Blog CemeteryNovel idea
November 16th 2006 04:53
Novel idea
I have always, always wanted to write a novel. Since, I was, like, five. OK, so I’m not alone. There are hundreds and thousands – perhaps, billions – of people just like me in the world, I’m sure. And, really…. imagine if all of us dreamers were actually able to fulfil our publishing dreams - there would be a whole lot of crapola on the book store shelves. (Plus, some gems that never would have been picked up too, just to be fair.) But I’m getting the feeling that – for me – being a published author, if I’m really honest with myself, may never happen.
I just recently finished a two-day “how to get your writing published” workshop and I am flummoxed. The amount of dreamers in the course was, quite frankly, depressing. Was I just another dreamer like them – and not realising it? Should I have changed my one-track record since childhood (about one day being a published author) by now? My childhood goal list of first being a journalist, then heading to Sydney to write for magazines, then becoming a novelist and columnist, may have its plug pulled out – and how.
The one thing which struck home at the course was how difficult it was to actually get published. The course lecturer had worked at a top publisher before and explained at length just how many manuscripts a day landed on her desk during that time. Frightening. And, if it doesn’t matter if your manuscript is worthy of being the next “bestseller” - if you don’t get the basic guidelines right (like, double spacing et al), you’re screwed. So, you could spend a year penning a book, for what? Diddly-squat. And it’s back to the drawing board for you, baby. Yup, you could have been watching The OC and going to the gym, instead of sacrificing these joys for a hopeless dream.
The biggest problem for me, also, is MOTIVATION. I haven’t been able to complete a novel beyond a few chapters since I was a teenager. As a carefree teen, I would churn out tonnes of 100-page books (written by hand) for my own amusement. OK, so they weren’t quite up to publishing scratch, but the passion was there….
Now, in doing writing as a job (in the form of PR and journalism), my creativity and passion for what essentially I do best (or, the only thing I know how to do) has been sucked out. I feel I don’t have a distinct voice anymore, like the Maggie Aldersons and Marian Keyes’s of the world – thanks largely to the formulaic expectations of my English and History teachers and newspaper and magazine editors.
Still, I can’t help myself from visiting book shops and the book sections of department stores and running my hands along the spines of all the enticing “chick lit” books there. Maybe one day. Possibly. I can dream, can’t I?
I have always, always wanted to write a novel. Since, I was, like, five. OK, so I’m not alone. There are hundreds and thousands – perhaps, billions – of people just like me in the world, I’m sure. And, really…. imagine if all of us dreamers were actually able to fulfil our publishing dreams - there would be a whole lot of crapola on the book store shelves. (Plus, some gems that never would have been picked up too, just to be fair.) But I’m getting the feeling that – for me – being a published author, if I’m really honest with myself, may never happen.
I just recently finished a two-day “how to get your writing published” workshop and I am flummoxed. The amount of dreamers in the course was, quite frankly, depressing. Was I just another dreamer like them – and not realising it? Should I have changed my one-track record since childhood (about one day being a published author) by now? My childhood goal list of first being a journalist, then heading to Sydney to write for magazines, then becoming a novelist and columnist, may have its plug pulled out – and how.
The one thing which struck home at the course was how difficult it was to actually get published. The course lecturer had worked at a top publisher before and explained at length just how many manuscripts a day landed on her desk during that time. Frightening. And, if it doesn’t matter if your manuscript is worthy of being the next “bestseller” - if you don’t get the basic guidelines right (like, double spacing et al), you’re screwed. So, you could spend a year penning a book, for what? Diddly-squat. And it’s back to the drawing board for you, baby. Yup, you could have been watching The OC and going to the gym, instead of sacrificing these joys for a hopeless dream.
The biggest problem for me, also, is MOTIVATION. I haven’t been able to complete a novel beyond a few chapters since I was a teenager. As a carefree teen, I would churn out tonnes of 100-page books (written by hand) for my own amusement. OK, so they weren’t quite up to publishing scratch, but the passion was there….
Now, in doing writing as a job (in the form of PR and journalism), my creativity and passion for what essentially I do best (or, the only thing I know how to do) has been sucked out. I feel I don’t have a distinct voice anymore, like the Maggie Aldersons and Marian Keyes’s of the world – thanks largely to the formulaic expectations of my English and History teachers and newspaper and magazine editors.
Still, I can’t help myself from visiting book shops and the book sections of department stores and running my hands along the spines of all the enticing “chick lit” books there. Maybe one day. Possibly. I can dream, can’t I?
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