The trials and tribulations of a first time author.

The Trials and tribulations of a first time author 

Don’t get me wrong, writing your first book can be rewarding, enjoyable, and time consuming. I know…. I’ve done it.

You have your first manuscript finished, your pride and joy …. Yes....no, believe me you’re just starting. When you were writing it, it looked perfect. Now as you read it again, all your mistakes rapidly become apparent.

What do you find? Well for a start, he said, she said, so and so said. Why did I put all of them saids in??? Take them out.

What happened here, that sentence made sense when I wrote it. Now reading it again, the wording is all wrong…. Change it around; chop words out, put others in…. that’s better it makes sense now.

Fifty five words without a full stop or a comma. Blame the computer. Why is there a green line under that sentence? Fragmented???

You work through every paragraph, every line. You find it takes nearly as long as the writing did. At long last you are finished.... Did I say you are finished? Now you have to find an agent.

You search the internet, and find a couple of likely ones. Your first fifty pages are sent. You wait; you give up hope, and find another agent, or two, or three. You send again and wait. The first reply comes back, that much awaited email.

‘We are sorry, but at the moment we are not looking to take on any new authors.’

Then a second one returns.

 ‘We have looked at your work, but feel it is not within our scope. Thank you for considering us, and good luck.’

Be prepared for more of the like, or worse. If you are lucky, one may ask to see the rest of the manuscript. Don’t start celebrating just yet.

If you do find an agent who likes your work, then a small celebration could be in order.

Now comes the next part, will they edit and proof read your story free of charge, or ask you to pay. Beware; if you pay, both are priced by the word, and expensive.

Once your agent is satisfied, he will submit your manuscript to various publishers, and if you’re very lucky, one will accept it for publication.

Now you can celebrate….  

The birth of the novel, ‘Lady Celina Knight of The Church,’ probably gave me as much pain as her birth gave her mother, Lady Mary. Though I have to admit, the pain she has given me in its writing, has been far more pleasurable.

Good luck in your writing

A. E. Staniforth