Hey, this is Nostalgia Avenue. I wrote my first attempt on a big old office typewriter that my dad brought home; a Triumph or something. It was bloody huge and weighed a ton. I hated waiting for Typex to dry and it ended up all over the ribbon. I used carbon paper again and again - even more-so when my ribbon snapped. Luckily christmas came along and my parents finally caved in to the idea that I liked "girls" toys and got me a cool little portable typewriter.

And just like Dee, that first attempt got a personal, typed letter from a publisher. I've still got it somewhere - must be about 21 years old.

Colin M

Please, I wasn't dissing journals - just putting down the first kinds of filtering that occurred to me. BTW, personal, typed letters aren't completely extinct. I've had something along those lines from at least one agent or editor for every novel I've written in the last 13 years, which is seven of them. That's what's kept me going. I didn't know writers groups existed, or competitions or journals, couldn't move to Norwich for UEA, just kept on writing. Longhand, for the first draft.

Now I'm celebrating because Clare Alexander at Gillon Aitken's just taken me on.

Emma

Fantastic, Emma, that's wonderful news- a really top agent. Nice one.

Fantastic news! Congratulations!

Oooooh, ya lucky bleeder!!

Only kidding, I'm sure it's nothing to do with luck. Well done.

Talk her into becoming a member!!!



Colin M

Hey!!!

Well done, Emma. Another big hurdle overcome. That's a huge achievement.

Congratulations.

Dee

Let's open a bottle of virtual champagne!

Great stuff, Emma! That's a really good agency.

Adele.

well done Emma that's wonderful news! hope she does well for you. You have something obviously marketable, that's great.

Emma,

Well done, the first (possibly hardest) hurdle is crossed. The very best of luck with publication.

Regards

Ashlinn

Congrats! You definitely deserve it after 7 novels! x

Brilliant news, Emma, well done!

Many, many thanks to everyone for the congratulations. It's all happened very quickly, and everyone's good wishes have certainly helped it sink in!
Emma

I realise I'm a bit of a johnny-come-lately here (or should that be jenny-come-lately?), but I have a question that no-one else seems to have touched on in the rest of this discussion (and yes, I have read through all of it!).

I currently have 2 novels which I consider to be completed and another one close to completion. I am in the process of trawling my first one around agents to see if anyone bites, but I am wondering what is the best thing to do about the second one (and, eventually, the third). Do I leave it on the back-burner until the first one has done the rounds, or do I start trying to find a publisher for both of them at the same time? And, in either case, do I send the second one to any of the agents who rejected the first, or do I automatically give those a miss from now on?

Any advice, especially based on experience, would be gladly received.

<Added>

By the way, congratulations to Emma on finding an agent.

And if it's nostalgic technology you're into, how's this? I wrote a 20,000 MSc dissertation on a Silver Reed typewriter that I was given for my 21st birthday, and when I first started writing for pleasure, I used to use a BBC Micro with the View word processor. Anyone else remember that?

My first word processor was First Word Plus on the Atari ST.