Picture this: Me; a school teacher by day, aspiring author by night, hunched over my keyboard, tapping out my latest novel, obsessing over every word and fixating on every sentence.

Then fast forward: After tormenting myself with the desire to find that perfect first line, I painstakingly craft a list of approximately one million agents (not as much an exaggeration as you might think) that I decide to send my book to.

Days, weeks and months pass. Throughout which, I receive multiple rejections and 'try again next time's'. I tweak, I rewrite and I edit within an inch of my life. When nothing seems right I decide to do a bit more research and discover that the recommended word count for a novice writer like me is 75,000 to 80,000 words. Hmmm so that means my 108,000 word self-proclaimed masterpiece is slightly over the limit; give or take thirty thousand words!

Though I’m sure this is not the only reason for the relentless rejections, it certainly works against my chances. I stare at the screen, my reflection creeping into view and as my eyes meet my own, I shake my head…Idiot!