Journey to Publication - Rikki-Lee Arnold
When I held my completed manuscript in my hands for the first time, I immediately felt a sense of pride. I had finally finished writing a book. It was my own little creation, a world that I had formed in my head, a story that I felt needed to be told. And it was something I had dreamed of doing since I was a little girl. I had written a book.
But, that rush of pride was quickly followed by a bigger, longer-lasting surge of self-doubt. That familiar yet niggling little voice broke through.
“Is it actually any good? What if no one wants to read it? What if I get rejected? What if I never get published?”
Those annoying ‘what if’s’, those doubts, are something that had lingered throughout the entire writing process. And - from what I understand about writers in general - I am certainly not alone when it comes to this constant battle within my head. Those doubts had stopped me before, with many half-written novels saved to my hard drive or plans for other books stashed away in drawers. But this time it was different.
Not only did I have a book I believed in, but I had found the perfect step for me to take to get it to where it needed to be – to get it ready to send to a publisher. It was in early April of 2020 when I first saw the Queensland Writers Centre promoting their manuscript development program, Publishable. I knew the chance to polish my work with the help of industry professionals was too good to pass up, and it was that final push I needed to complete my novel, The First Tackle.
I entered my manuscript into consideration for the program, waited with bated breath for a response, fought back against those niggling feelings of self-doubt (or had my voice-of-reason husband fight back for me) and eventually I received the news – I had secured a place within the top 25, with a top 10 to be decided at a later date.
The Publishable program was everything I needed at that moment in time. We were treated to workshops and seminars with the likes of Nick Earls, Kim Wilkins and Belinda Pollard. From these we learned about how to start and finish a chapter, the tricky but vital process of editing, and the ins and outs of getting published. We were given feedback from anonymous readers who were given a sample of our work. For me, it was the first time my complete work was exposed to beta readers who weren’t my loved ones and I found it extremely insightful.
Eventually, the top 25 was narrowed down to a final 10. And while I was satisfied with everything I had gained from the program so far, when I received the call to tell me I was in the top 10 and would not only get a mentor, but the chance to pitch to an industry professional, I was over the moon. Finally, those little questions I had of myself were starting to fade.
Queensland Writers Centre promised to carefully match us with the perfect mentor – and they certainly hit the nail on the head when I was assigned to Dr Lee McGowan. My novel, The First Tackle, is a middle grade fiction book that focuses on a young girl’s battle to play rugby league. Lee is not only a senior lecturer in creative writing but also a football writer and researcher. Brutally honest and to the point, Lee was full of suggestions, support, ideas and jokes and the five hours I was able to access with him made a huge difference in my final manuscript. The mentorship was without a doubt the highlight of the Publishable program for me and it gave me so much more confidence in my little book.
When I finished the program, I took the advice from Lee, from the reader feedback and from my pitch to an agent, to put the finishing touches on my manuscript. Then came the hardest part of all – submitting the work to publishers. I really had to drown out those doubts. I had to trust that all the hard work I’d done over the past few years and within the program was enough. And did I get some rejections or silence? Of course I did. It’s almost a rite of passage as an author to have those stories.
But, did I also succeed? Yeah, I did. My novel will be released this March with Wombat Books and while some questions still linger (What if no one reads it?! What if they hate it?!) I am forever grateful to Queensland Writers Centre and Wombat Books for giving me a chance. And I’m mighty proud of myself that I finally did it – I wrote my book. And no amount of self-doubt is going to ruin that now.
Rikki-Lee Arnold is a Brisbane sports journalist and shortlisted writer in Queensland Writers Centre’s 2020 Publishable program. Her debut middle-grade novel The First Tackle will be published with Wombat Books in March 2022.
Read the 18 January edition of Pen & Pixel.