My novella being published on 4th December, began as an almost forgotten manuscript from years ago - one I almost abandoned but couldn’t because I always felt the beating heart inside it.
I feel so proud, considering the unexpected path this little story has travelled. Here is its journey:
STEP 1: THE FIRST SPARK
In 2021, still recovering from a hospital stay, I entered a Christmas Love Story competition run by Penguin Michael Joseph (one of the Big Five Publishers). I did it on a whim, and the opening simply fell out of me. To this day, that opening remains almost unchanged.
I was astonished to make the long list, then the short list. Us “penguins” formed an online group to stay in touch, and supportive friendships grew.
I didn’t win - The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels ultimately did. However, that early recognition planted a seed: maybe I could write a novel afterall!
I held on to that opening. I wasn’t done with it yet.
STEP TWO: LEARNING THE CRAFT
I wanted to be able to tell this story better, and I joined the Romantic Novelists Association New Writers Scheme. I submitted my partial and received an encouraging detailed report. It praised many elements, but, reading between the lines, it revealed I had much to learn about structure and clarity. I set the report aside as I felt unable to work further on it at that point.
One line from that report stayed with me, though.
I hope many other readers will read your work one day.
I tucked that away like a promise.
STEP THREE: FACING THE GAPS
As part of my membership of the RNA NWS, I could apply for agent one to one session. In the end, I was chosen for three sessions with agents and industry professionals. Each of them was generous and insightful, but also revealed a truth to me. I still didn’t fully understand my own story yet. Or worse, I knew what I was trying to convey, but hadn’t done it clearly enough.
Worse, I was pitching what I had thought was a romcom when it leaned much more towards women’s contemporary fiction with warm, traditional undertones.
What a vital lesson: you really need to know your audience before anyone else can.
STEP FOUR: WRITING THE FULL NOVEL
I knuckled down to it and wrote a 65,000 word novel with two intertwined storylines: a community arc and a romance arc. I fell in love with it all over again and queried a handful of agents. I received kind rejections and realised I hadn’t found quite the right home for it.
I wasn’t prepared to send it around a hundred or so agents. I shelved it. Not forever - just long enough to recover!
STEP FIVE: RETURNING TO THE STORY
Life shifted. I cared for my mum and wrote short stories. I pitched online, published widely, and even wrote a crime novel after appearing at Bloody Scotland (a crime writing/readers festival) held annually in Stirling).
But that early Christmas story kept calling. So I returned to it with everything I’d learned!
HERE’S WHAT I DID:
Reread all my old querying materials with a wiser eye
Highlighted actions from the most useful points in my RNA report
Opened a fresh notebook and file, pulling out the true A-story
Built clearer character arcs with strong motivations
Reframed the pitch to match the heart of the story
Leaned fully into the cosy, traditional, heartfelt Christmas tone that the main Character longed for
I sent my proposal to my editor at D.C.Thomson hopeful it might make a good Pocket Novel (novella length)
The reply was instant and positive - Sounds brilliant. Send it as soon as it’s done.
This was all the encouragement I needed.
I rewrote (from scratch) quickly, deeply, joyfully. I already knew the world of Christmas Tree Bay, but this time I understood it deeply. When I reread the ending, I cried, because I believed in it all over again.
WRITTEN IN THE STARS - PUBLICATION DAY APPROACHES
The novella was accepted by D.C.Thomson to be published on 4th December as a contemporary Pocket Novel, and I feel very proud that I persevered with it. The title changed, but I adore the new one because it is so very festive, and this story’s fate really was written in the stars.
Yes, the cover is gloriously over-the-top festive! I’m planning a subscriber-only cover reveal in the chat early December!
QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Have you ever rewritten something that later found success?
Would you ever transform a piece - a poem to story, story to novel, novel to script?
Is there space for more short, comforting novels in the book market?
If you’d like a sneak-peek with quotes and/or cover preview, do let me know in the comments or via the chat!
Thanks for being with me on the journey! Sometimes the draft we abandoned years ago is the one that still carries magic!
Love from Jackie in the Little Writing Corner in Scotland x x
Do you love: bookshops, the Scottish highlands, broken hearts trying to mend, close proximity storyline, friends to love, snow, waves pounding to the shore, and a great dollop of community love?
WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Jackie Morrison may be for you!
Available in supermarkets and stationery shops (Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury, Tesco, Co-op, W.H.Smith, etc) on the magazine shelves beside The People’s Friend from 4th December 2025.
Available direct on magazine subscription websites.
Available direct from D.C.Thomson:
The People's Friend Pocket Novel subscription page
(Coincidentally my previous Pocket Novel The Sweetest Thing is showing on the landing page, but it’s my latest one, WRITTEN IN THE STARS, that is out in December!)
PS At the moment, I have no paid subscription. I prefer to share my journey with the community for free. If you’d like to support me, then please do subscribe and share my Posts with others you think may enjoy/benefit from them. Thanks.
