After a lot of trial and error, I discovered my “writer’s rhythm.” In the early morning I’d commit to getting as many words on paper as possible. In the late morning I’d have a break and do some google research for the next day. Then I’d take the afternoon off and come back to it in the evening where I’d shape and edit what I’d written in the morning.
If I hadn’t done this, Gulp! would never have been written.
Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?
I remember one day when I was writing Gulp! I got really bad case of writer’s block. It could have been something to do with the fact that it was a beautiful sunny day outside and there I was stuck inside. Anyway, I decided to go to the gym to see if a workout would get my creative energy flowing again.
As I was going through my paces on the treadmill, by a stroke of serendipity Natasha Bedingfield came on the radio singing her song “Unwritten.” Her words were very apt: “Staring at the blank page before you, open up the dirty window, let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find. Reaching for something in the distance, so close you can almost taste it, release your inner visions. Feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you - only you can let it in.”
Ever since then, this song has been my antidote to writer’s block!
How was your experience in looking for a publisher? What words of advice would you offer those novice authors who are in search of one?
Prior to even pitching to publishers, I spent six months working with a fabulous Book Coach, Julia McCutchen, who helped me hone my proposal writing and helped me to believe that I could actually string some coherent sentences together. I pitched my newly honed proposal to five mainstream publishers and I was overjoyed when two of them called me in for a meeting. They liked my ideas, but felt they weren’t quite “strong enough” to be commissioned. Despite falling at the last hurdle, it was a huge confidence boost and I realized that this was serious now. It was time to find an agent. Like many things in life, often it’s not what you know, but who you know that really counts. I was coaching a TV presenter at the time and she’d just had her first book published. She kindly introduced me to her literary agent who signed me straight away. My agent then pitched to the publisher and we had a signed contract within two months.
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