Books, UK.
Got a letter saying it was probably too short.
Submitted a story to ‘So You Think You Can Write’ at Harlequin.
They liked it and asked for more.
Wrote like the wind for six weeks.
Many months later, they are still thinking about it.
Meanwhile ...
Was accepted by Embrace Books and signed a contract – hurray!
Jane Holland at Embrace Books became ‘my editor’. I love that phrase.
Did revisions on the novella to make it longer (and better).
‘Scandal at the Farmhouse’ became one of the launch titles for Embrace Books! Success!
Started writing another book …
For more true confessions about becoming an author, come visit me at http://www.codyyoungblog.blogspot.com/
