Will I ever...? A writer's life. 29 Jul - 2 Aug.
MONDAY
Blue bits.
Birthday recently; not saying how old. More than 21. Less than 100.
I am very lucky; I had a lot of lovely fuss made of me. I got taken for a posh afternoon tea in a swanky hotel; and for a daytrip to the beach with happy little dog in tow. In England, dogs aren’t usually allowed on beaches between May and September. A few places make exceptions, and Kingsgate Bay in Kent is one of them. A lovely, sandy cove with sea caves in the chalky cliffs, and a headland you can walk right round at low tide.
The family beaches to either side of it don’t allow dogs, and are crammed with people on sunny days – especially at the moment, while the kids are off school for their August break. By contrast, Kingsgate Bay was quiet, dotted with only a few families, their umbrellas and windbreaks – kids and dogs rushing in and out of the waves with equal excitement. I did regret not taking my cossie and venturing in, but there were only a few brave souls actually swimming. This is the English Channel, not the Med. A summer dip can still turn you blue.
TUESDAY
Prepping.
Spent the greater part of the day prepping Many The Miles for UK agent pitches. By ‘prepping it’, I mean chopping the manuscript up like coleslaw to meet the myriad agency specifications. Regardless of how thoroughly you do your homework, and how diligently you cherry-pick your targets, every agent still seems to want something slightly different – first 500 words, first chapter, first three chapters, first 50 pages, first 10K words… I’m not sure if they do this to discourage all but the most determined applicants, and obviously I’m endeavouring to give them what they want because I’d like to work with them, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t annoying.
However, the customer is always right. The first person you must convince of your worth is a potential agent. If you succeed, it becomes their job to convince the rest of the world. The first hurdle is consequently the most difficult to clamber over. You just have to square your shoulders, set your jaw, and get on with it.
WEDNESDAY
Telling it like it is.
A friend recently told me I shouldn’t post ‘miserable’ content – but that’s exactly the problem with social media! It is persistently unrepresentative of ‘ordinary’ life, which is often boring, frequently frustrating, and sometimes downright depressing. I strongly believe it’s important to highlight the run-of-the-mill along with the razzmatazz. I maintain this unhealthy obsession with everything being ‘amazing’ all the time is the reason modern teenagers harbour feelings of inferiority. They’re constantly comparing themselves unfavourably to an unrealistic ideal. What I’m trying to do is illustrate what life is like for someone in my position; someone building their career in midlife because it’s the first opportunity they’ve had to do so. I parted company with my first agent a reasonable while ago (amicably enough, but because I felt they weren’t on my wavelength), and am hoping I didn’t shoot myself in the foot by doing so. I don’t think I did. If your gut tells you something’s wrong, that usually means it is…but the reality of being a working, ‘un-agented’ author is an often-dispiriting one. I want to illustrate that process, warts and all.
THURSDAY
Many The Miles – Part Two.
As promised, here’s Part Two of Many The Miles.
What’s happened so far….
Drifter Gage has rescued the mysterious and seriously-injured Kennedy. She’s in hospital, gradually recovering, and her identity has finally been revealed in a newspaper article. Some intimidating hoodlums have paid her a visit, and while Gage attempts to frighten them off, the confused and still-mute Kennedy does a disappearing act out of a bathroom window.
Who sent the hoodlums, where is Kennedy going, and what on earth is going to happen to the shellshocked Gage next?
FRIDAY
Love triangle.
As my sales figures show my Orcadian love-triangle romance, Against All Odds, is my most successful novel, I’ve decided I’ll pitch this to UK agents too.
I’m therefore sitting in the sunshine in the garden, watching the birds, listening to the dog snoring…and not knuckling down to writing my covering letter or synopsis.
I feel very ‘removed’ from this book. It came out in 2017. Hardly the dark ages, but I’ve written three other novels since then. I’ve been in Wyoming, Antigua, Florida…about as far from windswept and desolate springtime Orkney as you can get. It’s hard to get under the skin of the story after all this time. If I can’t remind myself of its special and singular hook, then I’ll struggle to sell it to anyone else. I can feel a reread coming on – a day on the lounger in the garden with the dog, a large jug of something cold, and a book which at the moment feels as if it was written by a stranger. I’m sure it’ll all come flooding back. All those readers can’t be mistaken, right?
If you’re in Orkney and don’t fancy waiting for your copy of Against All Odds to be delivered by the Amazon-man, I’m delighted to say it’s for sale in The Orcadian Bookshop. Pop over to Kirkwall and buy one!
www.annieholder.com/against-all-odds/
Annie Holder writes pacey thrillers, twist-filled crime novels, and unconventional romances – set all over the world.
You can find out more about her books at www.annieholder.com, and follow her on Instagram www.instagram.com/alhwriter/