This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
I had written my novel Turning the Stones whenever I could snatch time around my income-earning work as a freelance sub-editor. Since my ‘study’ consisted of a cramped little Ikea table only 60cms x 60cms, I was always looking for places to write. I became fantastic at being able to write anywhere – on buses, in parks – as long as I had earplugs to block out noise. It was a stressful time, but the thing that kept me going was utter belief in my novel. I thought it deserved a book deal and I wanted to remain fully open to the possibility that such a thing would come to pass. Okay, maybe I would be disappointed, but I just could not bear to let those dark little thoughts into my head unless I absolutely had to. (I’ve had a novel rejected in the past, so I was in no hurry to rehearse the pain of that again.) I just told myself, hang on in there, because you are writing yourself out of trouble, girl.
When the landlord finally turfed us out, I was spurred to a final burst of effort and finished the novel in one marathon 12-hour session. I emailed it to my agent. A few days afterwards she sent me a late night message: I LOVE THIS. That was a beautiful moment. I felt a tremendous release of tension. I knew everything would be all right then, even though I still had a big editing pass to do on the manuscript before it was sent out. I lived out of a suitcase while I edited and although I was moving from place to place, it was such a great feeling to know that the book had got written.
I had the good fortune in the end to be able to have a choice of publishers and was very happy to sign a two-book deal with Susan Watt at Heron. I was thrilled, but I couldn’t quite internalise that feeling because I was so exhausted by then.The real emotional moment for me was when the proof copy of Turning the Stones arrived in the post. I wasn’t expecting it. I opened the package and there was my book, living and breathing. That was when my heart leapt and I really felt that a new chapter of my life was beginning.
Debra Daley's book Turning the Stones is out today.