Sue Watson - Author of Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes
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| Photos courtesy of Sue Watson |
Thank you Sue for joining me here today :)
My Long and Winding, Yellow Brick Road to Getting Published
As a TV producer with the BBC I loved my job - but despite the supposed ‘glamour’ and ‘showbiz’ of it all – I had another dream. Throughout my time working on daytime sofas, garden makeovers and TV hospital wards, I made notes. I listened to the sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking stories and comments and wrote them down on whatever receipt/envelope/TV script I had in my bag at the time.
Years later, I realise I was already forming the structure and plot of a novel in my head but it wasn’t until my then 7-year-old daughter became ill with suspected meningitis (it wasn’t thank God!) that I began to re evaluate my life and write. The hours of a TV Producer meant I was often away for days, sometimes weeks which was incredibly hard on everyone, so I bit the bullet and took redundancy. Our income was now halved, so I had to do something so we sold a car, cancelled the holiday and I bought a basic, but shiny pink laptop to write ‘that novel.’
Being impatient, I sent the first three chapters off to agents and publishers before I’d finished the book – well, it would take ages for them to get back apparently and I would have finished it by then. Imagine my surprise (and delight laced with horror!) when an agent responded quickly asking to see the rest of the novel! I postponed lunches, coffee with the girls and anything less than urgent to complete the book. This was my future – it had to work and the agent had to love it – and she did! She raved about it, signed me up, sent it to the top ten publishers and told me to sit back and wait for the call.
After a week we’d heard nothing; “It’s a good sign, they’re all waiting to see what the others offer so they can outbid,” she reassured me. I imagined frenzied scenes of fist-fighting publishers; “she’s mine, all mine!” and waiting by e-mail and phone, I was braced for the exploding fireworks and popping champagne.
But no-one called that day ... or the next... or the one after. Eventually my agent sent e-mails to remind them all. And so it began, a torrent of increasing blows thudding into my inbox; “liked it – didn’t love it.” “Heroine too hard.” “Heroine too soft.” “Not passionate about it." "Very passionate about it but not in the current climate," "... so it's a no from us... ' 'and us and ...finally from everyone, a big fat ‘NO.”
I'd given up so much for this and didn't think I could feel any worse...then my agent dumped me by e-mail.
Fast forward twelve months through the pain, the abandonment of my manuscript along with writing as a career and a desire to join the Foreign Legion. I held my breath, took out the manuscript and dared to read it again. I expected to hate it and throw it away, but guess what? I still loved it and like a masochist seeking pain sent it out to publishers again. Why put myself through this another time? Why not save myself the agony and give up? I didn't know.
I waited and waited, was almost signed up several times and reached unimaginable temporary highs with requests to see the whole manuscript and discussions about future books. But it all came to nothing. Yet through all this something drove me on. And one day Rickshaw Publishing, who I’d sent the MS to called me; “we’re really excited about this book,” they said. I was ecstatic... after all the rejections and the let downs it was magical to find that someone, somewhere wanted to turn my words into a book, and believed in it as much as I did.
‘Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes,’ was published in September, and it still thrills me to tell you it’s available in paperback and kindle from Amazon and all online bookshops. It’s even in some Waterstone’s where I’m currently doing signing events (see my blog for details).
And when I receive a lovely comment, a great review or simply hold a copy in my hands, I know why I never gave up. It was worth everything I went through. Whatever your dream....never, never, never give up.
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