No Writing Is A Waste

Regular readers of my blog will know that for over a year I've been working on a teen/young adult love story set during a lambing season on a fictional sheep farm just outside of Norwich in March 1991.

My agent, Veronique, has read it along with her colleague at David Higham Associates. Veronique and I have just had a long chat which has resulted in the book sadly being 'shelved' for the time being. 

This means that until the market for teen/young adult book changes the story will not be put out to publishers.

Basically it seems that nobody will want to buy my lambing love story  at the moment. ​

You might think that this news would be hugely disappointing, after all I've spent months redrafting the book. I've followed editorial and fellow writers advice, rewriting it to make it pack a punch, but I feel okay about the decision.

I'm hugely proud of the book. I think it's different; funny and sweet, with interesting characters and a fantastic setting. It's full of warm nostalgia and bouncy lambs - what's not to love? Why won't publishers want it?

The longer I'm in this world, the more I come to understand that writing is a long game and market forces are strong. Nothing happens quickly and just because the book is not right for now, doesn't mean it isn't right at all.

With everything I write I learn more about the craft and with this one, I had the magical experience of lambing with my daughter during lockdown as 'research'. I'll never forget it.