Friday 30 April 2010

The story, so far

Who can genuinely say that they have been unaffected (directly or indirectly) by the Credit Crunch? Those of you who can say "Me!" with any degree of conviction are lucky people. Lucky that your home hasn't been down-valued, lucky that your job is safe, lucky that the soaring price of oil, electricity & gas has not stung, lucky that your savings have not stagnated or worse, dwindled, lucky that your family and friends have also remained financially secure.

To you fortunate people I say (with genuine sincerity) "Well done!" and I hope that you continue to escape the effects of the global financial downturn. Many, though, have been affected and as a consequence, the "unlucky" ones have had to "think outside the box" as they try to negotiate their way through the maelstrom.


My way of attempting to fill my enforced free time came as much of a surprise to me as anyone, but I decided I was going to sit down and write a novel.  Credit Crunched is fictional, of course, but also reflects (in parts) the true-life traumas I was witnessing around me - Obviously not the attempted assignation...but wait, I don't want to give too much of the plot away...

So anyway, it appears that writing a novel is the easy bit!!!...getting it published is a whole new ball-game. I have submitted countless manuscripts - most returning on my doormat with a thud, by self addressed post...unread or sometimes accompanied by a standard "...not for us!" generic letter.

However, despite the lack of interest from the traditional publishing industry  I still have faith in my book and so I am beginning to look at other options; self -publishing maybe?... Or serialisation in a blog...?

Credit Crunched is basically a family saga that chronicles how three generations of one family are affected by the financial downturn. 

Here's the synopsis;

The Richmond family has worked hard to reach a certain level of success but, as the credit crunch takes hold, they are all tested to the limit. When, on New Year’s Day, an anonymous man throws himself into the path of a train, containing two of the family members, his death initiates a chain reaction of events that will threaten the life of our Prime Minister.

As billions of pounds are wiped off the Stock Exchange during its free fall, daughter Cassie’s banking executive husband, Jeremy, suffers a heart attack and the picture-perfect marriage they portray is threatened by a clandestine visit to his bedside from an enigmatic woman making Cassie question his fidelity and the life they share.


Meanwhile, the financial chaos, causing banks to close their doors, turns High Streets across the Country into seas of panic, with violent consequences that affect the family personally, compounding Will's anger and his initial empty rhetoric turns into an unquenchable thirst for revenge...!

Who's to blame?



To end this post on a more positive note I have to say that writing my novel was the best, most fulfilling time I have ever had....every cloud has a silver lining and all that. There are a lot of people struggling at the moment and although I do think things are going to get worse before they get better I also genuinely believe that when this madness subsides and we're all back on track, this world will be a better (and hopefully less materialistic) place to live...But more of that next time... 

2 comments:

  1. I was rather hoping to kickstart you into resuming blogging! So I've awarded you a Stylish Blogger Award if you'd like to come over and collect it some time.

    Here's the link to the post:

    http://gonnabepublishedoneday.blogspot.com/2011/04/v-is-for-versatile-blogger.html

    Catch you soon!

    Debbie
    xx

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  2. Hi Allison,

    I wondered if you would be kind enough to put the following on your blog/ and or the Ragleth website, please? Don't worry if you'd rather not. Hoping to see you soon. Kind regards, Carole x
    (below is something that I have added to my blog and shall be putting on my website etc.)

    For years I self published without any help, couldn't afford to pay an editor. However, I discovered someone who didn't charge the earth, Neil Fein, and I'm so glad I did, for he made an amazing difference to my work and made it much more saleable.

    I was so impressed and grateful that I am eager to tell people about him I asked him to introduce himself on my blog and website, and he kindly sent me the following:

    How do you decide on a freelance editor?

    Have you been looking for an editor for your book? There are many freelancers available that can do the job. Many of us are passionate about what we do, and some of us specialize in working closely with writers.

    My name is Neil, and I'm such an editor. I feel it's important to understand why the writer is doing what they do, so I can help them achieve their goals. I try to change as little as possible in the text, but I'm not afraid to suggest large changes if they're needed.

    But how do you decide who you should use? That's difficult.

    You're paying an editor for their judgment, their experience. That's a little harder to check in a Linkedin profile or a freelancer's website. Certainly, check their references, talk to them and see if you "click". But the only thing that matters is results: Did the freelancer make your book better?

    I'm offering prospective clients a taste of those results. Send me a page from your complete (or nearly complete) manuscript. Something that has a problem that you can’t solve. I’ll edit it and get it back to you, free of change.

    That single page (well, fine, a few pages, but please, not much more than 500 words) may not get across the feel of your entire book. It also won't show you everything I can do. But it’ll give us both a taste of each others work, and show you some of the final product.

    I've set up a form for writers to fill out.

    http://neilfein.com/try-me/

    If you prefer, email me at neilfein@gmail.com, and we'll talk.

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