The Now and the Not Yet by Jane Clamp

image courtesy of innway.blogspot.com

The hill walkers among you will recognise this scenario only too well. You’ve been walking for hours (possibly only minutes, but whatever) on the ascent of a particular peak. The map tells you that you are getting warmer (despite the Gore-tex technology of your gear) and you indeed spy said peak in the distance. As it comes within reach, your eyes scan the more distant horizon and realisation dawns: what you thought was the peak is merely a pimple on the hillside, with the real goal some way off.

Life is a lot like that, generally, and as Christians we are used to living in the tension of the Now and the Not Yet. But, as writers, it comes with a starker version. Take the following as typical examples:

·         You finish your magnum opus/small opus/opus not visible to the human eye and want to celebrate BUT there’s editing and polishing to be done

·         You’ve attracted the interest of a local newsletter/church bulletin and feel excited by the possibilities opening up BUT they don’t currently have space for the type of thing you write

·         You’re about to hit the big time: a publisher is interested BUT it all depends on your submission/the big meeting/the weather

No doubt you have your own experiences of feeling it’s in the bag, but that bag might have a hole in it…

Last month, I wrote about the nose-to-the-grindstone editing I was doing on my novel. I had a self-imposed deadline, which I came in early on, and duly submitted the MS to the interested agent. A polite reply came back: she was usually a quick reader; she’d get back to me within two weeks. A few days later, another reply, this time to say she wasn’t able to read it as quickly as usual because she kept having to pause. (As an aside, it reminded me of my first date with Mr C. I’d cooked a meal and throughout eating it, he kept putting his cutlery down and I was thinking he hated it. A few days later, he admitted I’d unwittingly cooked his favourite dish and he’d had to keep stopping or he’d have wolfed the whole thing down in two bites and I’d have been left eating on my own.) Anyway, fast forward: the agent loved the manuscript and by the time you read this blog I will have signed the contract.

At each stage: the writing, the editing, the submitting, the negotiations; I’ve believed I’d reached the peak I was aiming at, only to see the real one further ahead. So, I Now have an agent but Not Yet have a publisher.

To be continued…

*adjusts position of rucksack and plods on.

Jane Clamp is the author of Too Soon, a mother's journey through miscarriage (SPCK) and Groups' Coordinator for ACW.