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On the road

14/9/2019

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No way. It can’t be. My thoughts, when I looked at the date of my last blog post. How time flies whether you’re having or not having fun!
 
Main reasons for my absence: (get ready for a long one)
 
First, yes. My work in progress, 'Secrets Are Not For Telling', has metamorphosed into 'Nothing Stays In The Dark Forever'. And yes, I have completed it. (Though it’s really not finished til it’s on the bookshelf.) 

Whilst doing that, I came across a competition run by a London publisher offering successful candidates a publishing deal. ‘Nothing Stays In The Dark Forever’ wasn't quite ready, by the deadline for submission. For one, it hadn’t been through a professional edit, so there was likely to be some issues with it. Thought I'd had the feedback from my beta readers and a couple of proof reads by a friend. Success in this competition would,  depend on the calibre of other manuscripts entered, so I was still hopeful.
​I sent it in.
 
Picture
But continued with my original plan to polish up the manuscript, write my synopsis and covering letter for submission to agents.

I'd recently joined Jericho Writers. A club where members get access to loads of free, and paid for, courses and resources. A fantastic find, in my opinion. I sent my ‘Agent’s submission package’ (i.e. synopsis, first 5000 words of the manuscript and covering letter to agent) in to Jericho Writers for an assessment.
 
The editor helped me shape the covering letter and synopsis and after reading the first 5000 words of the manuscript, advised me to strengthen my main protagonist, Yvette’s, voice.
 
More confirmation that I wasn’t likely to be successful with the novel competition. But hey-ho. I’d already submitted. And, you’ve got to be in it, to win it. Isn’t that what they say?
 
I started to tackle the feedback.
 
Months later – time does fly, the publishing company contacted me. They thanked me for submitting. Said, the submission process was tough and unfortunately my novel wasn't selected. However, they said, 
‘Nothing Stays In The Dark Forever’ showed great ambition, flair and potential. And is something they'd consider publishing in the future! 
 
That was a wonderful runner-up prize for me. 
 
There were two self-editing courses I’d been considering signing up to.  Jericho Writers club’s Self-editing your novel course (taught by Debi Alpher and Emma Darwin) was one of them. A newsletter popped up in my in-box. They were running a competition where under-represented voices could win a Jericho Bursary for under-represented voices. I had to enter. But I wanted to make the most of the course.  
 
'Nothing Stays In The Dark Forever’ already had a potential publishing path panned out for it. Plus, I didn’t think it needed much more work doing on it. 
 
If you take a look at my ‘Novels in Progress’ page, you’ll see I’ve been working on another novel: ‘Whispers From The Soursop Tree’. I’ve written numerous versions of this novel since its first draft in 2012! And it’s been waiting for years not just to see the light of day, but for me to shape it into a draft I was pleased with.
 
I wanted to give it a fighting chance to come to life. To work through what ever it was that kept stopping me from getting to a point where I could say:      

                "Yes, I'm happy with this."

​So, I took a bold step. Submitted an extract from ‘Whispers From The Soursop Tree’, with all the other necessaries I needed to enter the competition. What did I have to lose?

My underlying fear, though was it would test my conviction. Force me to finish the novel or accept it was a no-goer. Either way, it would be growth and movement forward.

 
Weeks later, Hey presto! “What?” Staring at computer screen, in slight disbelief, reading:

            …'I’m delighted to let you know …
            you have won a place on Debi Alper’s Self-Edit course...
      
                                
Congratulations!’ 

I’ve completed the course, busted a gut and six months later - with the help of Debi Alpher's editing skills and support, I have completed a draft of ‘Whispers From The Soursop Tree’. 

... and wait for it - here’s the bonus: The bursary win didn’t only give me a free place on the Editing your novel course, but also a meeting with agents in the autumn. Yes, coming up soon! 
 
                I’m ready to present to agents. 
 ​
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    Exhibit B
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    Transatlantic Slave Trade
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    Andrea `Levy
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    Beverley East
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    Blossoms
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    Calabash Literary Festival
    Caribbean
    Cats
    Chimamanda Adichie
    Chris Abani
    Cocks Crowing
    Commonwealth Short Story Competition Winner 2016
    Creatures
    Crime
    Crowning Glory
    Cuts
    Darker Times Publishing
    Debbie Flint
    Debut Novel
    Dub Poet
    Editing
    Emma Darwin
    Exhibit B
    Features
    Flooded
    Freedom
    Gatekeepers
    Goldsmith's University
    Hair
    Heat Wave
    Hedgehog
    Historical Fiction
    Holding On
    I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Jacob Ross
    Jamaica
    Joy Francis
    Kadija (George) Sesay
    Kendal Train Crash
    Kindle
    Lifestyle
    Linton Kewesi `Johnson
    Literary Editor
    London
    Lovers
    MA Black British Writing
    Maya Angelou
    MIR Online
    Mother
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    Nella Larsen
    Parashar Kulkarni
    Passion
    Patsy Antoine
    Peepal Tree Press
    Poet
    Political
    Politics
    Prejudices
    Protoje
    Psychological
    Publishers
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    Quicksand & Passing
    QVC
    Rape
    Readers
    Reaper Of Souls
    Relationships
    Reviews
    SABLE LitMag
    Saturday's Soup
    Short-story.me
    Sister
    Social Media
    Somalia Seaton
    Steve Pope
    Still I Rise
    Sunrise Pic
    The Bump
    The Long Song
    The Mathematics Of Love
    The New Black Magazine
    The Voice Newspaper
    Transatlantic Slave Trade
    Treasure Beach
    Vegetables
    Vladimir Lucien
    War
    Well-being
    Whistling Frogs
    Women
    Words Of Colour
    Writing
    Writing Projects
    Yvette Edwards

    Categories

    All
    A Cupboard Full Of Coats
    African Writer
    Americanah
    Andrea `Levy
    Arts
    Beauty
    Beverley East
    Black Women
    Blossoms
    Business
    Calabash Literary Festival
    Caribbean
    Cats
    Chimamanda Adichie
    Chris Abani
    Cocks Crowing
    Commonwealth Short Story Competition Winner 2016
    Creatures
    Crime
    Crowning Glory
    Cuts
    Darker Times Publishing
    Debbie Flint
    Debut Novel
    Dub Poet
    Editing
    Emma Darwin
    Exhibit B
    Features
    Flooded
    Freedom
    Gatekeepers
    Goldsmith's University
    Hair
    Heat Wave
    Hedgehog
    Historical Fiction
    Holding On
    I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Jacob Ross
    Jamaica
    Joy Francis
    Kadija (George) Sesay
    Kendal Train Crash
    Kindle
    Lifestyle
    Linton Kewesi `Johnson
    Literary Editor
    London
    Lovers
    MA Black British Writing
    Maya Angelou
    MIR Online
    Mother
    Motivation
    Nella Larsen
    Parashar Kulkarni
    Passion
    Patsy Antoine
    Peepal Tree Press
    Poet
    Political
    Politics
    Prejudices
    Protoje
    Psychological
    Publishers
    Publishing
    Quicksand & Passing
    QVC
    Rape
    Readers
    Reaper Of Souls
    Relationships
    Reviews
    SABLE LitMag
    Saturday's Soup
    Short-story.me
    Sister
    Social Media
    Somalia Seaton
    Steve Pope
    Still I Rise
    Sunrise Pic
    The Bump
    The Long Song
    The Mathematics Of Love
    The New Black Magazine
    The Voice Newspaper
    Transatlantic Slave Trade
    Treasure Beach
    Vegetables
    Vladimir Lucien
    War
    Well-being
    Whistling Frogs
    Women
    Words Of Colour
    Writing
    Writing Projects
    Yvette Edwards

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