Roller Coasters
What is it like to be on a countdown towards publication? Towards your dream of being published by a major publisher coming true?
Well, it’s a crazy roller coaster ride, to be honest. Not that I’m comparing the experience to my misguided decision to give in to my younger brother’s pressure to go on the roller coaster at Great Yarmouth’s pleasure beach this summer. (I know, I’m definitely old enough to know better, and I’ve been motion sick enough times to know it wouldn’t turn out well). So, no, I don’t mean that waiting for Five Winters by Kitty Johnson to come out is a white-knuckle ride that’s making me ill. More that my emotions swing from excitement to anxiety and back again with a touch of is this really happening? thrown into the mix.
It's not the first time I’ve been published by any means – check out the books published under the names Margaret Johnson and Margaret K Johnson if you want to see what I’ve had published before. I was proud of all of those books, and the language readers in particular have sold around the world meaning that I’ve been able to work part-time, leaving more time for writing. My self-published novels were all close to my heart and well-received by those who read them. Unfortunately, not many people did. Self-promotion is not my forte. Some authors are amazing at self-publishing – while I’ve been striving for a book deal, these entrepreneurs have brought out title after title, putting themselves out there, gaining fans. I’m in awe of them, I really am.
But I craved a book deal, and for that I needed an agent. When I found one – a very good one (Carly Watters of PS Literary) – via a pitch event organised by the Women’s Fiction Association – I thought the fulfilment of my dream was imminent. Not so – more rejection followed as the novel Carly took me on for failed to sell (yet!!). Then I spent a year writing a new novel that wasn’t in step with what editors (and, it turned out, Carly) were looking for.
At times like these you can either throw in the towel or just choose to carry on regardless. It helps that I’ve always been stubborn I suppose. No, not stubborn – determined – that sounds better, doesn’t it? Determination can get you a long way especially if it’s accompanied by ideas. In April 2021 I submitted my idea for Five Winters to Carly and she loved it. By November 2021 she was submitting the completed draft to potential editors. A month later, one of them said ‘yes’.
And now as I wait for Five Winters to hit the virtual shelves, I think about books I want to write in the future and about the time around five years ago when I took the decision not to continue self-publishing. How for a year or so, I stopped writing altogether, concentrating on developing my creative writing courses and trying to convince myself I was fine with that. I wasn’t though – writing is a huge part of who I am and what I do, and I realised I needed to write whether my words saw the light of day or not.
I’m very glad they are going to though!!
Well, it’s a crazy roller coaster ride, to be honest. Not that I’m comparing the experience to my misguided decision to give in to my younger brother’s pressure to go on the roller coaster at Great Yarmouth’s pleasure beach this summer. (I know, I’m definitely old enough to know better, and I’ve been motion sick enough times to know it wouldn’t turn out well). So, no, I don’t mean that waiting for Five Winters by Kitty Johnson to come out is a white-knuckle ride that’s making me ill. More that my emotions swing from excitement to anxiety and back again with a touch of is this really happening? thrown into the mix.
It's not the first time I’ve been published by any means – check out the books published under the names Margaret Johnson and Margaret K Johnson if you want to see what I’ve had published before. I was proud of all of those books, and the language readers in particular have sold around the world meaning that I’ve been able to work part-time, leaving more time for writing. My self-published novels were all close to my heart and well-received by those who read them. Unfortunately, not many people did. Self-promotion is not my forte. Some authors are amazing at self-publishing – while I’ve been striving for a book deal, these entrepreneurs have brought out title after title, putting themselves out there, gaining fans. I’m in awe of them, I really am.
But I craved a book deal, and for that I needed an agent. When I found one – a very good one (Carly Watters of PS Literary) – via a pitch event organised by the Women’s Fiction Association – I thought the fulfilment of my dream was imminent. Not so – more rejection followed as the novel Carly took me on for failed to sell (yet!!). Then I spent a year writing a new novel that wasn’t in step with what editors (and, it turned out, Carly) were looking for.
At times like these you can either throw in the towel or just choose to carry on regardless. It helps that I’ve always been stubborn I suppose. No, not stubborn – determined – that sounds better, doesn’t it? Determination can get you a long way especially if it’s accompanied by ideas. In April 2021 I submitted my idea for Five Winters to Carly and she loved it. By November 2021 she was submitting the completed draft to potential editors. A month later, one of them said ‘yes’.
And now as I wait for Five Winters to hit the virtual shelves, I think about books I want to write in the future and about the time around five years ago when I took the decision not to continue self-publishing. How for a year or so, I stopped writing altogether, concentrating on developing my creative writing courses and trying to convince myself I was fine with that. I wasn’t though – writing is a huge part of who I am and what I do, and I realised I needed to write whether my words saw the light of day or not.
I’m very glad they are going to though!!
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