Wow! Wonderful My Weekly have just paid me for my set of 1960s stories! What a rapid response that was - from commission to payment in less than a month! I LOVE My Weekly!!!
They've also given me another commission because they were so chuffed with what I did with the last one - details to follow - so, despite all the current angst over other things, I'm smiling - or I would be if I didn't have two tooth abscesses - hmmm - don't ask...
Also sold more stories in Scandinavia - Denmark this time - and the hardback of Happy Birthday (isn't it a beautiful cover??? I can say that because it's absolutely nothing to do with me - courtesy of the lovely and extremely talented Ella Tjader) is out today as well - the hardback is only meant for libraries and book clubs, and the paperback won't be out until November, but I had to post the cover here today because I LOVE it. Today, I've also been asked if I'd like to be interviewed for the Little, Brown website and of course, being a media tart and despite the awful radio experience, I said yes, so that's another item on my writerly to-do list... so, today has been a Good Writing Day - despite the fact that I haven't actually written anything yet.
So that's the writing ups - the downs are that I've got to get on with - um - WRITING. I'm still faffing around with the long story I've started for Woman's Weekly - a sort of family saga - not at all amusing - more dark than I usually do and I fear that I've just wasted my time, and theirs, not to mention about 12,000 words; still faffing around with the opening chapters of MOONSHINE - delivery in November? Hah - what do you think?!; still faffing around with half a dozen other short stories which all seemed good ideas at the time but now don't; still faffing about with everything in fact.
I do wish I wasn't such a flake. I wish I could concentrate on one thing, knuckle down and do it, tick it off and move on to something else - but no. I hop about, dabbling with loads of stuff and not really achieving anything at all. My New Year's resolution is always, always to be more organised - and it lasts about ten days...
Writing is such an iffy way to make a living - well, unless you're lucky enough to be in the JKR class, of course. Writing the stuff is the easy bit - it's the gap between writing it and hopefully selling it and then getting paid that makes it pretty scary. That's why I write all the time - in between the novels - because it's the only way I can make any money. I know I'm practically unemployable (apart from being a barmaid) and anyway I simply couldn't face having to get a Proper Job and wear tights... So, I write anything and everything in a panic-stricken state because I'm certain that one day soon someone will suss that I'm not a Real Writer at all and it'll all come crashing down round my ears.
Anyway, my face hurts like hell now and the teeth are throbbing and The Toyboy Trucker has given me some oil of cloves which he said I was supposed to rub on my gums NOT drink so now I feel sick as well... Don't think I'll be writing anything else today - ah, well, there's always tomorrow...
4 comments:
Oh no, sorry to hear about your abcesses. My hubby is in the same boat and has been in agony too. I hope you can get it sorted soon.
It's lovely to read about the ups and downs of your writing. I just had the first email response to one of my articles - most magazines have just ignored it completely. It was still a 'no' but it was a lovely email and great just to get any response at all! It's given me a push to keep at it. Your blog certainly helps too - so Thank You :) Looking forward to Happy Birthday!!!
mummy - great that you've got a lovely response, even if it was a no. Send the article out again - and again and again if necessary. It'll find a home. Trust me! Oh, but I hate it when they don't reply at all (I've currently got about twenty stories and articles that have been out for months without a peep) and then you wonder if what you sent ever arrived or if they just winged it into the bin or if they're all sniggering over its awfulness in their tea-break or something - I know that's not what really happens, but in my world of zero confidence I'm sure it does!
Commiserations to your hubby - I really know what he's going through.
Thanks Christina :) I've sent it out to another mag this afternoon! I've had those very thoughts so I must be a bona fide, paid up member of the zero confidence club!
I'll keep at it and thank you for the encouragement....especially given your abcesses! Ouch!
Glad to be of help - and will keep fingers crossed that this time there isn't a rejection. And welcome to the zero confidence club - I think there are a lot of members out there!
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