It’s been a long time… did you miss me?

The first rule of Book Club…

Today sees the publication of Book Club, on Thanet Writers. It’s a flash fiction piece about a gentleman who returns from the Crimean War to indulge in more literary pursuits, only to find he is in much demand for other ‘activities’. You can access it here: Book Club

Waterguard

The quick update is, I’ve been utterly focused on finishing my first novel, Waterguard. As far as I’m concerned, it’s done.

Mostly.

I’ve had some very positive feedback from my group of beta readers – many thanks to all of them! Lots of improvements suggested and implemented. Overall it felt like a very positive experience.

I thought I’d finished completely, but no. I still had / have one more round to go. I’m hoping there won’t be much to change. I have one sensitivity reader and a final read through by one ‘critical friend’ who is an excellent writer and an even better critic. Let’s hope there’s not too much to change.

But, essentially that’s it.

Now it’s time to submit. I’m really after an agent so I can focus on writing. Whilst I respect the self-publishing route, its not really for me at this point. So, I’ve needed to craft a submission letter, synopsis (how long? Depends on agent!), an elevator pitch and a jacket blurb. Turns out these are harder than writing the damn novel and took me about a week! There’s so much advice out there on how to do it, it swamps you. And, it’s all contradictory. So, thanks to all my writing group buddies who have taken time to give it a read through. In the end I settled on a short letter and a 1 page synopsis for my first submission.

Wish me luck!

Thanet Writers

Book Club is my ninth piece (7 stories, 1 article, 1 interview) published by Thanet Writers. As an aspiring professional it does my ego no end of good to see it go up and really encourages me to push forward. If you are a writer, with any connection to Thanet, I’d encourage you to submit. Whether it’s short stories, flash, poetry, a book review or an article on technique it does the heart good to see it released into the wild. Don’t forget, they pay £10 per piece and they are happy to take reprints – providing you hold the rights to publish.  Everything published online will later be considered for the next anthology. It’s an ideal place to make your old stuff work harder for you, if you are already established, or to gain your first publishing spurs if not.

Don’t forget, Thanet Writers have their inaugural annual Conference at the Tom Thumb Theatre in Cliftonville on November 2nd. The team are working hard to get a really great line up in place for the sessions and panels.  Tickets go on sale soon at just £4 each.

See more about the conference, here: Thanet Writers Conference Announcement

Well, that’s about it for now, folks. I’m off to write a new short story and then start on the follow up to Waterguard!

Lee