It was October 2017 when I sent the email that would change
my life. This email was my entry to the
Flash 500 Novel Opening and Synopsis competition and attached to it were the opening
chapters of my novel. It was an impulse decision, as I don’t usually enter
competitions, but there was something about this particular one that sounded
tempting: it was open to all genres, there wasn’t a long wait for results and
the entry fee was reasonable. I’d be foolish not to enter the psychological
thriller which was failing to tempt an agent.
I pressed ‘send’ and then forgot about it, only remembering when
I received an email, in December, to say that the short list was up on the
website. I was so sure my novel hadn’t made it, that it was the end of the day
before I looked. Running my finger down the list, I was surprised and delighted
to see that my novel was there. This was starting to get exciting! I loved what
I’d written but hadn’t had the confidence to think that someone else might too.
Maybe I had a chance after all.
This time, as I waited for the final results, I was nervous.
Excited. What if I made the top three? But why would I? There were so many
great novels out there, competition was bound to be stiff. Anyway, I’d made the
shortlist and should be happy with that.
On the day of the results, it was my grandson’s school
Christmas concert. I was late. I was stressed. I remember muttering under my
breath as my phone pinged a message while I was trying to find a parking space.
I didn’t have time for this! As I ran into the school, I checked the message.
It was from a writing friend: Wendy! Have
you seen? You’ve won! I hadn’t seen. I hadn’t had time to check the
website. Could it really be true? But the concert was starting. I couldn’t take
it in properly. My novel had actually won a competition!
The success of my novel in the
Flash 500 competition made me reconsider
my options. The process of finding an agent had been a slow and demoralising
experience but the competition was proof that it wasn’t just my mother who
liked my novel. What if I submitted it directly to one of the publishers who took
un-agented submissions?
I sat down and made a list of who I could send to and the
publisher, Bookouture (who I’d heard good things about) was at the top. With
racing heart, I wrote my submission (my Flash 500 win having pride of place in
the opening paragraph) and sent the novel off.
When I received an email from one
of the editors just a few days later, saying she loved it, I could hardly
believe it. I was offered a two-book deal which I accepted and, in May, my
novel
What She Saw was published.
It’s a dream come true and I have
Flash 500 to thank for it. My
advice, if you’re not sure whether to enter or not, is do it! You never know…
you might just win.
