There’s an old saying I’ve heard many times before: “Everyone has at least one good book in them”. Well, that was the last thing on my mind the day I signed on the dotted line, and was shipped off for army basic training at Bassingbourn with 3 Troop Royal Engineers, ready for a career in the Corps of Army Music as a military band trombone player.
When I was settled, and realised that my army career would be over before I was 45, I wondered what I could do afterwards. After many enquiries, I enrolled with the Open University – one of the defining moments of my life. I’ve had quite a few of those – joining the army, marrying my childhood sweetheart, the birth of my twins William and Molly, graduating with the Open University at Brighton Dome, and more recently having my first fantasy novel published. Here’s how it happened…
Ten years ago, sitting in a ski lodge out of season in South Korea while on tour with the Royal Engineers band, the idea for a series of five fantasy novels came to me, while revising for my third-year university exams. I was studying a level three music course at the time; I loved every minute, but it was tough. The idea sprang into my head, and came as a welcome distraction from studying.
But there was a problem. If I spent my time planning the novels rather than revising, I risked failing my exams. The army had funded some of my course fees, and I didn’t want to let them, or myself, down. So I put the ideas on the back-burner, and carried on studying. Every now and then, I would jot down ideas and plans when they came to me, but nothing substantial; that would have to wait.
One of the proudest moments...
So I waited. And waited. I studied, took exams, wrote essays, and waited. A lot of my end of course exams were sat in foreign countries, as the band was constantly on tour. But the army’s OU co-ordinators had made sure I could still study and sit exams wherever I was. But then, in 2006 after six years of hard study, I graduated; my free time was finally my own. I walked across the stage at Brighton Dome, in my OU gown, with my wife and my parents watching – one of the proudest moments of my life. I will always be grateful to the OU and the army for allowing me to take a degree while travelling the world.
But I had never once forgotten about my desire to pen my first novel. By then, computers had caught up with my desire to write, and I planned the series of five novels over four years, curbing my desire to write the first novel before the planning was done; the OU taught me the value of careful planning. I would plan whenever I could: on bus journeys to various engagements, on evenings off when touring various countries, during leave, weekends, whenever there was free time and a computer. Eventually, I was ready to actually write.
The first novel was harder to put to paper than I thought, but it was so much fun. I never dreamed that the creation process would make me feel the way I do about the characters, forming bonds with them that will last a lifetime. But the last line of the last chapter, with it’s eye-widening twist that surprised even me, came all-too-soon, and the first novel was finished. Now came the real hard work: finding a publisher.
I learnt fast that the cut-throat world of publishing was not what it was a decade ago. I submitted my novel to all of the big publishing houses and got the same response. But I persevered. I sent hundreds of email attachments, hundreds of pages of the manuscript in jiffy-bags, and made hundreds of phone calls. And like every publisher in today’s market, I received rejection after rejection; hundreds of them. And that was from those that bothered to reply.
Who wouldn't accept a chance like that?
But then came the response I had been waiting for – of a sort. The company Authorhouse offered to publish my book on a partnership basis; there would be a small fee, but my book would hit the shelves, and the world-wide-web, in both the UK and US. And then the deal clincher – my book would become part of the Hollywood scriptwriters’ database: my book would actually be available for Hollywood producers, looking for their next project, to see. Who wouldn’t accept a chance like that?
So the process began, and I didn’t look back. I worked closely with an editor, who smoothed out the edges of my manuscript and corrected my good, but not perfect, English. I worked closely with a very talented artist, who read the manuscript and crafted a brilliant canvas that made up the front cover. And after months of agonising waiting, the proof copy of my book arrived in the post. The experience of holding my own book in my hands is something I will never forget.
Unfortunately, one of the first things I learnt during the whole publishing process, is also the one that surprises people the most; you don’t go into publishing for the money – there is none. I have had an amazing time publishing my novel, and I will do everything in my power to see that the remaining four instalments hit the shelves before my last breath leaves me, but this will not make me rich. Far from it. Any modern publisher of novels who manages to simply break even, is considered successful in today’s market. Despite the fun I have had, I’m not there yet – but fingers crossed!
I firmly believe the Open University has been instrumental in opening up my mind, and contributing enormously to my self-confidence, without which I’m sure my book would never have existed. I’m sure many other OU students have noticed that they suddenly had ‘more room in their heads’ as I heard someone say once, and if anyone else is thinking of starting an OU course, don’t even hesitate. Writing my book has also been a turning point in my life, and even though nothing will physically change for me, a part of me will always belong to the world of literature, even if that is literally just paper and ink. Remember my opening quote – “Everyone has at least one good book in them” – thanks to the OU and the army, I’m trying for five. Wish me luck!
