I’ve reached a milestone today. My
blog counter flipped over to a magical round figure: 35,000 which was my target
for page views in 2013. So I’d like to say a huge thank you to my lovely
readers, you got me to my goal five months early!
It seems apt that I should think
about a very early blog post, one which ratcheted up a whopping, wait for it,
35 page views. As I believe I’ve spouted here before, if you’re new to
blogging, hang on in there. It takes a while for people to find you in the
blogosphere but seeing the number of readers wandering over to your little blog
increase in volume, is one of life’s more than simple pleasures.
The post in question is this one:
Dragons’ Den for Wannabe Authors and pretty much describes the
week I’ve just had, but from three years earlier. The difference is that after three years of editing and re-writing Glass
Houses (I have written 70,000 words of another book in-between, honest), I’m
happy to say that this time, it didn’t take me to chapter twenty to find a 500
word section of text I liked enough to read out to a room full of writers -
published and not-quite published - as well as the truly wonderful cluster of
agents musing over whether they should sign me now or wait until the fuss had
died down. (Did I mention they’ll be looking particularly beautiful that night?)
But the detail of the abject terror
which would ensue should my passage be picked as one of this year’s seven to be
read out on stage at the York Festival of Writing’s version of Dragons’ Den, is
every bit as real as back then. The difference is that this year, I have
absolutely no doubt that this is an opportunity to be grasped with fingers
spread wide and pulled into your chest so tight it can’t possibly be snatched
away. I remember thinking, ‘there’s your winner,’ when I heard the lovely Shelley
Harris read her 500 words on stage during the first York Festival of Writing. Her
book, Jubilee, was subsequently published and, gasp, selected (amongst other
accolades) for the Richard and Judy Summer Book Club in 2012. Can you imagine!
So please, wish me luck, I’m about to submit my 500 word section from my novel for potential inclusion in the York Festival of Writing 2013, Friday Night Live.
Be on hand to hose me down if it gets
picked, won’t you?
