Faith test.

I am not a religious man.
A po-faced sow; who’s advances I had recently spurred, once told me that one of the things she hated about me was that I had no faith. I don’t think there has to be any link between the two. Obviously you have to have a lot of faith and belief in order to ignore the science that has disproved most hard-backed religious but it is not irrevocably intertwined.

As an example, this weekend I have had my faith tested for the first time in a while and I wanted to share it with you. The problem started when I picked up my recently purchased copy of  the Writers & Artists’ Yearbook 2012. The book acts as a guide for writers and artists looking to get published, it provides general advice as well as a directory for publishers and literary agents in the UK and overseas. It was recommended to me by a school friend who recently had her first novel; Found, published.

The issue that the yearbook has given me is that for the first time I am taking stock of exactly how hard it is to get a book published. I know it’s something that has been niggling away at the back of my head but this weekend it has very much come to the forefront, ruined my appetite and sent me to bed early. I’ve woken today and gone for a run, and it has instantly made it a lot better. I’ve realised that if I have any doubts then it is because my novel isn’t ready yet, that I need to read it again, as a completed work, before I send it off. On my run I also drafted the cover letter and synopsis for my novel in my head and feel ready to take it on today.

My advice would be; sleep on any decision, nothing is certain, you can afford the time, and you have the faith.