I was first introduced to the works of the late great Douglas Adams when I was in Std 7 (Grade 9). It was on our weekly family trip to the local library one Thursday evening. Walking through the quiet aisles that evening, with my quota of books that I would read that week safely tucked under one arm, I was killing time until my sisters had finished their hoard.
 
I knew the aisles pretty well already. I’d seen all those books before – week after week, neatly packed away on the shelves. And then I saw ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.’ I’d seen it many times before, but I’d never picked it up. The title was a bit odd. Some futuristic book with someone travelling through space, I thought. Not exactly what I was into at that time. But because I had time, I picked it up and read the cover.
 
A trilogy in four parts. Even odder than the title. I was intrigued.
 
“One Thursday lunchtime the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.” 

That was the clincher!
 
I quickly put back one of my already carefully chosen books and grabbed this one. And I am glad to say that the rest is history. 
  
This was the first book I had ever read where I actually had to set it down next to me just so that I could have a good laugh before carrying on again. I loved the language and the way he described things and his flow of thought. It was bizarre! It was genius!
 
One of my absolute favourite lines which I remember to this day is: “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks
don’t.”
 
Needless to say, the next Thursday I reluctantly returned ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, and took out ‘The Restaurant at the End of
the Universe’, ‘Life, the Universe and Everything’ & ‘So Long, and Thanks for All The Fish’, just to be safe.
 
My reading repertoire was drastically changed from then on in for which I am eternally grateful.
 
And so, on this Towel Day 25 May 2013, I salute you Mr Adams. Thank you for Vogon poetry, the Babel fish, towels and the meaning of life (or should I say Liff? )
 
So go get your towels ready. I have mine. And if you’ve forgotten, you still have four days to go, so DON’T PANIC!


 

My journey of becoming a published writer has been immensely interesting so far and has taught me quite a few unexpected things, which I have listed below to name but a few. 


1.    I learned to stop making excuses.
I used to tell myself that the reason I was in my thirties and not yet published was because I was too busy; because my day job exhausted me; because I needed to write when inspiration hit me, and if it came at an inopportune time like when I was at work, well I couldn’t very well just stop what I was doing and write, could I? But when I set this goal for myself, I rekindled the love of writing that has always been inside of me. I learned that, like with anything else, it required discipline and commitment. So I drew up a timetable for myself and set daily goals. I made myself sit at my laptop every night and write something, even if it was just five hundred words. And within about a 6 month period, I had managed to complete my first full-length novel.
 
2.    The writing is the easy part.
Yes, believe it or not, after having made all these excuses about why I was not able to write, when I completed the novel I realised that that was actually the easy part. Now I had to figure out what to do with it! Did I want to go to a traditional publisher? Was it better to go the e-book route? And when I delved into it a little bit more, I discovered obstacles such as getting an IRS number in order to sell on Amazon, etc. With regards to traditional publishers, I discovered that it was not as easy to categorise my book into a genre as I thought. Was it a book for teens or young adults? It was fiction, but also fantasy and also adventure. And then there was the question of whether South
African publishers should be approached or international or both. And then came the cover letter, the author biography and the dreaded synopsis, which scared me most of all!
 
3.    I learned to believe in myself again.
My husband, who is not an avid reader by any stretch of the imagination, is wonderfully supportive. Once I voiced my goals to him he was immediately enthusiastic and became my personal cheerleader. My parents and sisters, who have always been fans (naturally) gave their unfaltering support as well. In fact, my sister bugs me nearly daily to hear how far I am with the second book!  And as for myself, I learned to just enjoy the art of writing again and the feeling of letting ideas flow freely. It’s such a wonder to be so caught up in a story that three hours feels like only a few minutes. 
  
4.    I love Social Media.
So I realised that, either way, I was going to have to get myself acquainted with all the social media out there. I learned about blogging and website design and blog tours and retweets. I had heard of Twitter, but I never really had any desire to engage in it. But then one day I signed up and I can happily say that I haven’t looked back. I have met such absolutely wonderful people out there! Really, you guys are my i-support and I appreciate you all so much. The best thing was to see that I was not alone in this quest. Yes, I may be sitting on the southern bit of Africa, but I can relate with each and every one of you. Of course, some are further ahead in the journey than others, but that provides inspiration for which I am truly grateful.

 
So, all in all, writing has taught me so much more than I ever thought it would, and I’m positive that I’m still only at
the beginning. It has also absolutely cemented in me the fact that I want to be a full-time writer – but that’s another blog on its own. So with my manuscript currently with two publishing houses, I am keeping my fingers crossed, trying to forget about it as much as possible (as it will most likely take about 3-6 months for any sort of feedback in any case) and continue to write as much as it pleases me. I will also take these words of Lauren Beukes to heart, on tweeting about submissions and rejections:
“It is nerve-wracking. You will get rejections. It’ll hurt like a bitch. Learn to roll with the gutpunches. Get up, go again.”

Until next time.

Carmen
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