On the road

But not to Devon. No, I'm talking about a different road, one I've been journeying along for far too long but one I think might just have a happy ending - to mix a metaphor.


A couple of weeks ago Elder Son emailed me with a link to an article by a man who'd self-published his book on Kindle. ES said, 'If you've given up sending it to agents you have nothing to lose doing this.'


So that's what I'm in the process of doing: preparing my manuscript and starting the process of turning it into an ebook that will be available on Amazon. The manuscript of my first novel that is.


I began writing it about 8 years ago and I've been through highs and lows with it, the highest being when an agent asked to read it all after enjoying the first three chapters (I tell you, I'd selected the cast for the film version before she finally said no) and the lowest being a critique I received that was so bad I couldn't take what she'd written seriously.


I continued to have faith in my writing and in my novel, though it was a faith that wavered at times. Indeed when  I started reading it again when preparing to edit it for the ebook I got through the first chapters and thought, 'This is terrible!' But I think that's because it's over-familiar. I've worked, re-worked, amended, edited and changed viewpoints till I'm sick and tired. As I continued reading my opinion improved and lots of it made laugh and some moved me. And I think that's pretty promising.


So that's what is taking up my time at the moment. I've just about finished editing and now I'm working on a front cover. Elder Son asked me what the themes of the book were and he drafted a cover, which I loved - but then thought it might be a bit girly. But he's introduced me to the world of vectors and I'm driving myself crazy trying to work with a new drawing program. (When I tried to download the software I found myself with monkeys instead of a drawing program; it took me a while to find out what I did wrong - and I still haven't got rid of the monkeys.)


I'll be asking your opinions soon.


But I'm excited. I wrote the novel hoping people would read it and even if it's only a handful, if they enjoy it, I'll be happy. (Although happier still if I become a world-famous millionaire author who could ask for Alan Rickman to be cast as leading man.)