Suzie Louis

The revolution in self-publishing and becoming an indie author is not for everyone. It is often disparaged and disdained as lacking credibility and the prestige of recognition by traditional publishers. There are still true believers so convinced of their own talent and the consequent stupidity of those who continue to reject them, who disdain the indie reality of giving up on traditional publishing after enduring universal rejection. True believers desire, crave and are obsessed with the status and inevitable fortune that must follow obtaining a contract with a traditional print publisher. For them such a contract will lead to best seller status for their work. There is no sacrifice that won't be made or humiliation too great to secure the longed for and just reward for their writing talent. As a consequence, some budding writers still believe in and actively follow the traditional regime of submitting their work to literary agents and publishers which all too often ends in tears when the rejection letter or form email ever so politely declines the latest attempt by an unknown writer. Such blinkered hopefuls fail to appreciate the current obsession of publishers with celebrity and the phenomenon of 'famous for being famous' so graphically demonstrated in reality TV series such as Keeping up with the Kardashians, which forms the backdrop to this firmly tongue in cheek and funny short story with a surprising ending. The unnamed heroine of the story is one such believer. Despising fan fiction authors and vanity publishing and never daunted, she and her stage mother will go to any lengths to see her published. However, to date, the greatly desired recognition and a lucrative publishing contract has eluded our young author who has a growing collection of rejection letters and an obsessive belief in the quality of her work that endures despite her never completed attempts at writing in a number of genre. The talent she feels should be recognised, applauded and is so carefully nurtured by her ambitious mother and long suffering father, eludes the many literary agents and publishers subjected to her constant stream of submissions. The clock is ticking as her frustration grows and a fear that she will be too old to be an acceptable face to the increasingly celebrity obsessed publishing industry. She prepares for the life of fame and fortune that awaits her when her talent is recognised by doing what is necessary and expected by 21st century publishers who encourage the completion of creative writing degrees as the road to success. Our heroine and her mother are so active in the pursuit of the elusive publishing contract they have a program of regular, if expensive, events in place designed to promote the fortunes of the budding JK Rowling. One such event in a shopping mall where our heroine demonstrates her versatility with the written word and no musical talent goes awry leading to a chain of events that not only brings her the attention she has desired for all of her nearly nineteen years but unwelcome consequences and a brush with an unsympathetic authority figure.