The First Time

There has to be a first time for everything... doesn't there?

I wasn't so sure when I was dabbling in the wonders of fanfiction and a friend of mine sent me a link for a special submissions call over at Dreamspinner. (So if anyone is to blame it's RJ). I'd hit a bit of a rough patch at the time and I thought it might give my mind something else to concentrate on, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Like so many others, of course, I convinced myself that there was no way they were going to accept it. The germ of an idea crept into my slightly twisted mind and when I was finished... Halfway House was sitting in my documents file and I was knocking on RJ's door (metaphorically speaking, we don't live close enough for that and if we did I'm sure she'd have moved several times by now ;)) and asking what I did next.

There was mention of POV's, to which I said and quite eloquently I might add... huh? Wots dat? Points of View I was informed. Oh, I replied.... wots dat? After a lesson in what a POV actually was, I sent my ms to an as yet unknown friend (Chris Quinton) who beta'd it for me.

What an experience that was! There was a lot of red - but it made a lot of sense. Especially the fact that I kept referring to eye colours and longing looks all while the two protagonist were standing in the pitch black. I think the comment might have been along the lines of... "Put some bloody lights on!"

Once that was all set right and the boys were indeed told to go into the light, I compiled my introductory letter, attached my ms, then prevaricated over the sending for quite a while. Then a quick stab and it was gone.

I have to admit I wasn't that pleasant to live with for the next few weeks and that my email privileges were nearly revoked because I kept checking it so often, but eventually the email popped up telling me they actually liked the story and were offering me a contract. It's a fantastic feeling, one that's not really possible to describe. Like your kid won an award... or your favourite cow got best in show... or you know what I mean, it felt good!

Even so... I told myself I shouldn't use a pen name because it would be the one and only time I would see my name in print.  But that first time turned out not to be the last.  More short stories and a dozen books later that email keeps popping up and I thank my lucky stars that there are those out there who enjoy my little corner of the world.

So that's basically my advice to any newbies. Take a deep breath, square your shoulders and pop your cherry... it might not be as painful as you think ;)

If you would like the chance to win a copy of my latest release, Going Under, just leave me a comment with your email addy - good luck.  And head on over to the RJ Scott Anniversary Blog Hop, of which this is part, for other writing advice and goodies :)