The Best Laid Plans…
Joanna Nell drank champagne and floated amongst the guests at her debut book launch, giddy with joy like the bride in the photo.
Above all the carefully choreographed pictures taken by the official photographer at my wedding twenty-one years ago, this is my favourite. It captures the moment when, on 3rd July 1998, after all the meticulous planning for the big day, my husband and I realised we’d both forgotten to book a taxi back to our hotel. A mixture of relief, exhilaration and bemusement, it was the same expression I wore after the launch of my debut novel The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village last year.
What aspiring writer hasn’t secretly planned their perfect book launch, like Muriel Heslop imagining her big day? I certainly had, the idea of that special party with family and friends was enough to keep me going through the rejections. Welcome to the happiest day of your life. It’s an outward you’re your dream has finally come true. Yes, the book is finished, you can tell everyone.
I had a wonderful book launch at a local bookshop. We drank champagne and I floated amongst the guests, giddy with joy like the bride in the photo. But I soon realised that once the honeymoon sand has been shaken from between the toes, there was a long and uncertain journey ahead. Everything changed on that day, as it did for me on my wedding day, but life goes on.
I hope that like my marriage, my career as a writer will be a long one. It will no doubt have its ups and downs. With luck, there will be champagne, and also times when I can’t trust myself with a kitchen knife. In writing too, there will be sales figures and reviews to process, acclaim and rejection to reconcile.
Ten months after publishing my first book, I recognise that it takes more than a fancy launch to be an author. In the same way you need to work at a relationship, writing requires the day-to-day discipline of showing up at the keyboard. In writing as in marriage, there is magic in the little things – a character reveals something unexpected, a plot puzzle falls into place or a reader sends a lovely message. These are the literary equivalent of waking up to a cup of tea, a silly note left on the fridge or binge watching a new Netflix series with your partner. And not forgetting to download the Uber app before you head to the party.
Joanna Nell is a Sydney-based author and doctor who writes character driven stories of self discovery for women in their prime. Her best-selling debut novel The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village appeared on Booktopia’s Australian Debut Fiction Shortlist. Joanna’s new novel, Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year, is out in November 2023 from Hachette. The wit and wisdom of fun-loving seniors inspire her to create fictional characters who are young-at-heart and defy society’s expectations of ageing.
As the mother of two teenagers Joanna enjoys long conversations with her dog.