Z is for Zest
Zest, or
enthusiasm and keenness, are essential for a novelist. Would be published
novelists have told me they wrote, for example, a quarter or half of a novel
and gave up. Either they lost interest in the plot and theme, or they abandoned
their would-be masterpieces because they couldn’t find time to write or because
it was too difficult to finish them.
Published or
unpublished authors need zest, by which I mean enthusiasm for the novel, and
they also need to be keen enough to persevere no matter how many times their
books are rejected.
In my early
twenties my first novel was accepted by a reputable publishing company. I
didn’t know that to ensure publication the date on which my novel would be
released needed to be included in the contract. The publishing house changed hands
and the new commissioning editor didn’t like my novel. I continued to write for
some years before my circumstances changed and I did not have the opportunity
to do so. Years later, my late husband encouraged me to pursue my dream of
writing historical fiction. It was the nudge I needed to write all the stories
which had been in my mind for years. After enough rejections to paper the wall
in my lavatory I acquired an agent. Deep, deep sigh, he didn’t secure a
contract for me. More disappointments followed until my publisher accepted
Sunday’s Child.
My keenness to
be published and a string of rejections are not uncommon. Many other novelists
have had similar experiences.
It is zest
which separates published and unpublished writers from those who don’t finish a
novel, which is a huge achievement, from would-be-writers.
e-books
available from https://museituppublishing.com,
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk &
elsewhere. Sunday’s Child, False Pretences, Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies,
also available as a print book, & The Captain and The Countess.
Rosemary
Morris
