 |
| Published under my maiden name - it
is me though, honestly! |
As it's the first day, I thought I'd talk about the first story I ever sold - Tasting the Grass.
I got £10 for it. I was 19 years old, and it was the best £10 I'd ever earned - I almost didn't cash the cheque, after all it had my name and the name of the magazine on it. It was my proof that I was a real writer!
The story is about a character who's had a one night stand behind their partner's back.
If I sound a bit vague on this one, it's because any and all detail would be a major spoiler. At the time, I was trying to write for Jackie and Just Seventeen magazines, and they loved their twist-in-the-tale stories, so I tried to write one. I didn't get around to submitting it to either of those magazines, because from the first sentence I knew it wouldn't fit.
It was perhaps easier to find markets in those olden days, because there were less of them - all print, none online. Today, once you start looking, you can find thousands around the web. Any literary magazine of note, back then, was mentioned in Writer's News, which I subscribed to - Panurge, Staple and Stand were just a few I was desperate to make the grade for, but never did.
What it did, though, was give me a good grounding in how to submit and how to receive rejection - an apprenticeship, almost. Writers these days (and I'm really not trying to sound like a veteran here) don't have to be rejected unless they want to be - it's easy to publish anything and everything by yourself. In a way, I think every writer should have a folder crammed full of rejection letters - it's character building!
About AnnalisaI live in Cornwall, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep. I live with my husband, two boys, a dog and a cat. Despite my location. I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along the beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!
Buy That Sadie Thing here (this link should take you direct to you local Amazon)
Follow Annalisa here, or Like her here.
Read her blog here.
