This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Early last year when my life largely involved tootling around my house, going to work, burning dinners and writing in the evenings and weekends, my email box pinged. I had a message from Kirsty at Novelicious asking about a manuscript I had sent into the first ever Novelicious Undiscovered competition over a year before. She had remembered it and wondered what had happened to it. I blinked as I looked at the email. What was going on? Were the stars unusually aligned? Had I stumbled across the path of a black cat?
Typing quickly, I admitted that the book was currently around 60,000 words long and sitting on a rather dusty memory stick. Since then, I had finished two other books, one in an entirely different genre, and well, I hadn't found the time to finish it and, well, *starting to perspire as I tapped* I could, if she wanted to read the whole thing. I would finish it, now, this moment. It might take a couple of weeks, but I would type quickly, super fast, nearly touch-typing basically. I wouldn't sleep, I could manage it…
She replied that she would love to read the whole thing, so I cleared a couple of weeks and I set to work typing like the wind. Tap, tap, tap – another five thousand words. Tap, tappity, tap – ten, fifteen, twenty. Twenty thousand more words. Manuscript complete. I pressed 'send' before thinking about it.
And then I waited for her verdict while I tried not to ring my parents for a week. "She's bound to love it, darling, she called you remember. Do you know, we met a writer at a drink's party the other day. He had strange hair and his books look dreadful, but he got published. I'm sure this is it, darling…" Etc etc.Then, just over two weeks later, another email arrived and I digested the words slowly. "I loved it. So funny. That rapper! Oh, and I was crying with laughter over the Steve date. There are some gaps, but I loved it and I want to sign you up for the Novelicious Books imprint and take great care of your book…"
Cue jaw drop.
After so many years of writing, entering competitions, talking to other authors and readers and typing, typing, typing, the moment seemed to have arrived. And I couldn't take it in. Someone, other than my parents, thought I could write. Someone was offering to invest in my book. To edit, copy-edit, design a cover and help me create an author platform. It was an overwhelming feeling and I couldn't really believe it. The best thing about it was truly believing the book had found the right home. I had always loved Novelicious and the vibrant, amusing branding seemed perfect.
I wrote back immediately, "Dear Kirsty, I would be absolutely thrilled to work with you."
WHOOP.
*dials home*
Rosie's debut novel, How to Get a (Love) Life, is out now.