My teen son reached Grade 7 on the piano and much of his youth was spent at music recitals and festivals, all fun events. He still plays now. In fact he always plays when he needs to relax - so as he's in the middle of his A'levels right now he's playing daily, which is always a treat for us as he is a very good pianist. And I really did take my Grade 1 piano exam as an adult - my son's piano teacher at the time (he was already on Grade 3 by then) tutored me right up to the exam. But the exam was truly terrifying. In the waiting room I was surrounded by small children (all under ten) clutching the same Grade 1 book of tunes as me. At the grand piano my hands shook so badly I could hardly play. The lovely examiner, an elderly gentleman with an elaborate bow-tie, patted my shoulder and whispered it 'was all over now' and I could relax with a nice cup of tea. Something stronger would have helped more. I vowed my days of taking any exam were over - never again. Life was far too short to put myself through such stress.
The short story was an imagined event but containing several real experiences. It was written almost a year ago and the original feedback from the lovely Shirley Blair (Fiction Editor at TPF) was that she loved all the description, but wanted to know more about the mother's motivation for taking the exam in the first place. If I added this it would take the story over their minimum word count of 1200 words, as my original submission was only a 1,000. This point also demonstrates how important it is to read a magazine's submission guidelines! I hadn't checked them for sometime and didn't realise they had a minimum word count - lesson learned ...
The revised story was posted and after a couple of months I received another lovely email from Shirley (she is a joy to work with) buying the story. Another good thing about TPF is they reject stories quickly, usually within a week. This can be a bit of a shock, but is preferable to waiting the 3-4 months, or longer, (I'm not naming them) from many other magazines just to hear bad news. It means you can re-work and re-sub somewhere else quickly - always a bonus.
Okay, this is only the second story I've sold to TPF so my success is not exactly prolific, but I do wait until I have something I think will suit their needs as the editors really do know what their readers like. If you want to submit then read the weekly and monthly special editions to find out the range of stories they accept. You will notice Wendy Clarke's name in just about every issue. Read any of her stories to understand that TPF want a well-written story with great characters and satisfying endings.
A lovely, interesting post, Tracy. And I sympathise, as I took up the piano in my late forties when my children were learning and my hands shook in the exams too. The examiner kept letting me start again, by which time I could hardly see for tears because he was being so kind. Many congratulations on your successful story. xx
ReplyDeleteSort of good to know I wasn't the only one to struggle through the exam as an adult. Your experience, Joanna, sounds horribly familiar. Did you carry on with the piano? Sadly, I gave it up.
DeleteI struggled on to Grade Five, but had to take Grade Three twice - the nerves were so bad I failed the first time. My fingers were shaking so much I could hardly make contact with the keys. When the teacher moved away a year ago, I took that as a sign I should retire! xx
DeleteTracy
ReplyDeleteWell done on your story in People's Friend. It sounds terrifying! (not being in PF - taking a piano exam!). I wish I could play - even a little bit - it's just something I've never done but maybe one day...and how lovely that your son gets so much enjoyment and relaxation from playing the piano. That's a gift that you gave him by encouraging him to learn.
Thanks, Helen. It is a joy to hear him play & I'll miss it when he leaves for uni ...
DeleteJust read your story. Although I've never taken a music exam I could feel the turmoil that the mother was going through.
ReplyDeleteAlso agree with your comments about Shirley. She really tries to help you get your story into a good enough state for publication.
Well done.
Thanks for this, Kevin - lovely to hear your feedback. Yes, I wish all editors could be like Shirley :)
DeleteCongratulations on another [published story.
ReplyDeleteIf we must have rejections it's better to have them sooner rather than later, isn't it?
I agree, Patsy. I HATE waiting weeks/months just to hear a 'No thanks' - better to know quickly then you can decide whether to try a piece somewhere else.
DeleteThank you, Tracy - that's very sweet of you. I loved your story and I agree that it often works well to write about what you know - although the historical stories I write for PF usually have nothing of me in them at all. I love the fact that you started learning the piano as an adult - I'd love to do that. Actually, I'd love to learn the violin but Ian won't let me!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm with Ian on the violin, Wendy. My son did try the cello for a while and it was PAINFUL. Stringed instruments sound horrible when you're a beginner. Possibly Bonnie would move out too ...
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