The law:

"Possession of firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

16A. It is an offence for a person to have in his possession any firearm or imitation firearm with intent—
(a) by means thereof to cause, or
(b) to enable another person by means thereof to cause,
any person to believe that unlawful violence will be used against him or another person."

Wonder what the penalties are...

The penalty might be getting shot by the police before you have time to explain yourself.

F

They might think I'm an Al-Qaeda operative - never thought about that - thanks for the tip. A balaclava is in order and some black gloves. Random House, here I come!

Have you considered submitting to Macmillan New Writing?
I can't understand the criticism this venture has received. Okay no advance and they have first look at your second book BUT 2 years from now you could have 2 books published, a few royalties and be in a much stronger position to present to agents and publishers - or indeed have been taken on by Macmillan.

Sammy

WW's own Roger Morris is one of MNW's first tranche of authors. There's a good deal about it on the site that a search should throw up.

Emma

I was rejected, even by them, it's comforting though to know there is consistency in the publishing industry

even by them

That's a very honourable rejection, Traveller.

Emma

I keep seeing the title of this thread and the tune of 'When will I be Famous' by Bros comes into my head.

Sorry, I've had 3 hours sleep.

Cath

<Added>

Here's a new idea: try a book coach. http://www.thewritecoach.co.uk/index.htm

Interesting, Cath. That's a subtly different approach to the editorial services.

Emma

<Added>

Ach! 'different approach to'? Must be the Friday night drink. I mean, of course, 'different approach from'.

Cath, that's exactly what I intended. Even though it's Bros, it's a great song!

<Added>

Hmm thanks for the suggestion, but write coach kinda sounds like something I'd take to travel outta London.

Haha, I had a feeling you wouldn't be keen on the idea, Traveller!

A short time ago, Bekki Hill, the 'write coach' on that site, started doing some research to see if coaching people on their attitudes and expectations towards writing success could actually effect their success. I'll be interested to see the outcome because it's something that's independent of talent and other factors.

It's an interesting thought, though. If you think about it, people are successful in the areas in life where they truly expect to be successful - and that's even if they're not the most talented. I think expectations go a long way to making things happen.

For example, take someone who says they want to give up smoking. You can ask them to visualise themselves going through their normal daily routine without smoking. If they can't visualise that, they won't succeed because no matter how much they say they want to give up, they're not really expecting to.

I'm actually starting training to be a personal coach soon - got the bug after doing some introductory training through work. I don't think it's some cheesy trend, I've already seen it change lives massively.

I'm not talking about you personally here, Traveller, by the way. Just throwing up some ideas about other things that could affect our success as writers.

Cath

Heard this morning of a friend of a friend who got a USA publisher at first attempt after being turned down by 28 UK editors on a full length novel.

A fantasy writer I know says there is no suitable publisher for his work here - he's had about 50 books published in USA.

Also a couple of months ago someone I know got a deal from an Irish publisher, after a few editing alterations, having been rejected by every UK children's publisher.

Have you tried anywhere outside UK? Just an idea.

I had 30 rejections (mostly positive) in the UK for my first novel. The second agent I tried requested the full MS and then offered me a contract.

I don't know what this means, but at the end of the day, it makes me a little sceptical of a newbies chances in the UK. The US likes success stories a lot more than over here, it seems, and are much more willing to 'have a go'.

I think this is especially true in genre writing and 'alternative' novels. This country has almost smothered the chance of those books succeeding in the current blanket rush of 'literary' outings. Of course, the quality of the writing still has to be pretty damn good, so while the net is wider, the skill required to score remains the same.

JB

the current blanket rush of 'literary' outings

I like the idea of a blanket rushing to an outing; saves dragging it along to the picnic yourself, too.

Emma

Hey Traveller, have you caught Noel Edmonds in the media this week? All you have to do is put in a Cosmic Order for a publishing deal in the next 12 months. Sounds simple enough to me...!

Sammy