Today I'm delighted to welcome another Crooked Cat author to my blog. Stella Hervey Birrell's debut novel, How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right?, is released this week.
Welcome, Stella!
Photo by Lynn Fraser
My name is Stella Hervey Birrell, and I am a writer.
It is still difficult to type these words and not immediately press
and hold ‘delete.’ But ever since 2012, when I actually gave up paid work, I get up early every morning, and write while my
children sleep.
The book that emerged, How Many
Wrongs make a Mr Right? is a chick-lit-with-grit story about finding
several Mr Wrongs before ‘the One’ arrives, on not-quite a white charger (OK,
not at all on a white charger). My main character, Melissa, isn’t particularly
likeable. More like a feminist-needy-religious-amoral-broken-anti-heroine in
fact. I despaired; thought she’d never find the soul-mate she ‘didn’t even
believe in,’ but she came through, just in time for my happy ending.
So, by 2014, I knew I could ‘just
write,’ the best advice ever for budding and even blooming authors. ‘Of
course your work is awful, the worst writing in the world is also known as your
first draft.’ That gem from my beloved Radio 4. ‘Read every day. Write every
day.’ This from my writers group, the backbone to my spinelessness, the
metabolism to my lily-liveredness.
Several drafts later, I told myself firmly that it was ready, and
approached thirty agents and publishers. Each agent expects you to tailor your
submission to their company; after all they were doing me the favour by reading
it. It was hard work but it was worth it.
Then the rejections started rolling in.
They were, for the most part, really kind. A lot of them encouraged me
not to give up. But no one even wanted to read the full draft. Ah, me.
Summer came and I took a break. I thought I’d draw a line under the
first novel, concentrate my efforts on the second. But when I looked at How Many Wrongs? it wasn’t half as terrible
as I’d remembered. It deserved another chance. My cover email got better, good,
excellent. I read up about each company I approached, rejecting them - me!
Rejecting them! If they didn’t have my genre on their list, if their authors
were 70/30 men/women: no submission. I got choosy.
I still didn’t get anywhere.
Then finally, finally, I
received a request for my full manuscript. Cautiously, I sent it through, telling
myself that it could mean everything, it could mean nothing.
I reminded myself: it could mean nothing.
On a normal Sunday morning, while I was yelling at everyone to get
ready for church and I didn’t have time, I downloaded an email from Crooked Cat
Publishing. There was a moment of ‘maybe I should read this later,’ but all the
while my thumb was disobeying me. Luckily, the news was good.
I was offered a contract for my first novel.
Since that day, I have gone from feeling I’d been playing at something,
something I wasn’t very good at, to feeling that I had been doing it.
I was a writer. I had been
one all along.
Stella's special pencils - very cleverly designed!
How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right? is published on Friday 15 April 2016, and is available from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Kobo, Nook and Apple iBooks
She can also be found wandering the streets of various East Lothian
villages.
You're definitely a writer, Stella. I feel I've really got to know you through these posts, this week. Looking forward to the novel.
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog. Absolutely can't wait to read this book.
ReplyDeleteThank you Miriam. It's hard keeping the faith sometimes but I've really enjoyed writing these wee pieces for the blog tour! It was fun to get back into the origins of my first novel and how it felt to write it.
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