Does every new blogger begin with best intentions of twice daily postings, witty repartee with those posting comment, early serialisation in respected journals and, before the year is out, a book deal, a film deal and a percentage of the soundtrack and action figures? Probably. Well, I'm not convinced I'll manage all of that, although there may be a niche in the market for an executive toy blogger figurine.
As you will know already, if you've read the title, I'm an unpublished author. I've written two children's books and am part way to being able to redecorate my home using rejection letters as wallpaper.
Maybe my writing is just no good, maybe my style doesn't fit with what marketing says is needed this year or maybe the literary agents I've contacted so far only read every seventeenth letter that is sent to them due to the problem that their days are no longer than those of mere mortals (such as I) and yet they have a Herculean amount of ordure shovelling to perform just to check that their desk is the same colour that it was last year.
Maybe I'm out of touch with what children read. There could be truth to this. Other than JKR's HP books, I haven't read any other children's books since I was a child. And, just to deal with the elephant in the room right now...
I'm not expecting to be the next JKR. I feel that, at the very least, my writing is not any worse than much dross which is already published and so I deserve a chance, at least as much as the next scribbler. I do not begrudge her a penny of her income (even though, from what I read in the newspaper, I felt her attack on the author of the HP Lexicon was petty). Personally, I felt that the HP books became overlong and bloated towards the end, almost as though the editor was too frightened of being replaced to suggest a much-needed pruning. But those feelings might have been manifestations of my growing ever more envious as the series continued. I hope not.
The latest news on my journey to publication is... (Well, I don't want to name names because it's inadvisable to pass comment on someone who might provide help, guidance, income...)
So, the books are with an editor, who is an acquaintance of a friend and who works for a major publishing house. This editor kindly agreed to take a look. And, after waiting about two months, I wrote what I hope is a polite and friendly email about twenty minutes ago as a reminder. I claimed it wasn't meant as a nag, which probably will sound like a lie, and that I was only asking for a guess as to when I might hear something. I then padded the email with some other nonsense about how I'd only sent a sample of the work but that I could send it all (which I'd said two months ago when I originally sent the work) - mainly because I felt I should at least pretend I had something more to say.
I'll post updates on here, which will either be celebratory or, if not, will probably be unfairly vitriolic but hopefully interested, pithy, etc.
Further posts may or may not deal with such subjects as maintaining a Korg M1 keyboard, whether SimpleHuman will actually send me a replacement kitchen bin free of charge, and why my local swimming pool has closed the children's pool for the entire month of August. If anyone reads this blog and has any feelings about which, if any, of the above are interesting, feel free to place a request.
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