Debut Author Series - Gita Ralleigh
We at SAIL Fest UK want to amplify the voices of all South Asian writers and illustrators working in kids books. In particular, we are very proud of our 2024 debut cohort who have struggled against odds to be published, and to be discovered by readers all over the UK and the rest of the world.
In this series, we invite debut South Asian authors and illustrators to reflect on their journey so far.
Over to Gita Ralleigh, the author of The Voyage of Sam Singh.
A Map of Failures
Failure is the first thing an aspiring writer becomes acquainted with. Perhaps you are still looking for an agent. Or you have an agent (hurrah!) but your first book has failed to find a publisher. Even successful writers bemoan their lack of reviews, failure to win prizes, inability to produce a bestseller – the list of perceived failures goes on and on.
As a former medical doctor, I now teach creative writing to science undergraduates, clever young people, with strings of A*s. My students, with their scientific training, accept that writing involves failure.
Failure is part of the scientific method: observe, measure, hypothesise, and test. If your hypothesis is wrong, you observe again, take new measurements, produce a new hypothesis, and retest. A first draft is only a tentative hypothesis, a third novel is the successful experiment that finally gets a book deal, the seventh book becomes that breakthrough bestseller – like scientific breakthroughs, these are rare.
But even scientists underplay career failures. Neurobiologist Melanie Stefan writes,
As scientists, we construct a narrative of success that renders our setbacks invisible both to ourselves and to others. Often, other scientists' careers seem to be a constant, streamlined series of triumphs. Therefore, whenever we experience an individual failure, we feel alone and dejected.
Stefan makes the case for a ‘CV of Failures’ – failed exams, unsuccessful grant applications, rejected papers, ‘six times as long as your normal CV’ – although for us writers, this is likely an underestimate.
I have compiled my own survey, not a CV but a map of failures, since I write fantasy. After an easy sail to the harbour of finding my lovely agent, my map of failures would feature the four mountains I climbed (manuscripts) multiple crocodile-infested rivers I crossed (rejections) and eight years of false starts it took to locate the buried treasure (a commercial book deal). And although I’ve had wonderful reviews and prize listings, I’m far from being a bestseller.
I agree with Stefan that modelling honesty about failure helps others. But there are further benefits. During the time I was agented but unpublished – my map of failures – I began writing poetry, teaching creative writing and working for a more inclusive children’s literature.
Exploring the map of failures made me fearless. I’d already failed – what did I have to lose? Without this fearlessness, I would not have my current academic post, two poetry books or a trustee role for a literary charity. I am proud of my two published children’s novels but also of these other treasures.
Stefan, who came up with the original ‘CV of failures’ still champions the idea of failure. Her Ten simple rules for failing successfully in academia contains great advice for writers. For example,
Rule 1 ‘define failure’ on your own terms,
Rule 2 ‘dare to fail’ and
Rule 10 ‘pay it forward’.
Stefan wants us to freely share our failures and evaluate the changes resulting from them.
Explore the links below! Try writing/sketching your own map of failures. After all, this map has led you to where you are today, who knows what further adventures may await you?
Gita Ralleigh
Gita Ralleigh grew up reading fantasy adventures that took her to faraway lands. The closest she came was on family holidays to India, where old palaces, ice-capped mountains, monkeys and elephants were part of everyday life. She has worked as a medical doctor for over thirty years, and published two poetry books. Her children's fantasy novels, The Destiny of Minou Moonshine and The Voyage of Sam Singh are out now with Zephyr/Bloomsbury. She lives in London with her two children and teaches creative writing to undergraduates at Imperial College.
Find out more about her at https://gitaralleighauthor.wordpress.com/
