A few weeks ago, I was having one of those days where you just feel like everything is a bit of a struggle. I'm really impatient and one of the problems with publishing is, most things take a little while. So, I decided to get off my backside and take some action!
I wrote an email to an author. He's a pretty good author. Well, in fact, he's sold quite a few million books, if truth be told. His name is Robert Muchamore and he wrote the MASSIVE Cherub book series, about a young man from a council estate who becomes a government agent. Even Spiderman, Tom Holland, wore one of his Cherub t-shirts as he was training for one of his movies.
But the key thing is, he writes Young Adult spy books... no dragons, no wizards, no spells... not that there's anything wrong with those things; but sometimes, as an author who doesn't include elements like that in their writing, it can feel like you're a bit outside of the cool club.
Anyway, the email was pretty long. It just said about how great it was to have him as a leading light in the genre - his books are still beloved and he's still flying the flag with some great new work. At the end of the email, I said "to prove you've read this far, just reply with the word 'fandango'." Less than an hour later, I get an email... simply says...
"Fandango."
Since then, we've exchanged a few emails and he's been really encouraging and very helpful. In fact, Robert even sent me a stash of signed stuff to give away to people. That'll be happening next week!
Whatever your version of success is, whatever point you're at in life, it doesn't cost much to help other people or be kind. It certainly made me feel pretty good.
Until next time... B
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