Happy Sunday - Here's Edith!
First, a huge thanks to all the wenches for filling in for me last week, and posting about when I greeted my first grandchild: Susie and Ed's amazingly gorgeous and totally wonderful HUGO NORBERT! Susie wanted to pass on how touched she was by your posts.
Here's the little snapper:
And thanks to all of you, for your patience with me. I promised to tell you about how I got published, didn't I? But that puts me way behind all the sparkling new topics that have come up here. Ah, how easy to fall out of step in a mere week's time on the internet!
So, here's a brief precis: I started out writing for a local newspaper - gratis. Then I worked my way up to writing opinion pieces and features for local magazines. Then for NEWSDAY and THE NEW YORK TIMES. And then, I decided to write novels. When the children (all 3) were abed, I'd sit at the kitchen table and write.
Now, here's a strange but true fact. I wrote three novels: a mystery, a science fiction, and a regency omance, and decided to go with whichever drew the most interest.
My first reader was my late husband, Norbert.
My critique group was an interested friend.
Neither were writers.
I sent out the three books. The one that showed the most promise was the Regency Romance. In fact, there were two offers to buy it - if I changed the ending. Seemed no one wanted a romance where the villian got the girl.
But I stuck by my guns, and didn't sell it.
(Now, imagine calendar pages blowing in the wind...)
Finally, an editor said she'd be interested in buying it, if I just added a chapter more, showing why I thought the villain deserved the heroine.
I did.
I sent it to her.
She sent it back to me with a note saying it was perfect. But she'd run ove budget for the year, and couldn't buy it.
I put the book in a drawer. And then, a year later, an old friend in the writing biz asked about my career. I told her the story. She asked if I had resubmitted the novel.
"Nah," said I. "She was just being kind."
"Edith," said the old friend, "Editors are NEVER kind."
I resubmitted it.
That was "THE DUKE'S WAGER" and it has since gone into several printings.
Ta da!
The question is, would I do that again? I mean stick to my opinions that firmly? I think so - for the really important plot points. Would you?
And now back to important stuff.
Isn't Hugo Norbert just beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!
