The End of the Fairy Tale?

This was not the post I thought I was going to be putting up today but, sadly, life doesn't always go the way you'd like it to.

After the post about finishing my novel called Not Giving Up and the one following that about my glowing RNA New Writers' Scheme report, A Small Step closer, I had hoped that the next post I wrote would be giving you good news.

Sadly, it's not to be.

This afternoon, I had a telephone call from my agent. Imagine my excitement! But she wasn't ringing to tell me how much she loved the novel... or about the next step... or even that there was work to be done together. Instead, she was ringing to say that, due to changes within the agency creating greater workloads, they would no longer be able to give the time needed to work on a debut novel. In other words, with regret, they would be having to let me go.

After feeling so elated at having finished the novel, and after having had such positive response from my RNA NWS reader, you can imagine how disappointing this was to hear. It's also sad because I got on well with my agent. It doesn't seem five minutes ago that I was writing the post in which I told you how my submission had been picked out of a slush pile of 10,000 and how it felt like winning the lottery.

But I refuse to be disheartened and this is why:

• I now have TWO novels to offer a new agent
• I have the fabulous words of my RNA NWS reader to give me the confidence to start the whole process again
• I will now be able to self-publish more collections of my magazine stories

I know it's not the news you wanted to hear but it's not the end of the road... just the beginning of a new journey.

One that I hope you'll continue to travel with me.

A Small Step closer...

This is a short follow-on post from last week just to let you know that, since posting, I have received my novel critique back from the RNA New Writers' Scheme (NWS). When the email came in, it took a while to pluck up the courage to go online and download my review then, in my haste, I forgot to put this year's password in and couldn't understand why it wasn't there. Luckily, the lovely NWS organiser was very patient with me and explained what I'd done wrong.

This year, I asked to have the same reader as last year (all critiquing is anonymous so I had no idea who it was but for ease of reading I shall call my reader 'she'). The reason I asked for the same person was my submission last year, for my first novel ,elicited a critique (of several pages) that was so astute that I just nodded in agreement at what had been written. She loved my writing and enjoyed my novel but knew it wasn't working on a few levels. I trusted her opinion and thought it might be interesting for her to take a look at my new project.

I stared at the screen... What would she think? Would it be another, I love your writing, but...

Eventually, I opened the file, expecting another several pages of suggestions but, instead, there was only a page and a half of writing with an apology for its brevity... it’s because there’s really not very much I can say that would improve it.

As I continued to read, I felt a warm glow inside - she loved the plot and thought my characters tremendous and believable. She also said I built up the tension wonderfully, every scene raising the stakes. My agent had asked me to write a suspense and it seemed I had managed to do it.

There were also small suggestions on how to increase the pace of the first few chapters and some queries about some plot devices I'd used (which I will definitely look at) but, overall, she loved it... hurrah! One tiny step closer on the long path to publication.

Of course, it's my agent who I really need to love it but at least now I know I haven't written a great big pile of rubbish (sometimes you can't help wondering if you have).

So now all I have to do is be patient and wait.... which I can guarantee won't be as easy as it sounds!

Not Giving Up

This week, I gave up on two things.

The first was a book:

When I was younger, I would plough through a book to the end, regardless of how badly written/boring/annoying it was, just because I felt I ought to finish it. I'm not sure why I thought this. Maybe it was because I'm from a generation that was taught to eat up all their dinner because there were starving people in the world (I never understood that one) or finish the egg and spoon race even when there was no longer an egg in your spoon.This week, I had no qualms in giving up on a book that had many high-scoring reviews but which, to me, had narrative that was amateurish and a formulaic plot. I have too many books waiting to be read to waste time on those that aren't entertaining me so I gave myself permission to leave it and start a new one.

The second was a future concert:

Earlier this year, I was encouraged by some members of my choir to join them at the Royal Albert Hall in November to sing The Messiah. I was in two minds (not really knowing the piece and not being very good at reading music) but agreed to give it a go. For three months, we've been practising and last week I gave it up. Why? Because it's hard and to sing it well would need more time commitment than I am able (or willing) to give. The main reason though is that I was just not enjoying it. I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I found the music and words all rather depressing. His 'yolk' might have been 'heavy' and his 'burden light' but my burden was massively lightened when I gave myself permission to give the concert up. Luckily, someone has taken my place. Someone who I know will get a lot more pleasure from it than I would.

But, in a week where I've given up two things, there's been something I haven't given up on (even when the going's got tough) and this has allowed me to say these magic words:

I'VE FINISHED MY SECOND NOVEL

Yes indeed - novel two has left the building and is with my agent. It's also been sent to the RNA New Writers' Scheme for a critique. Yay!

I could easily have given up after my agent suggested that novel number one (which I still love) be put aside so that I could work on a different project. I could have given up when new ideas wouldn't form. I could have given up when I got to twenty thousand words and stalled. I could have given up when I was nearing the end and thought 'I've been here before'... but I didn't.

Why? Because this is something that's important to me. Because I knew I had it in me to do it. Because, as I wrote the book, I fell in love with it and you don't give up on something you love unless there's a mighty big reason, do you?

I was going to try and find some inspirational quote to end this post but gave up (ha ha). Instead, I'll just say this:

If it's not right, if it doesn't give you enjoyment, if it won't alter your life unbearably if you give something up, then give yourself permission to do so. But, some things are worth pushing on with and fighting through the hard times for. If you love them enough, you'll know which ones they are.

The RNA NWS and an Unusual Pet - Guest Post Emily Royal

Hurray, it's October! Last week I mentioned that for the next few weeks I'd be opening up Wendy's Writing Now to new guests. Today, I offer a warm welcome my first - fellow RNA New Writers' Scheme member and author, Emily Royal. Thank you for taking up the challenge and being first to step into the spotlight, Emily. Let's begin.


Have you always known that one day you would be a writer?

It’s definitely my calling – but I never thought it would actually happen! Mathematics was my strength at school and that’s the career I followed. But I always had stories and characters chattering away in my head so one day I decided to write them down.

Can you tell my readers something about the genre you write in and what made you choose it?

It’s historical/medieval romance, a cross between Game of Thrones and Outlander. My stories tend to be dark and gritty with a bit of suspense and a lot of spice!
Life in medieval times was harsh, especially for women. I love writing stories where a heroine has to fight against her situation and turn the traditional damsel-in-distress concept on its head by showing she can be stronger than the hero, even if he’s a big alpha male.

Can you describe the novel you’re currently working on in one sentence?

Tough question! I’ll go with what I hope will be my second novel, set in the 11th Century, which I’m editing just now. It’s a dark, sexy romance about a young woman with a tragic secret who finds unlikely love with the barbaric man she is forced to marry, until her past returns to haunt her.

Like me, you’re a member of the RNA New Writers’ Scheme. In what way has belonging to this organisation helped with your writing?

It helped my confidence. NWS members get a full critique of a novel and I found the notion of someone reading my work utterly terrifying! But it was great to get confirmation that my writing doesn’t stink, as well as advice on how to improve. Had I not joined the RNA I would never have submitted to agents, let alone found one!

It’s always daunting sending your baby out into the big wide world of agents. How did you prepare for this?

I edited the novel, taking the advice from the critique on board, but kept putting off submitting until an author friend told me to get on with it! So I researched agents known to be receptive to submissions from RNA members, checking out their websites and lists of clients, to see if anyone might be a good match.

Tell me a little bit about finding your agent. Did you always have an American agent in mind?

I’d thought a UK agent was my best chance. But after a couple of months I followed my heart and looked up some of my favourite authors, many of whom are American. There’s one whose writing I love, so I googled her to see if she had an agent, and the rest is history!

Since finding your agent, have you had to do much work on your novel?

Oh yes, they’re very editorial. Their advice is excellent and they always explain their reasoning – which means it’s helped with my other novels, too.

Emily Royal is your pen name. What was your reason for not using your real name?

I wanted to keep writing and the day job separate; my stories are quite racy!

We all know that working with an agent is by no means the end of the journey. What’s the next step for your novel?

We’re nearing the final stages of editing. The plan is to submit to publishers later this month. Having gone through the stress of waiting for responses when I submitted to agents, I’m already getting nervous!

Finally, I must ask you about your unusual pets. Do you really keep snakes?!

Yes – I adore snakes. We’ve got different types: Royal Pythons, Boas, Cornsnakes and a Burmese Python. They’re all non-poisonous, very friendly, love being handled and are great with the children. Most were adopted from our local animal rescue centre. I nearly always have one draped over me when I’m writing and one will be making a guest appearance in a future novel!

An actuary by day and writer of gritty, dark & sexy romance by night; Emily Royal lives in rural Scotland with her family. She joined the RNA in 2015 to pursue her passion for writing and uses any surface she can find including aeroplane tray tables, her kitchen table or lap, usually with one of her snakes round her neck. 

She can be found on twitter at @eroyalauthor and Facebook at www.facebook.com/eroyalauthor.
Emily is represented by Browne & Miller Literary Associates and is currently working with them to prepare her debut novel for submission to publishers.

Do Not Enter - Serious Novel Editing Going On

On Thursday 18th of February (you see it's etched on my memory) you may remember I went up to London to have a meeting with Eve White of the Eve White Literary Agency. You may also remember how excited I was when I was offered representation by them.

To have an agent like your work enough to represent you feels like such a huge milestone that it is easy to think you have come to the end of your journey. As soon as you come back down to earth, though, you realise that this is far from the truth. Having representation is just the first lovely step on a long, long ladder.

So what have I been doing in the month since I wrote my excited blog post 'Out of the Slush Pile - how I found my agent'?

This is what I've been doing... editing... editing... editing.

These days, a novel is very rarely accepted as it is. A lot of the changes and edits that might once have been done after the book found a publisher, are now done beforehand with the guidance of the agent. The idea is to give the novel the best possible chance - and the agents know the market inside out.

Today, I finished my first round of edits. That might not sound like a huge achievement - but it it is to me. You see, part of my agreement with the agency was to make quite significant changes to the novel. In fact, I had to take out a complete viewpoint (a rather heart-wrenching 30,000 words). This was not as simple as it sounds as all the key information in the edited parts needed to be redistributed. Instead of seeing the second protagonist's actions through their own eyes, the reader would now have to discover these things through the conversations of other characters, letters, emails etc.

I have to admit I was a bit daunted at first but I knew I needed to make a commitment to the changes. They wouldn't work unless I had faith that they would make the novel stronger (after all, my agent knows the publishing business a whole lot better than I do). 

Since starting the work several people have asked me how I went about making the changes so I thought I'd tell you here on the blog.

1. I removed the second POV completely (leaving 50,000 words)
2. I printed out the cut POV
3. I wrote down all the chapter headings and made brief notes of the key information that needed to be put back into the story
4. Beside these, I jotted down ideas of how each particular bit of information could be imparted e.g. the name of a character, letter, email etc.
5. I decided what information waranted a new chapter and what could be added to existing chapters
6. On the printout, I circled any actions/scenes/settings that I particularly liked that could be transferred to another character
7. I worked methodically through each chapter, ticking things off as I went on both my chapter headings and the printout.
8. I made notes as I went of things I needed to check once it was all done.
9. I put the revised novel onto my kindle and read it for continuity.

I have to admit I was rather nervous when I started reading. What if I didn't like the new version? What if I thought it was better without the changes? Luckily, I had to agree with my agent... the novel had a different feel to it but it was all the stronger for the changes. 

It's now sent and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my agent likes it too.

If not... it's out with the red pen and scissors again!

The RNA New Writers' Scheme - My First Year

In last week's post (which you can read here) I talked about the reasons why I decided to join the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) New Writers' Scheme (NWS). Today I'll be looking back on my first year and thinking about what this has meant for my writing career.

A week ago, I left you with an image. I was opening the email telling me that I'd successfully been enrolled onto the scheme... yippee! After congratulating myself, I decided I needed to sit down and think carefully about the coming year. As I said in my post last week, my novel just wasn't happening: I hadn't been giving it enough time and, with no deadline, there was every likelihood that it would never get finished.. 

This was certainly no way to carry on. Did I think my novel idea was good? Yes. Did I want to complete it? Yes. Did I want others to enjoy it? Definitely. I needed to give myself a kick up the backside and what better way to do this than by giving myself a deadline. I knew the end of August was the last opportunity to submit to the NWS reader for a critique - this could be it. 

Now I'm not suggesting that waiting until the last minute to submit a novel is a good idea (the poor readers are inundated with late submissions) but I had to give myself enough time to have a reasonable amount to send. I needed to give myself a target - a concrete number of words to complete - and I needed someone who would keep me on the straight and narrow and have the stick waiting when I was slacking. Who better than lovely writing buddy, Tracy. After much discussion (and teacakes) we came up with the magic number - a minimum of 40,000 words. Of course I could have said that I should have the whole novel finished by August (which would have been much better) but I wanted my expectations to be realistic and I also wanted what I sent to be the best it could be.

With a word count to aim for, I found I had more focus and drive and, as the months went by, the novel started to take on a greater importance in my writing life. I wanted to talk about it... share the experience with others. What better way to do this than to join in some of the RNA events (you can find a list of them here). I'd already been to the Winter Party the previous year as a guest but it was time to get my teeth into something a little meatier - the RNA Conference. Last year it was held in London so, in July, I trotted along to St Mary's College in Mile End. I spent a wonderful weekend attending talks, meeting other writers and, best of all, having one to one sessions with publishing editors. To be told that the first chapter of my novel suggested it was a marketable story idea was music to my ears. (You can read my post called Ten things I've learnt from my first RNA Conference here.)

With renewed enthusiasm, I came home and wrote and wrote. By August I had written 54,00 words - more than my target. I sent it off and then I waited... and waited. I carried on writing and eventually, on September 20th, I finished it. My post The Day I Wrote The End is here.

When I eventually received my critique back from my reader, I was delighted. They'd obviously read what I'd sent them carefully and their observations were neatly labelled under 'plot', 'character' etc. The comments were thoughtful and very positive and luckily a lot of the suggestions they made were things that I'd already addressed in the final half of the novel (the problem with only sending a partial). It was the final comment that stayed with me though -  'This novel deserves to be read'. It was worth joining the NWS just for that!

So where am I now, a year on? I've researched agents and started to send the novel out. It's early days yet but one thing I do know... being in the New Writers' Scheme was what gave me the confidence to finish my novel and start the second. It you're new to the scheme this year or thinking about joining it in the future... good luck with your writing and I hope it gives you the boost you're looking for.

You can find out more about the RNA NWS here.

Writing Targets 2016

As usual, at the beginning of the year, writing chum Tracy Fells and I sat down in our local cafe, in Cobblestone Walk, to set our writing goals and give each other a stern talking to. Unlike the previous years, I came armed with this: a lovely little book just asking to be filled with potential achievements (you see I like to stay positive!).

Last year, I realised that any goals set needed to be straightforward and not overambitious if they were to be achievable and not stressful and I think I got them about right (if you haven't already seen how I did you can read last week's post here).

So here they are (gulp) - my writing goals for 2016!

1. To have written 50,000 words of novel two by the end of August (ready to submit to the RNA New Writers' Scheme reader).

2. To write at least two short stories a month. You may have noticed this has been reduced from last year's one a week but I have to be realistic as I'll be writing them alongside the novel.

3. Publish at least one more story collection - I'm really pleased with how well Room in Your Heart and The Last Rose have done (if you fancy reading them, the link is at the side) and so many people have asked when the next one will be appearing that it would be rude not to, wouldn't it!

4. Find an agent. This probably should have been at the top of the list as it is my ultimate goal for 2016 now novel number one is complete. I've already started the process... so fingers crossed.

And there you have it - four (hopefully) realistic goals for the year. One thing I do know though is that if I don't achieve any of them I am not going to beat myself up about it. At the end of the day the most important thing is that I carry on enjoying my writing, my wonderful circle of lovely writing friends and being in the privileged position of being able to entertain readers with my work... here's my latest story in The People's Friend Special.

You can read Tracy's 2016 goals here.

#PitchCB - Go On Have a Go!

Two weeks ago, on Friday 24^th July, I was sitting at my computer writing a magazine story when I decided I could do with a break. A cup of coffee and a few minutes on social media would be just what I needed to recharge my writing batteries, so I clicked onto Twitter to have a look at what was going on in the writing world outside my living room.

It wasn’t long before something caught my eye. Someone had shared a tweet from literary agents, Conville and Walsh, advertising a new initiative called #PitchCB. I had read about it before but hadn’t looked into it further for reasons I will go into later.

I expect you’re wondering what #PitchCB is.

It’s quite simple really. It’s an event for unpublished novelists, hosted by agents Rebecca Ritchie and Richard Pike, which is held on the fourth Friday of every month. You have 24 hours to pitch your novel idea in 140 characters or less, using the hashtag #PitchCB and during that time, agents from both literary agencies will be online to read each pitch. If they like yours, they will ‘favourite’ it, allowing you to submit the first three chapters of your novel in the usual way to that particular agent.

Sounds great – so why had I left it so late to consider submitting my pitch? Basically, it was because my novel wasn’t finished and I hadn’t planned to submit to agents until it was. So what changed my mind that Friday morning? It was the fact that I’d been thinking about a one-to-one meeting I'd had recently with a publisher while I was at the RNA conference. She'd told me she loved my novel idea and first chapter, and thought it very marketable - the only problem was they only accepted agented submissions. I needed an agent, and I knew I would be silly to miss this opportunity, so I sat down and wrote my 140 character pitch and tweeted it.

Once I'd done that, I tried to distract myself. Oh, how hard that was! Luckily, I only had a short while to wait, for within ten minutes I had received two ‘favourites’ – one from each agency. I can’t tell you how excited I was but, once I’d calmed down, I realised that the pitch was only the start of the journey… I would need to perfect my first three chapters, re-write my synopsis (based on advice given at the RNA conference) and write a covering letter that would hopefully make me look like a professional, enthusiastic, creative, and fairly normal person.

The next day, I emailed everything to the two agents and then set to work getting my novel finished. If the agents liked my first three chapters, and wanted to see more, I didn’t want to have to make them wait for months.

So here I am, two weeks latet, feeling very proud of myself for taking that big step. Not because I have heard anything yet but because the whole experience has focused me and given me confidence. It’s proved that I can write a catchy tag line and that my novel idea is interesting enough for agents to want to see the first three chapters at least (apparently the agents chose 100 out of 2,000 pitches). It’s also got me well on the way to getting the novel finished (I have only about another 15,000 words to write) and it's now with my RNA New Writing Scheme reader awaiting its critique.

So, if anyone out there is looking for an agent from a quality literary agency, I would highly recommend you have a go. The next #PitchCB is on August 28^th.

Go on… be brave!

You can find out more about #PitchCB  here

*UPDATE*

Since writing this post, I have heard from one of the agents from Curtis Brown. Unfortunately, the book wasn't their taste so it was a no but they said my writing was engaging, the idea appealing and that I write with real energy and enthusiasm. They also said it was a difficult decision to make as they were impressed with my submission. 

I can only be happy with that!