Well this floored me a little as I had no inkling to do any proper job at all so I picked out some A-level courses to keep me busy, this was swifly followed by a Degree in English literature. Once that had finished I really did have to get a proper job, so I started working in telesales. After a few weeks of making mind numbing calls I applied for a teacher training course. I taught English and Drama at 11-18 age range for seven years and finally had a proper job, however I still wanted to be a writer and I decided that I shouldn’t let anyone laughing at me put me off.
In my 2nd yr of teaching I wrote my first novel in the summer holidays.
I sent off to 13 agents, several weeks later the rejection letters were piling up and I was left wondering whether my masterpiece was any good.
I was reading Harry Potter at the time and decided to send my MS off to Bloomsbury.
Unsolicited manuscripts, those not sent through an agent, tend to get put on the slush pile, as mine did. This pile tends to get ignored, unless you are incredibly lucky, I was. The commissioning editor rescused my MS from the pile, loved my book and offered me a 2 book deal! I had done it, I was a writer.This was shortly followed by another 2 book deal.
My fourth novel ‘True Colours’ is out August 2007 and I am currently working on my next book.
Being a published author has led to attending Pink parties in London, going to the BBC to be intereviwed on a children’s radio show, writing for several magazines, having talks with Granada TV, having my first novel ‘When Isla meets Luke meets Isla’ read out by Zoe Ball on Disney radio, and my first novel being chosen as one of the top 5 bks of the year in Telegraph, my 3rd novel ‘The Bad Girls Club’ has been bought by Finland, translated and even sold out a few times.
I wrote my first novel long hand and instantly regretted it when I had to type the thing up so now I write on my laptop while my 2 year old sleeps and my spaniel snores. I write for as long as they allow and find that time no longer exists and I become swifly immersed in the world I am creating. I cannot imagine not writing and not continously jotting down ideas from dreams, over heard conversations and inspirational bits of film in my notebook that goes everywhere with me. I try out all of my ideas on my husband and my mum and they tell me where I am going right or wrong.
I am lucky enough to spend my free time when I am not tending to the needs of my family writing novels, working in primary and secondary schools as a writer in residence and guest author, being an occasional guest on local radio and reviewing fiction for many different publications. Its certainly not lucrative financially but emotionally and creatively I cannot think of another job/profession/occupation that would give me such joy and freedom and pleasure!
What if I hadn’t persevered with getting published? I would have felt such disappointment and missed out on something wonderful.
My advice to you aspiring writers is don’t miss out, take the risks, rise to the challenges and stick to your personal dreams and achieve those goals, no one else can do it for you, its up to you!
Another writer whose popularity and book sales I can only aspire to is Dr Seuss and I would like to quote him on this matter of following your dreams, achieving your personal goals no matter what people may think of them. He says....
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
~Dr. Seuss
Agent: Rosemary Sandberg
Website: www.bloomsbury.com/rhiantracey
Back to top
Try Rhian's writing exercise
This may sound morbid initially; however it’s a lot of fun and incredibly informative about your character and your life.
 Write your obituary for The Times newspaper. You have lived a long life and died of natural causes. Look back on your life starting with your birth, where you lived, your family, your achievements, your occupation, your philosophy and your contribution to the world.
This activity allows you as a teenager to assess your life so far and then take a good long look at the kind of person you hope to be, the places you would like to travel to, the things you would like to do before you die and most importantly the achievements you would like to be able to list and feel proud of when you look back on your life.
It is very useful to keep this piece of creative writing and every few years review it and see how far you have come and perhaps the things that you have forgotten about, whether your goals are literary or otherwise this is a piece of writing to keep for life.
I cannot wait to read your obituaries and hear all about your hopes and dreams!
Good luck,
Rhian x
Link to The Times obituaries - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,60,00.html
Example of Robert Altman’s obituary in The Times:
A late starter in the cinema, Robert Altman had an enormous commercial and critical success with the anti-war comedy M*A*S*H, and then turned his back on the mass audience with a series of quirky and highly personal films that often owed more to the tradition of the European art cinema than of Hollywood…..
The son of an insurance broker, Robert Bernard Altman was born in Kansas City in 1925. He was brought up in the city and was educated at Jesuit schools. During the Second World War he served as a bomber pilot, and once demobilised he studied engineering at the University of Missouri and sold a couple of film scripts to Hollywood studios….
After Company (2003), a behind-the-scenes account of life in a ballet company, Altman’s last film, released this summer, was A Prairie Home Companion, based on Garrison Keillor’s radio series of the same name. Although nominated five times for a best director Oscar, Altman did not win one until this year when he was given an honorary lifetime award. During his acceptance speech he revealed that he had had a heart transplant a decade earlier.
Altman’s third marriage, to Kathryn Reed, produced two sons. He had two sons and a daughter from previous marriages.
Robert Altman, film director, was born on February 20, 1925. He died on November 20, 2006, aged 81.
© The Times newspapers
Back to top
|
