Drafting (and other updates)

Many people think that the process for publishing a book jumps from writing ‘the end’ to hitting the printers. The real process is more laborious, because first drafts are rarely the finished product. My current novel is now in its fourth draft, with different ideas being tried and tested along the way. Sometimes new ideas work, sometimes they open new opportunities, and sometimes they take the novel in a problematic direction, and they need to be unpicked. I sent the latest draft to my agent today, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it might be ready to pitch to publishers soon...

Last time I updated the blog, I mentioned I’d been busy researching and outlining for a new YA project. I also started to draft it last month (and completed the first three chapters). Now that draft 4 of the other novel is with my agent, I can return my attention to the new project. I’m hoping to get a good chunk written before I hear back from my agent – perhaps even a full draft.

The dream remains to earn enough from advances/royalties to cover my living costs while I’m developing a new novel. I’m not there yet, and sadly, I don’t have any updates in terms of getting work as a private tutor, either. I signed up to an agency that I used before, but they’re still processing my details. Today, I started a Facebook page for a bit of self-promotion. Hopefully, I can establish this before the end of this academic year, as it should be something a bit more flexible to cover my living costs in future.

Winning Short Story: Living Space (and other updates)

It’s been a while since I posted an update. The good news is that I have something positive to share: my short story ‘Living Space’ came first place in a Fiction Factory Flash Fiction Competition. It has been published online, and you can read it for free here.

In other news, I’m working with my agent to edit the YA novel that I drafted in September last year. It is now in its third draft, which is a much quicker editing process than running it through a site like Critique Circle (where it takes about six months to run a single draft in weekly chapters). I’m not sure how many more drafts will be required before we pitch the novel to the publishing houses, but I’m hopeful that the next step will occur at some point in 2025.

In the gaps while I wait for feedback, I’m also slowly moving towards bringing a new YA novel (a thriller) into fruition. It is still in the planning stage currently, but I’m hoping to be ready to draft at least a few chapters later this month. I’d like to have this novel ready for my agent to read while we wait for news from the publishers about the fate of the current one.

It’s nice to have a little prize winning coming in, but the quest to earn enough money from writing is still very much in the works. In the meantime, I’m exploring part-time work. I started a teaching assistant job (two days) in December, which is helping me to cover my living costs. The downside is that it doesn’t give me enough flexibility, so I don’t expect to continue the job after the temporary contract expires in July. My next move will be into private tuition for students wanting a boost with English (ages 11-18), including A Level. I’m happy to offer online tuition, so do pass on my name if you hear that anyone is looking for tuition!