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November 2011.

I had entered my manuscript into the Times Newspaper competition for new authors and I had started to send out feelers to agents. I was convinced the phone would be red hot with desperate agents fighting amongst themselves to sign me. From there it would be a simple step to get a publishing deal. Again the publishers would be in a frenzy of activity as they out-bid themselves for my signature for at least a three book deal. I was convinced this would be the case, but while I waited for all of this to happen, I decided to print off a couple of copies of the full manuscript to give to people who had shown an interest in reading my book. I wanted their comment on what they thought about my writing.

It took all day to print of the two copies on my home printer, single sided on A4 paper. It also took two reams of paper and when I turned up at the home of the first person, and stood in their door way holding this mass of paper, with a smile on my face, the response I got soon wiped it away.

“Fu@k me, Have I got to read all of that?” came the reply as I said “here is my manuscript.”

It was not the response I expected and my heart sunk once again.

This was only the second time somebody even had a sniff of my story, and on both occasions their reaction was enough for me to know that I could expect a rough-ride with the professionals once they got their teeth into me.  

This was also the moment I knew I had to harden up, and learn to take the positive out of rejection and learn from it, if not my manuscript will never get further than collecting dust in a box in the attic.

This is a piece of advice for new authors. You will be rejected time and time again. When you think you have made it over the first hurdle you will be rejected again.  If you can’t take rejection then don’t even bother to get your book published because from the start to the very end is a never ending merry-go-round of rejections.

It’s a bloodthirsty business and the weak will slaughtered, just like in the jungle.