When I entered The Red Telephone novel competition back in 2009, I completely put it out of my mind afterwards, as I knew I would be up against contestants a lot older than myself. I never expected anything to come out of it. So imagine my amazement when I found out I was the winner.
My first reaction was, “are you serious?” I couldn’t take it in until I saw Calling For Angels in print and even now, I still find it difficult to believe.
Working with The Red Telephone on the novel was a fantastic experience. I had a lot of help, as I had no prior knowledge of how a book was published. I was involved in the various stages of the book's development, from meeting the cover artist through to the editing process and it was really exciting to see my novel transformed.
One of the most memorable moments was the book launch in November 2010 and I felt really lucky that The Red Telephone organised the event. Gill James came to support the launch, which helped to publicise the book locally. It was great fun for my family and friends to actually see the novel.
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| Alex Smith (R) pictured with Red Telephone Books editor Gill James, at the Calling For Angels launch event |
After the launch, The Red Telephone publicised Calling For Angels by sending it off to reviewers and organising a US blog tour. It’s pretty scary to think people are actually reviewing your book, but I guess that’s what happens when you get a book published!
What I also really liked was that both Gill and Ollie sent me links to new competitions and opportunities, which led my involvement with the Guardian Children’s Book Site. I really enjoyed working with The Red Telephone and it was a great introduction to publishing for me, as a first-time writer.
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