My publishing journey

As a child, I had dreamed of writing a book but I dropped this idea as I became a teenager and then an adult, as if perhaps it was a childish fantasy. I had never met a real life published author and so didn’t think that it was something I could become.

I’ve always loved stories and been a voracious reader and I think this is definitely where you learn your craft if you’d like to become a writer.

Not long after I turned forty, I took voluntary redundancy. Although I’m generally risk averse, I trusted my gut on this occasion and believed it was the right move. As it happened, I was offered three fantastic jobs in the week I left and then used some of my redundancy money to take a writing course with the Faber Academy. It felt like a huge step, committing to the idea of writing a novel and seeing where it took me. The course gave me confidence that I could write and that perhaps attempting a novel wasn’t so outlandish.

I wrote my first novel and had some success in competitions and interest from agents but it didn’t go anywhere. And so in 2020, I decided to give it another shot and start something completely new. Again, partly due to being in lockdown and knowing I wanted to get feedback from other people and feel part of a group, I started an online writing course, this time with Curtis Brown Creative. I had to come up with a synopsis and the first few thousand words to apply for the course and this formed the basis of my debut novel, The Secret Collector.

I would like to say that getting an agent and a publishing deal was plain sailing but it wasn’t. However, the bumps in the road have made me a better writer, strengthened my resilience and given me more realistic expectations. It also led me to the best agent for my book and a perfect home for it with Pan Macmillan and I’ll never take any of this for granted.

Writing a novel doesn’t happen overnight and the whole process has been more enjoyable, rewarding, frustrating and painful than I ever imagined - not to mention hard work! But through writing I have found a whole new side to me, I have met amazing people and had some fantastic experiences and achieved a real dream. If you think you have a novel in you, you really have nothing to lose.