I Wish I'd Known that... A Writer's Retrospective

This isn't me!

When my first book was published in 1991, I wish I'd known that one day I'd be able to send off my edits merely by pressing a button called Send. In 1991, I had to print out the entire book, pack it up, send it through the post, wait until it was returned, red-pencilled by the editor, do the relevant correction on my very ancient computer and then print it out and send it off again.

This continued until both me and the editor reached a concordat. Now, thanks to 'track changes' I can interact so much faster without having to wait weeks, losing the momentum. And I can change or amend my manuscript whenever I want. No more huge envelopes arriving on the mat. No more pages being accidentally dropped all over the floor. Bliss.

I wish I'd known that inspiration and perspiration are actually two sides of the same coin. I used to believe that I only wrote when I felt inspired, and that until the book 'arrived' in my brain, the Inspiration Fairy hadn't turned up so it wasn't worth bothering to write. Now, 14 books later, I know that inspiration happens when I sit down and write. Every day. Even if I end up deleting it the next day. As I write, the book appears. Bit by bit by bit. And unless I write, it doesn't. Simples.

I wish I'd known that one day, there'd be this thing called 'social media'. Sitting at a laptop making up stuff in one's head is a very solitary occupation and for me, until 2012 when I joined Twitter and Facebook, that's what it tended to be. I never dreamed how many friends I was going to make; how much sharing and caring, laughs, amazing blogs, books, advice, help, support and fun was waiting out there. Wonderful.

I wish I'd known all this when I started out my writing career .... but I'm very glad I know it now!