A Bit of a Set-Back

There’s been a bit of a blip with my novel (the sequel to ‘The Highland Girls at War‘).

It was supposed to be coming out on 20th October – just 3 days before a very significant birthday of mine, so there could have been a big, huge, whopping celebration – BUT the amended manuscript I sent back to my editor in mid-May (you may remember I talked about it here – still isn’t ready to go to the next stage.

It needs more work.

This probably definitely has something to do with the 10 weeks I spent driving to Gloucester five or six times a week to see my mum in hospital/rehab and all the stress that involved and the on-going, daily ‘elder care’ I’m involved with.

But, enough of the excuses.

I was expecting to get the edits back in a week or so but it actually took a month, added to which, my editor’s about to go on maternity leave and I’ll be getting a new editor so all of those things have conspired against us.

In short, there isn’t time to get the book out this year (there’s also no point in publishing too near to Christmas, as it’ll get lost in ‘the Christmas scrum’).

When I got the email telling me it wasn’t going to be published until ‘early spring’, I must admit, I felt like a complete failure who’d let everyone down and I had a little cry.

Not just because it’s disappointing not to have a book out this year or because it throws the next book out too, the timing (and subject!) for which have had to be changed but also because I’ve given up so much this year to try to get the book up to the right standard and now I feel as though I could have relaxed a bit and allowed myself the occasional night of TV or gone away on a girls’ weekend, or on that writing course.

But these things happen and it’s one of the many (many many) things over which, as a traditionally-published author, you have no control.

When I posted my disappointment on the RNA’s Facebook page, dozens of writers put fingers to keyboards to encourage me and sympathise and tell me their own stories of delayed publication dates. So I didn’t feel quite so alone.

And one well-respected author, who has several successful novels under her belt, said, “Embrace the time and trust your editor has in you. Make the book sing. Some books take more… more of you, more time and more air. It takes time to recover after but you do. You aren’t failing you are growing. Embrace it. You’ve got this x ”

Isn’t that lovely?

So, now I have a new deadline for this book, a new deadline for the first draft of the next book, which will now come out on 2025 and I have to get up, dust myself down and get on with it.

“Appearances”

In other news, the Joanna Cannon event at Evesham Festival of Words (on 2nd July), with which I am involved, has nearly sold out. Just 5 tickets left so be quick, if you want to come! You can book here. https://eveshamfestivalofwords.org/programme/#joanna

And I’m appearing in my own right – if that doesn’t sound too pompous – on 11th July at the inaugural Harvington Festival (near Evesham) later in July, as part of their ‘Big Read’ event. It’s a kind of ‘big book club’ although the blurb on the website doesn’t quite describe it as it should and makes it sound more like I’m doing a presentation on how to write historical fiction! Eek!

Hopefully, it will be changed soon. Or, maybe not! Ah well, I shall just try my best, whatever happens. If you live anywhere near or fancy coming along to that, it would be lovely to see lots of friendly faces there (or even unfriendly! Sit there and scowl at me, if you like, I won’t mind!).

And finally…Bonnie recently on one of our favourite walks.