I’m not lucky, just tenacious and I
never gave up my dream
By Ann Harrison
Ever
since I could remember I’ve loved books. I would read anything I could get my
hands on and it’s only now that my taste has really settled on certain genres.
I love a good romance, who doesn’t love a happy ending and all the angst in
between. I greedily absorb as much young adult as I can and I can’t go past a
good suspense and murder mystery.
I
wish I had started writing years ago, a cry you probably hear from many a
writer. I think I was always too busy reading to sort out the voices in my head
but four years ago it all got too much and I had no choice.
My
first seven books spewed forth at a rate of speed that literally scared me half
to death. I started with young adult because that was what came to the surface
first. You might gather from this that I am a pantser. I can’t do it any other
way and am in awe of those that do plot every part of their manuscript.
Young
adult books one through to book three (and notes for the fourth) in a series
very quickly were written. After having book one rejected, (I think six times)
I thought I wasn’t cut out for young adult and tried my hand at romance. Three
books were written in as many months and sat while I entered competitions and
took the judge’s comments to heart.
It
wasn’t until I met a freelance editor, Annie Seaton who pointed out the flaws
in my stories (in a way that I understood). I polished them until I was happy
to submit them. It was the turning point for me and within 48 hours I had three
contracts sitting on my desk. I chose wisely I feel and carried on writing.
Three weeks later I signed my second contract with Breathless Press.
Taming
the Outback will be out in August and Mistress for Magnus will be released in
September.
With
my success I felt brave enough to submit Book One of my young adult series and
have just been asked for a revise and resubmit which I am thrilled about. It
looks like all the hard work has finally paid off and it’s going to be a big
year.
The
one thing I have learnt from this is never say die, ever. The only time you
will fail is if you throw in the towel and give up. You never start writing and
become an instant expert. It takes time, just the same as learning to play the
piano for example. It takes practise. I have met some terrific people along the
way and learnt so much. I’m not lucky, just tenacious and I never gave up my
dream.
So
if your dream is to write and get published, start working now. Join blogs,
writer’s websites, and all the social networking sites you can manage. Not only
will you learn more than you thought possible, you will meet some great people
along the way.
Connect with Ann:
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Website- Goodreads
Awesome post, Ann...and what an encouragement!
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