Sunday 12 March 2017

Marching on

This is where we sometimes walk our dog, Dexter. Where we live there are lots of lovely dog walking areas nearby, both right on the doorstep and a short drive away. In fact the countryside that surrounds the city I live in has been much of the inspiration for the setting of Sadie's House. Its very beautiful, very green and very hilly, scattered with little villages and country towns. Where I live isn't particularly rural  - its typical suburbia, but it is surrounded by lots of green belt, lots of fields, trees and walking areas and so although we never meant to have a dog (we inherited him after our son and his girlfriend separated), he gets lots of exercise - and so do we! So we are all quite lucky in that respect.

So here's the update. I mentioned in my last post that I had sent The Secrets to a big London agent. I was talking to one of my most beloved friends about facing your fears and getting out of your comfort zone. Self publishing was a huge step for me because it frightened me to death, but I really wanted Dad to see the book in print. In the long term, that didn't work out all that well - there were lots of mistakes and after all, it was my first attempt. I sold a few, but haven't broken any sales records and now, of course, I have withdrawn it all and I am starting again. So to send off the work that I actually finished a year ago, then spent months and months editing, knowing that, as has been the case for many - including the likes of Stephen King and JK Rowling, the most likely scenario is that it will be ignored or rejected. And yet that very thought does not put me off in any way. I already have several other agents listed and details almost ready to go at the push of a button. So here's a shout out to www.authorspublish.com  with thanks for their updates on agents accepting submissions. I continue to use this fabulous source to stay on my game! The agents said typical replies take about 12 weeks, and its only been about 4 or 5 (not that this little fact is stopping me from checking my emails every day....!)

So I continue to operate under the notion that maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day. I will keep marching on regardless. As I said to my friend, while ever I am alive, and even beyond, anything is always a possibility, and that's what gives up hope. The whole thing...this whole journey is so completing exciting! I have never been a person for whom everything just drops into place at first attempt. But with a great deal of perseverance, and a great deal of hard work, I have successfully accomplished many of the things I set out to do. Maybe its the same for this......