Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Flash Fiction - I'm Leaving

My arm stopped moving in mid-air. The tea spoon clattered onto the kitchen floor, and I dropped the teapot. I heard it smash and saw the broken pieces scatter around my feet.

"You said what?"

"I love her Amy," Dave repeated. "I'm leaving you and the kids."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. As if I was paralysed, I watched Dave pick up his travelling bag and walk out, closing the front door quietly. I hated that. I wished he had slammed the door. That would have given me some sense of finality.

I crumpled in a heap.

(c) TP 2009

Thursday, December 10, 2009

On Life: My.First.Rejection.Letter

I got my first rejection letter from a publisher yesterday. It is a rite of passage for every aspiring author :) In fact I got a text from my published writer friend to say congrats! Apparently it means I am now a real writer! lol.

As far as rejection letters go, this one's not too bad actually. The publisher said "Unfortunately with the publishing industry in it's current state, I felt your novel would not be commercial enough". I want to remain positive, so I will take that to mean the novel was not completely rubbish, and her rejection is simply down to economics and timing. I've heard of editors giving some really funny reasons for rejecting a novel to the tune of "Do yourself a favour and don't give up the day job"! So FG will pick herself up and carry on. As someone else said, it can only mean I'm one step closer to meeting the right publisher.

The fear of rejection was one of the things I was so worried about when I first decided to start writing, but I think I've had to see it as one of the things that come with the business side of writing, and not take it personally. Even the most successful authors who have won long lists of awards for their writing had to face rejection at some point. Determination and resilience is an essential strength to have in this game, and a thick skin is also very useful!

On to other news:

To say a big thank you to our readers and supporters, we are running a competition and giveaway for the next three weeks on our series blog! Check it out! This is the first one and entries will close on Monday the 14th. There will be two more competitions and prizes until Christmas, so make sure you click over to the blog now and enter. You could be a winner!

Hope you enjoy the rest of the week and have a great weekend ahead.

FG