OCCASIONAL SERIES
THE NOVEL STORY – How each of my novels came into being.
My First Published Novel:
THE WILD HUNT
THE WILD HUNT is my 8th novel. Before I began writing it I had already tackled 7 previous works, all rejected by publishers. I wrote my first book when I was 15 years old, so perhaps some leeway for lack of maturity should be allowed. You can read about my early journey and my first full length, unpublished historical novel here: https://elizabethchadwick.com/blog/tigers-eye-my-first-venture-into-novel-writing/
Throughout my teens and twenties, I wrote in my spare time, sent my works to publishers and received rejections by return. I wasn’t deterred, rather it put iron in my soul. I was learning my craft and determined to improve and increase my chances. And anyway, writing was what I did for my own delight.
“Persistence is to the quality of character of a human being, as carbon is to steel. Just don’t ever give up.” Billy Ray Cyrus
I began writing THE WILD HUNT when my sons were little boys of five and three. During the day I stayed at home to look after them, but once my husband returned from work and took over the child care, I went to my own part time job, filling shelves in the local supermarket to earn enough money to buy a word processor. THE WILD HUNT was actually a sequel to an earlier novel titled THE COMING OF THE WOLF – more about that another time; it has its own story.
THE WILD HUNT was set in the Welsh marches in the late 11th and early 12 centuries and was about a Norman lord pushed into an arranged marriage with an equally reluctant heiress, harbouring a secret in her lineage. The story followed the development of their difficult relationship and the new direction it took when they had to unite to overcome danger and hardship. It was a romantic historical rather than a full-on historical romance, with imaginary characters painted on a background of documented history. The Welsh border was a region seething with conflict between the Welsh, Normans and English with plenty of scope for adventure, danger, and tangled relationships both social and political. A perfect setting for the unfolding drama.
The novel took around a year to write and once completed, I trawled The Writers and Artists Yearbook to find a suitable literary agent. Mostly by luck but with a bit of judgement I sent the first three chapters to the Blake Friedmann literary agency where the magnificent and legendary Carole Blake plucked it from her slush pile. She read the chapters at her desk and was sufficiently impressed to request the rest of the manuscript, and to offer representation. See her original letter below. I had undersold the story in the synopsis, but when she read the whole, she felt the manuscript was good to go on submission and didn’t require any tweaks.
I signed a contract with Blake Friedmann in March 1989 and Carole set about selling THE WILD HUNT to a publisher. By July four major publishing houses were engaged in a bidding war for the rights. Michael Joseph (part of Penguin) and Sphere Paperbacks won the bid, offering a two-book contract. I was taken for lunch at the Groucho Club to meet my new editor – the first time I had been to London since I was eleven years old. Although we got on really well it was a steep learning curve as I began to learn the nuts and bolts of becoming a published author – in a world very different to today’s digital fast lane. THE WILD HUNT had been written on an Amstrad Green Screen with Locoscript and The Internet was still in the womb.
I quickly learned that payment for a novel comes in increments. The author receives a proportion of the fee as an initial down payment. Another portion is paid when the novel is handed in and deemed to be of an acceptable standard. The next payment comes at publication of the hard cover and these days the digital version. The final payment is made when the paperback is published – usually a year later. As time passes, and more novels join the author’s list a steady income flow develops that in the best case scenario keeps the wolf from the door, with royalties paid every 6 months. There are foreign rights, audio rights and even film options that help out too. However, Only the biggest bestselling authors get to live the millionaire lifestyle. At the outset with only one book in the market to earn income, the early days are often a struggle. In my case, THE WILD HUNT enabled me to give up my supermarket job and my writing replaced the part-time income from shelf-filling. I stayed at home to look after my children and I wrote. What did I buy with my first cheque? A dishwasher and a new bicycle with a child seat. No yachts and mansions for me!
THE WILD HUNT was accepted by Michael Joseph in July 1989 and published the following spring by which time it had been entered for a Betty Trask Award – an annual award for young writers under the age of 35 for a novel of a traditional or romantic nature. THE WILD HUNT won one of the three prizes that year. The presentation took place in the banqueting suite at Whitehall. It was surreal to go from stacking shelves with cat food at the local supermarket to shaking hands with the future king, and receiving a cheque for several thousand pounds. What a glorious beginning to a career!
THE WILD HUNT has gone on to sell around the world and has been translated into numerous languages. It’s still in print and earning royalties.
From my teens I knew that I wanted to write for a career. Entering the mainstream publishing world and earning a living from it were goals I’d been working towards for a long time, but when I achieved those goals, it wasn’t a moment for fireworks and sparkle. Rather it was a grounded recognition of having arrived in the right place. It was what I was meant to do.
THE WILD HUNT wasn’t my first novel, but it was my first published one, and set me on the path to more than a million sales. People sometimes ask me if I have a favourite book, and I always say no, because each one has its own special qualities. THE WILD HUNT was the one that turned the dream into the reality.
You can read the first chapter here: https://elizabethchadwick.com/novel-extracts/the-wild-hunt-extract/
Available at Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3KfiEAB
And Amazon.com USA https://amzn.to/4avhhbx