The first year
21 July 2010
A year ago I took the brave/mad/exciting decision to give up paid employment and write full time and I feel I owe my fellow writers some sort of insight into what it's been like to go it alone. Hero of Rome was launched a year to the day after I left The Scotsman. It seems to be doing very well and Caligula and Claudius are both benefitting. In retrospect it was indeed a moment of madness when I left the paper, a heady brew of rash optimism and not quite reckless risk after nine years in an albeit high-stress comfort zone, driven by the new three book deal that begins with Hero of Rome. The economic climate couldn't have been worse, but the possibilities were limitless and it was a chance to walk through a door that might never be open again. I can honestly say I haven't experienced a single moment of regret. I've been introduced to great people I would never have met, some of whom have become friends. I've appeared at the Borders, Stirling and Wigtown Book Festivals. I've been to jail twice and Saltcoats once. I've had time to write two books and come up with ideas for half a dozen more. I've seen more of my family in the past twelve months than I had in the previous five years and had the freedom to come and go as I choose after about twenty years of repetitive routine. I've learned a few valuable lessons on the way that might be of interest if you're thinking of following the same path. TAKE a deep breath before you jump. Looking back, I probably got carried away by the moment and the decision deserved a little more reasoned consideration. BE prepared to lead the life of a Trappist monk, writing is an incredibly solitary profession. No little cosy chats with your colleagues to reassure you how well you're doing. DO get yourself a proper writing space where you can be free from distractions. REALISE that the two most important people in your working world will be your editor and your agent, in whom you must have absolute faith. ACCEPT that your financial forecast will be wildly optimistic. A year down the line, that nest-egg looks very different in reality to what it did on paper. HAVE a plan, but be prepared to be flexible. If A doesn't work, B might, or C or ... IDEAS are your currency. Never throw any away. Even if it isn't accepted this year or next it may come good somewhere down the line. BEWARE Facebook and other such social networks because they can have a corrosive effect on your capacity to work, but also embrace them because they can give you a great marketing platform. FEAR of failure will be your constant companion but you can't let it dominate you. ACCEPT that you will suffer Writer's Block at some point. I thought I was immune, but I wasn't and it was the most frightening week I've had so far. CELEBRATE every triumph, try to ignore every setback. RELISH the chance to begin each new book and new chapter, because others don't get the opportunity. REMEMBER that it's all been worthwhile.
2 comments
Written by Rhys Thomas on 24 July 2010 at 19:02:00
Really interesting blog. Thanks for sharing, and good luck!
Written by Iain Maclean on 09 November 2010 at 20:19:00
Douglas
I bought Claudius because I needed something to read for a long flight, the cover caught my eye, and I remembered watching I Claudius in the 70s.
I struggled with Rufus; I found little in him which was of interest - yes lots of things happened to him that were interesting, but he was bland at best. I wanted him to express, or at least feel, a lot more emotion.
However I found your description of battles to be excellent, your insight into the claustrophobic atmosphere that must have existed for foot soldiers at the height of battle (Rufus joing with the Batavian line) was outstanding and worth buying the book for by itself.
Also some of the storyline in the last 50-odd pages jarred for me e.g. the elephant saving Rufus seemed as if from a different book (a fantasy), and left me feeling cheated - I suspect in much the same way as customers of Gerald Ratner would have felt after he described his own mechandise as c**p.
There were lots of times when I couldn't put the book down though, and then I was usually in a field surrounded by the sounds, sights and smells of bloody battle.
Promise me a Rufus death scene early in your next book and I will order my copy now.
Yours aye,
Iain