Twenty Five Years Since My First Story Sold!

I’ve realized that it’s twenty-five years since I sold my first short story.

            At the time I was so fed up – and felt defeated by everything. I’d written three full-length novels and I’d finished my MA in Creative Writing back in 1992, two years previously. Nothing had come of any of it… But I’d forgotten that, in amongst all the short stories I’d sent out for submission, there was one, called ‘Patient Iris’ that I’d sent to the British Council’s anthology, ‘New Writing.’

            Then, one day late in May 1994, I packed up my stuff in Lancaster and returned across the country to the North East. I went home to my mam’s house and there was a letter, right at the bottom of a huge pile of post, and it was from the British Council’s Harriet Harvey-Wood, AS Byatt and Alan Hollinghurst. They loved my story and wanted it to be in the book.

            It was just at the right moment for me, in terms of giving me the boost I needed to keep going. I’ve since learned that there can be terrible lows further on in your carrier, too, and you still need those boosts and pushes and little nudges along the way. But selling ‘Patient Iris’ and being paid for a story for the very first time – that’s still one of the great moments for me and my career.

All that time ago! I’m glad to say I’m still here, still doing it. And I’m still glad as anything when I sell a story or a book, or hear that someone has liked something.