My Writing Journey Part 1

It seems a little self-indulgent to write about my own experience as a writer when I haven’t achieved anything like the success of the writers I will be discussing in future blogs, but as my reactions to everything I write about will be very personal, it also feels fitting.

I’m going to start, unpredictably perhaps, somewhere in the middle. (Well, a good writer should always surprise).

I was in my late 20s, sleeping on the floor at my sister’s flat in Belsize Park, as I was between homes, having fallen out with my previous flatmate. I’d submitted a horror novel, The Tower, to a leading agent, Curtis Brown, expecting to hear nothing positive — I’d been touting it to agents and publishers for several years. But by some miracle, the agent contacted me and asked for a meeting — this was one of the biggest literary agents in the world, with very posh offices in Regent Street.

What made this period in my writing history even more remarkable was that I received a call from a second agent, the renowned Desmond Elliott, also asking for a meeting to discuss my novel. I’d been introduced to Desmond by a friend who worked as his accountant and in an act of kindness to that friend, Desmond had agreed to read my manuscript. Again I hadn’t expected to hear from him, apart from the usual standard rejection letter.

So, here I was, aged 26, with two agents asking to see me in their offices.

Even I, with a pessimism based on several years of constant rejection, was feeling excited and hopeful.

I actually met with Desmond first. He was definitely a character. Tiny in stature, but big in terms of charisma and standing within the publishing industry. In his office in St James’s he talked enthusiastically about my book, how he’d never read anything like it and thought it would be great for him to represent an unknown author — his stable of writers included such bestsellers as Jilly Cooper and Penny Vincenzi. My novel was a dark and twisted urban fantasy set in the back streets of Camden Town, so had little in common with his current clients’ work!

I saw the agent at Curtis Brown next. I can’t remember his name, which gives away which agent I decided to go with. This agent was more reserved and critical in his assessment of my first full-length work. He said he thought it would be damaging to send it out into the publishing world, but that he saw potential in me and would help me write something else. He suggested something in the detective/crime genre, as he liked the way I tied up the various storylines in my book.

Perhaps not surprisingly for a 26-year-old who thought he’d written the next great British horror novel, I took up Desmond’s offer of representation.

In retrospect, this was one of those major crossroads in life where I probably made the wrong decision.

Despite a valiant effort, even dear Desmond with the respect and affection of the world’s biggest publishing executives, couldn’t place my novel. Having flicked through it in recent years, I’m not surprised. It was a naive attempt to be controversial and really not that well written.

Desmond tried with my second novel too, an equally dark and perverse vampire tome. This also met with no enthusiasm from the major publishers, although I did at least get to have lunch with someone from Orion.

Desmond sadly died in 2003 at the age of 73. I was honoured to be invited to his memorial service along with all his very successful clients.

It was a brush with ‘almost success’ that I will never forget and I have never managed to land another agent since.

There have been other minor successes though, including numerous short stories published in the UK and the States in small press genre titles, building a reputation among like-minded writers on various online forums, a new lease of literary life writing for Woman’s Weekly (not horror!), and also a foray into the world of erotic romance (under a pen name that will never be revealed in this blog).

More recently, I embarked on a new chapter in my writing story. I’m currently co-writing a screenplay, based on a self-published novella called When The Devil Moved Next Door (It’s on Amazon along with other self-published works). I’m writing with a great friend, Jessica Mellor-Lazarma, who has experience of writing and directing films, so it’s a great experience, whatever comes of it.

You'll need to stop by again to hear more about these milestones in my writing journey.