The Story So Far...

This is now the sixth time that I've started this blog today. The issue I'm having is one of tone. Initially I thought it would be a piece about excitement. Last night I found out I would receive a call today from the publishing house I've been courting. So, it's fair to say I was very excited.

The call itself was very useful one, if for no other reason than to actually talk to someone. The publishing business is strange, in most cases it's email contact only and you need the patience of a fly fisherman. (Come to me, you lovely publishing trout). You sit around waiting for the deliberations to be made about your work. Everyone who knows what's going on always asks... "Anything?" To which you reply full of hope... "Is there bollocks!"

You may have poured months if not years of your life into those pages, but nobody cares... There's always more pressing business than yours.



The same work that you've sort advice on and been editing and re-editing before submission, you're now trying to play it cool with. I definitely haven't been thinking about it constantly or stroking its silky white pages, teasing those naughty words with my red editing wand. Sanity would dictate working on other projects and generally being constructive and not messing about on the Internet and calling it research. Which of course I did. The constructive stuff I mean.

 Now this impersonal process is, just what it is, however, the waiting around fills you with thoughts and fears ...and occasionally dreams of being a best seller. You know the one where you wake up, and your make-up is all smeared and you've broken a heel on your shoe. Your gown is in tatters, and you look in the mirror and realise your JK Rowling role-play exceeded its safety limits, because you'd forgotten the "safe word" which turned out to be HOLLY VALANCE!

I'm sure we've all had that dream at some point. I seem to have gotten a little off topic...

After waiting for months you eventually get the call, and the publishing person on the other end is human. The resulting conversation, although not the one I wanted, was still very productive and hopefully gave us both  some things to think about.

The best bit of course is that he liked it, the down side, it's a bit like something else they've published. The upside, we are still trying to work something out... And he liked it!

Until next time...