I’ve been pretty busy over the past few months. As well as working on my campaign to make Great Barr great for Disabled People (Great Barr Accessibility Report), and raising my little boy Jack, I’ve been trying to finalise the first draft of my autobiography.
Although I regularly write articles for my blog and campaign, this is my first book and I’ve been working on it for almost five years, in between working and living life!
“Does IT wet the bed?” tells the story of my life living with Cerebral Palsy and all of the challenges and triumphs along the way. There have been Headteachers who didn’t believe I could cope with mainstream education; there have been bullies who have picked on me for walking a bit funny. There have also been employers who have discriminated against me because of my disability. But there has also been a 2:1 Honours degree from Oxford Brookes University, as well as a fairytale wedding and my own business. Despite my disability, I’ve achieved almost everything I’ve put my mind too and that’s why I’m writing this book. To show that disabled people are just as capable as anyone else and that if you’re determined enough, anything is possible.
Now that the first draft is almost complete, I have decided to turn my attentions to the huge task of finding a literary agent who is prepared to take me and my work on. After reading the Writers’ and Artists Yearbook 2014, I am not underestimating the time and effort that this will require. There is so much to do in preparation for approaching agents, that it is much more daunting than writing the actual book! I need to prepare a concise synopsis of the book, as well as a chapter summary and research at least five other books which are similar to mine and justify why my book fills a gap in the current market. The list of tasks which lay ahead seems endless!
I’ve invested so much time and effort into the book, that I am absolutely determined that one day soon, it will be available in a bookshop near you!
Right then, where to begin?!