“You are not allowed to laugh or grin, but I am trying to write a Mills and Boon-type historical romance. I have finished the first draft, and am having a rest for a few weeks so that I can go back to it with ‘fresh eyes’. The historical imprint is longer than some of the other imprints, and there tends to be more story (it is still a romance, though) and whether there is any, or how much, of the physical is up to the writer. [!]…My manuscript isn’t very long – only about 77,000 words – but it has been instructive writing it. I have enjoyed doing the research.”
“I love hearing from you and always have such a good laugh at all your stories. Have you thought of writing a book? Your command of the English language is very good and you express yourself so well. Go for it!!”
“The book died, I am afraid. I put together an assorted 45,000 words. Then, of course, during the summer, everything became very difficult. Two publishers said that, although it was not without interest to a limited readership (damning with faint praise), such books simply would not sell unless they had a minimum of 70,000 words. That either meant rewriting or padding out what I had written, or else thinking out new angles which might be of interest – and that would mean research, if I was to get the facts right, and, in all the circumstances I could not face up to it. Somebody, some day, might find it interesting, but I fear that the hour is past.”
“I find that just getting my book published is all I care about. Vanity and not money is my main motivation.”
“I’ve finished typing out as a book the stories I used to tell to families there because a few of the people go on asking when I am going to publish them. It is however noticeable that none of the children have asked the same thing, so probably the book will never get accepted.”
Filed words 