Articles Index > How Did I Get Started...?

From the earliest age I was fascinated by the written word. The idea that words would teach me something and that there was no limit to what I could learn, proved irresistible.

The day I discovered as a very young child that my favourite chair- having lost its foot- was propped up on a volume of the brothers’ Grimm Fairy Tales, was the day I began my love affair with stories… stories that took me to castles and dungeons, to meet dragons and ogres, fairies, beautiful princesses, and gallant knights…

Once a week my mother fuelled this passion by taking me to our local library. I can still remember my excitement and wonder as we walked into the ancient building with its grand archways and echoing hallways, our feet tip-tapping on the tiled floor… What I would discover this visit?

Maybe because I was an only child and spent so much of my time alone, when I wasn’t reading, I was writing. I continued to do this into adult life, writing articles and short stories until my first book, ‘Help me Mummy, I Can’t Breathe’, was written in response to my elder daughter’s experiences with acute asthma. After that first sally into non-fiction I went on to write several books about music, using all the knowledge I had accumulated prior to my marriage, during my career as a singer on the professional stage.

I made my first submission to Mills & Boon while I was writing ‘Help me Mummy’- Reliving such painful memories would have been unbearable if I hadn’t had my favourite romance authors to turn to, and it seemed a natural progression to start writing a romance of my own. This was back in the eighties, and I received a detailed critique on this first fiction manuscript- so detailed, I thought I must be a hopeless case! I didn’t stop to think that an editor would never spend so much time on a piece of work if she didn’t think it had potential.

So, if you receive anything more than the standard reception slip, don’t make my mistake. If an editor takes the time to tell you where you’re going wrong, what she’s really saying is, ‘-but you’re getting a heck of a lot right, or I wouldn’t be writing to you in such detail...’

In1998 a quirk of fate allowed my path to cross with that of best-selling Mills & Boon author Penny Jordan. Penny had donated a lot to a charity auction called, ‘Be an author for a Day’. Who could resist? Certainly not yours truly!

I arrived at Penny’s with a big bunch of flowers and not a clue as to what the day would hold. I was immediately put at ease when I found that Penny was a dog-lover too! What followed was a master-class from one of the most popular romance authors in the world. We brainstormed a ‘spin-off’ from a story in that day’s newspaper, using, ‘what if’ to set the wheels in motion, and, ‘but why’ to nail our characters’ motivation. These are principals I still use every time I sit down to write.

It took me four years, and goodness knows how many- maybe six completed manuscripts, before I finally received The Call. Here’s my take on why it can take so long to ‘get it right’. In series romance, as in all popular fiction, there are many different sub-genres, or ‘lines’. These sub-sections are quite specific in tone and content, and it’s absolutely crucial not to submit a manuscript that is a mish-mash of several types.

It’s also harder than you might think to move from being a published non-fiction author, into fiction. Non-fiction requires you to share you expertise; in non-fiction you are aiming to entertain, which is an illusive art, and you are sharing your dreams, which are much harder to communicate effectively than bald facts!

So, what can we do to help ourselves?

We all love to write- that’s why we do it! But we have to harness our enthusiasm as well as our ego, and ask ourselves… what is commercial? What is likely to sell? What is the publisher looking for? What can I offer that’s uniquely mine, and yet fits their marketing vision?

When the call came for me it wasn’t for the book that ‘nearly made it’, the book I submitted the New Writers’ scheme of the Romantic Novelists’ Association here in the UK. Having received a fantastically helpful critique, I worked hard on all those suggestions before submitting my book to Mills & Boon, but it wasn’t to be The One. Nevertheless, I got far enough for an editor to ring me for a chat- and when I mentioned that I had another book ‘under the bed’, she told me to send it in. Many revisions later that book became my first title for Mills & Boon, A Spanish Inheritance.

Having been told to expect ‘a call’ one Friday afternoon in March 2002 (maybe not The call, I wasn’t sure), I received the news that Mills & Boon wanted to put me under contract- I took the call still curled up defensively in the foetal position with my hand in a box of chocolates. Thankfully, it was good news, because the box was nearly empty!

I was lucky, I had Penny as a most wonderful friend and mentor to support me through all those years of self-doubt, and I wouldn’t like to think of you trying to struggle on alone. Please join your local chapter of the RWA- or RNA, if you live in the UK. Every country has its own writers’ association, and you will benefit, not only from the moral support and friendship of some wonderful people, but from the invaluable knowledge of published authors who can and will share their industry experience with you.

The next thing to remember in those early stages is… don’t be put off by criticism. Try to see criticism for what it is- or should be, both useful and instructive. Praise is lovely- we all need it, but you’ll learn so much more from constructive criticism. Jealous sniping of course is something different. But why are these people hitting out at you? Do they feel threatened by you? Maybe you have more talent than you know… So don’t be like me and take twenty years to summon up the courage to put that manuscript in the post!

I look forward to sharing more of my experiences in this wonderful industry with you in the future, and in the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at susanstephenshmb @ yahoo.com.

Articles Index > How Did I Get Started...?