03 December 2013 |
Rhian Waller - News North Wales
IF YOU tuned into BBC Radio Wales last week, you might have heard a no-nonsense publisher savaging my prose.
I write for the Leader every day after talking to people from Wrexham, Flintshire and Chester – telling the stories of local people.
For the last five years I’ve also been writing a novel for a PhD, with the help of (real) writers at Bangor University.
I got the qualification and, after several years of trying to get the work published – and more than 40 rejections – I finally had a straightforward critique.
Fantasy publisher Jo Fletcher gave me her opinion on a national radio show called Phil the Shelf.
The idea is that aspiring writers can put their work forward on the show – and sometimes the work will then be taken on by an agent.
The prospect would give any aspiring novelist a flicker of hope.
I was ushered into a tiny room on the Glyndwr Campus in Wrexham, handed a pair of headphones and then audio-linked to Jo.
To paraphrase a bit of famous writing advice, writers are supposed to “murder their darlings” – but she did the job for me.
I’m not going to lie: It hurt.
It hurt because what she said was true and it hurt because thousands of people heard it happen.
I couldn’t just drop it into my rejections folder and move on.
More
For the last five years I’ve also been writing a novel for a PhD, with the help of (real) writers at Bangor University.
I got the qualification and, after several years of trying to get the work published – and more than 40 rejections – I finally had a straightforward critique.
Fantasy publisher Jo Fletcher gave me her opinion on a national radio show called Phil the Shelf.
The idea is that aspiring writers can put their work forward on the show – and sometimes the work will then be taken on by an agent.
The prospect would give any aspiring novelist a flicker of hope.
I was ushered into a tiny room on the Glyndwr Campus in Wrexham, handed a pair of headphones and then audio-linked to Jo.
To paraphrase a bit of famous writing advice, writers are supposed to “murder their darlings” – but she did the job for me.
I’m not going to lie: It hurt.
It hurt because what she said was true and it hurt because thousands of people heard it happen.
I couldn’t just drop it into my rejections folder and move on.
More
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