Читать книгу Lucky You - John Duke - Страница 2

It took me three years to complete this novel and then I sent it to a number of publishers. I did not receive an offer from a publisher to publish my manuscript, that is, if you discount two overseas offers to engage in a contribution based agreement, what some would call vanity publishing. I declined the offers. So what you hold in your hand is a self published book. There could be more than one reason why no one is interested in publishing LUCKY YOU but the most obvious reason could be that it is not good enough

In this situation one has a choice. You can find some other pastime to help fill your day or you can try again and tell yourself it will happen next time or that you write not because you are a gifted writer or even that you are good at it, but because you get enjoyment from writing. And for me there is a lot of truth in that.

There IS enjoyment in writing. However, there are a number of reasons why at times, writing, trying to write a novel, is not enjoyable but indeed an excruciating experience. Those who know you are writing a novel might show no interest in your quest and worse still send a subliminal message to you that you would be better off doing something that might lead to success.

After hours round shouldered over your computer, it is time to go to bed and you choose to have a short read to make you drowsy. Maybe Marilynne Robinson or Tim Winton or Charles Dickens and then you are overwhelmed by a sinking feeling that comes from knowing exactly where you are as a writer. Later the lights are out but the cerebral whirrings are not because you can’t help constructing the chapter that you are going to write tomorrow even though what you need is sleep.

In my opinion there is not enough enjoyment in writing a novel to make it worthwhile in itself. So I have found another reason to write. Simply put, it is about telling a story, your story. Writing fiction comes from our knowledge of the world, our knowledge of the human condition. From life experience and experience fired imagination. So what I write is really part of my story, part of my life’s journey. To take this idea further, the words of Salman Rushdie;

“Those who do not have the power over the story that dominates their lives, the power to re-tell it, re-think it, deconstruct it, joke about it and change it as times change, truly are powerless because they cannot think new thoughts.”

When you hold this book in your hands I hope you decide to read it from first to last page and if you do I know that there will be, on some page, something for you.

When you hold this book in your hand I hope that you will have given me $25 which I promise to send to Health Management: Bangladesh Foundation (Rohinhya Refugees).

I would like to thank Anne Barclay and Joe Blake who gave up their time to read the manuscript, to all those who gave me support by showing genuine interest in what I was doing and of course to Alexa with whom I have been lucky enough to share much of my life story.

JOHN

LUCKY YOU