Some years ago, I remember sitting in the audience at Auckland Writers Festival, hearing Marcus Zusak say it took him something like 11 years to complete his famous novel, The Book Thief.
(That novel, by the way, is outstanding. Do read it, if you haven’t already.)
Wowsers, I thought. I was about half way through the first draft of my first novel at the time. Eleven years?! How incredibly painful!
Now, here I sit, nearing something like four years into the process of publishing that first novel of mine, The Shape of the World…and it’s all become clearer.
Novels can be cumbersome, lumbering, elephantine entities…forming and unearthing themselves as ponderously as slow glugging pools of mud; an ancient sulphuric remnant of its own explosive, volcanic beginnings.
Basically, novels take time. And first novels take even longer.
I believe I’m right in saying that Marcus, just like yours truly, was in the majority of unknown authors; working other semi-writerly or even non-writerly jobs while producing, refining and—heaven willing—publishing our novels. Patiently waiting for his time in the big black chair on stage at the Aotea Centre (or whichsoever chair he may have visualised in his dreams of achieving critical acclaim…)
But here is something exciting. Here is something that has given the much-longed-for and necessary boost to both writerly ego and writerly fortitude.
The Shape of the World was shortlisted.
Out of lots of other hopeful manuscripts, this little bookie of mine achieved a wonderful, delightful result.
(And yes, if you’re wondering, I was speechless, then I screamed, then I ran around the house. It was a full three minutes before anyone could make any sense of it at all. In fact, they had to read it for themselves, as I had run out of words.)
Thank you to everyone who has supported this endeavour so far. I can’t wait to share the next instalment with you.
Zigzag Utopia 