Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and this month's lovely co-hosts;
As the year stretches out before me I can't help wondering what it holds for my writing.I have been working for a while on my latest project. An MG fantasy adventure set in Cornwall. The first draft was completed last summer. I sent it out to readers and received some encouraging feedback and some helpful suggestions. This last few months I have been editing and rewriting and. I am really happy about the way it is progressing. I am aiming to have a completed ms over the next few weeks and I am excited about that.
But then comes the next scary part ..... the submission process.
And that is where the insecurities and doubts set in. Where should I submit? Agents, publishers or both? There are only a handful of suitable UK publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts, I have a couple in mind, and I may well submit to them, but so many only look at agented work so ideally I would love to find an agent.
I know rejection is to be expected, I have dealt with it many times as I know most of you have too, but I really, really want to get a yes this time. I love the story and the characters and I think it offers something new, but will it find a home somewhere? It is a tough market out there, so many writers with great stories to share, only a few make it. The odds are stacked against us. We are told time and time again that it's about finding a new angle, having a unique voice and writing the story you would want to read.
My story features characters from Cornish folklore, many of which will be unfamiliar, and so therefore it should be fresh and interesting. But it is not just a traditional fantasy. One of the main characters has lost her father in an accident and so the story shows how she copes with bereavement.The anger and sadness, that not only effects her, but her mother and brother too. Having lost my own father suddenly when I was a similar age I feel well able to 'get inside' the character's head. Whilst it is no way about me, it is a subject I think I can write about well, with compassion and understanding.
I think I have written a well plotted story. One with the right balance between realism and fantasy. But I will only really know when I send it out and see what sort of response, if any, I get!
So I start the new year in a state of mixed emotion. Swinging from excitement to trepidation. I will finish the ms and write the best story I can. If nothing else I can be proud of that fact.I will put on my armour to protect me from the rejections that are likely to follow whilst holding onto the believe and hope that the good news I long for is around the corner.
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you have a successful and productive writing year ahead.
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