[Last week I started a blog post with ‘It was twenty years ago today...’ but, in spite of my ‘Sergeant Pepper’ reference, the post had nothing to do with The Beatles. Now I’m starting with ‘It was fifty years ago today...’ and it has a lot to do with The Beatles so:]
It was fifty years ago today, 9th December 1962, that
The Beatles played in their usual venue, The Cavern Club in Liverpool, but to an
unusual member of the audience, George Martin, the Parlaphone Producer. It is
said that he looked totally out of place mingling with sweaty youngsters but he
was there on business and went on to record The Beatles’ first album, Please
Please Me.
1962 was an important year for The Beatles. They had their first
BBC Radio session in March and they recorded Love Me Do in September but I wasn’t
overly impressed by them... not yet. They were just another young pop group dividing
their time between UK and Hamburg and it could have stayed that way.
What if they hadn’t performed at The Cavern that night?
What if one of them had decided to live in Hamburg and the
group had split up?
What if they hadn’t gone on to record Please Please Me
with George Martin?
I do believe that success has a lot to do with being in the
right place at the right time. That’s what I think each time I submit a
manuscript. Will it land on the right editor’s desk at the right time, at a
time when he/she has a gap in their publishing list? I submitted a children’s
novel and a children’s picture book this week and I am really hoping that they land
on the right desk at the right time.
And a very Happy Chanukah to all those who are celebrating this week. I’ll be lighting an additional candle each evening until all eight plus the central lighter candle are burning and I'll be watching that miracle, the one where a tiny candle flame has the strength to overcome a room full of darkness.
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| These were my candles on the last day of Chanukah a few years ago. |
Good luck with the submissions!
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy Chanukah!
~Miriam
You may be right,but I should think that, in your case, at least, luck and good timing are just a part of the package that is called success! All the best for these two.
ReplyDeleteHappy Chanukah, to you and the family. I hope you have a peaceful week.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes - there's sweat and tears in writing, and then there's luck. But that luck has to fall on someone's shoulders! Why not yours?
good luck on your submsissions. Indeed so much is timing. Hopefully the editor/publisher is in a happy mood. Meanwhile, Happy Chanukah and breathe deep, look around, and enjoy those small moments. All the best
ReplyDeleteRos, What a great post from one living close to the Beatles or in the same country. I think they were wildly popular in the US but I was so busy with 4 kids, I barely noticed and came to know of their music through my kids.
ReplyDeleteYup, being in the right place must be the answer. You can have a bushel basket of talent but it has to be put in the right hands. Perhaps that is where divine intervention helps a little too.
Love and Happy Chanukah
Hi Ros .. it is incredible to think what's happened in 50 years .. let alone most of our lives probably! I wasn't that thrilled with music at all .. but since I'm better informed now-a-days about a great many things .. I am much more open to those old days!
ReplyDeleteI heard a talk by George Martin about his time in those early days .. and on account of it - bought his book "All You Need Is Ears" .. as I'm sure (when I read it!) it'll open my eyes to music ... as it's George Martin's inside look at their creative process and how he recorded them ... in those days it was very innovative.
Happy Chanukah to you and your family .. and have a very peaceful week .. and good luck with submissions ... cheers Hilary
Yes, Ros, I do think some or even a great part of it is luck. You have to hit the right note at the right time for the right person - to put it muscially. Good luck with your submissions! I really hope you have huge success with them. Peace - that's a nice wish for the week, here and everywhere in the world.
ReplyDeleteThe right place, the right time. I agree, Ros. I so remember the Beatles. 1962. I was 22 and had been married for one year. My first child was born in 1963, but it took a few more years of them in the spotlight, including on the Ed Sullivan Show, to impress me. I became more and more impressed over the years. Such a long time ago, 1962, and yet sometimes it seems like it's right next door!
ReplyDeleteI do hope your novel and picture book turn out to be at the "right place at the right time." That would be so awesome.
Season's Greetings to you and your loved ones....
Wow, it's hard to believe that was fifty years ago, isn't it? Here's hoping your manuscript falls into the right hands at the right time. Somebody has to get lucky... why not you? And a very happy Hanukkah to you.
ReplyDeleteRight place, right time and right person. Those can be pretty long odds - but we'll never know if we don't play! :)
ReplyDeleteThe power and magic of lighting candles is so strong :)
My goodness 50 yrs ago,I was just a wee thing. I do hope your book lands on the right desk Ros,I'm keeping everything crossed for you. Happy Hanukkah.
ReplyDeleteFifty years? Oh dear - I was a teenager when the Beatles were.
ReplyDeleteHappy Hannukkah Ros.