AUGUST 3RD QUESTION: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?
I’ve been writing since I can remember. But my first piece if serious writing was a contemporary romantic suspense novel which is currently gathering dust in a drawer in my study.
I wrote it about twenty years ago and I sent samples and query letters to a few agents and publishers, one even asked me for the whole manuscript, but finally it wasn’t something they felt they could represent.
Actually, it had never been read by anyone else, such as beta readers, or corrected by an expert, such as an editor or proof reader. It probably wasn’t ready to be shown, but I didn’t know enough about the publishing business at the time. I was also a busy young working mother, now I’m a less busy working grandmother!
It wasn’t a bad novel but it wasn’t polished enough. I may undust and revise it, but I have so many new projects underway that it’s not a priority at the moment. I feel I need to move forward and ‘A View From the South Bank ‘ is in my past.
Nowadays there’s a very supportive group of self published authors and blogs like the Insecure Writers Support Group, with plenty of information as well as new opportunities for independent publishing, and I feel I know what I need to do to be a professional author which I didn’t know 20 years ago.
Thanks to all this support, more time and my renewed efforts I’m a professional author who has produced and published three novels, which have over a hundred reviews and have been bestsellers on Amazon several times.
I’m now writing my fourth novel, so at this moment I’m not feeling insecure about my career as a writer, but I’m still insecure regarding my first attempt.
Who knows if it may eventually become a published novel? What do you recommend?
Want to join in: http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html
Rereading Jane Eyre 
I’m pleased you no longer feel insecure as a writer, Luccia. To have three successful novels published is quite an achievement. I wonder how long it is since your read that first novel. Sometimes when we go back we realise they weren’t as good as we thought at the time. Other times we wonder if we’d really written it, it’s that good! I wonder which category yours falls into. 🙂
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I haven’t reread that first novel orobably in well over 15 years! I think it’s time I did. I’m actually a little worried about what I might find and how I might feel about it. It’s definitely on my TBR list and to do list. Thanks for the encouragement, Norah.💗
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I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it when you do so. Please be sure to tag me in case I miss it. 🙂
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Will do💖 Have a fab weekend!
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You too! 🙂
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I love your point about how it’s so much easier to find advice and help now than it was twenty years ago. I haven’t been writing quite that long but it’s not near so lonely now with all the online support.
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Thank you.💗 for dropping by, Susan. I really feel part if a supportive community now, which helps
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Hi Lucia!
I’m a fairly new writer, so I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a writer minus the online support. Congrats on the three published novels! What an achievement! 🙂
Even if your first novel doesn’t see the light of day, I’m sure it will be an interesting exercise to revisit that novel and see how far you’ve come as a writer.
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Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I like your idea of revisiting the first novel just to see how far I’ve come. In any case I think I have to read it again.
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