Successful novelist had to put in years of hard graft before seeing her works in print and in shops

The Bingley novelist knows all too well the feelings of dismay many writers feel as they struggle in their search for a publisher to take on their debut novel.

Enticing would-be agents with a few taster chapters is something Linda became accustomed to over the many years she tried, and more often than not failed, to get her work published.

But Linda refused to give in and her journey is a lesson to anyone that if you believe in something enough, determination wins the day.

Now 44, Linda was 28 when she made the decision to follow her dream of becoming a novelist. By that time she had married her press photographer husband, Ian Hodgson. A small mortgage on a small property gave her the opportunity to give up her day job as a newspaper journalist.

“I didn’t just want to be one of those people who regretted never doing it,” says Linda, referring to chasing her dream. “It was quite a journey. I was one of those people who knew what I wanted to do at an early age. I was eight when I said I wanted to be an author.”

She still posses a childhood album of “when-I-grow-up-I-want-to-be options”, with hairdresser and air hostess crossed out in favour of “author”.

“I crossed them all out and wrote ‘author’ and I have still got that from when I was eight years old so my fate was sealed,” she says. “I had a very lively imagination as a child. I would stay up until my parents would tell me to go to bed because I was writing stories.”

Linda’s inspiration comes through life in general and also through some of the experiences she encountered during her journalism career.

Her first attempt, called Idol, focused on a teenager obsessed with a footballer. She recalls excitedly sending off three chapters, the synopsis, a covering letter and a stamped addressed envelope and her disappointment on receiving a “bog standard” rejection letter.

Undefeated, Linda ploughed on. Having given up her day job she had nothing to lose but everything to gain by realising her dream and getting her book published.

“It got to, I think, 102 rejections and I remember sitting down and really questioning should I carry on. My husband was incredibly supportive and if he hadn’t been I probably wouldn’t have continued,” says Linda.

Her turning point came when she met a local writer at a creative writing session in Ilkley Library. He looked at Linda’s book and gave her some constructive criticism.

Following his advice, Linda decided to re-write part of the book. “It was a big job but I thought I have nothing to lose,” she says.

Finally, Linda’s worked attracted the attention of an agent, bringing with it the prospect of seeing her work on bookstore shelves. But her hopes were dashed once again when she failed to secure a deal.

“Everybody said nice things but there was always a ‘but’,” recalls Linda. Undeterred, she was encouraged to write another novel. She was pregnant with her son, Rohan, now ten, at the time and recalls going into labour shortly after sending the book off. During night-time feeds Linda spotted an email which brought further dismay. “I had lost the agent it had taken me five years to get,” she recalls.When Rohan was nine months old Linda contemplated her goal. She sent her re-written version of her book to two agents who she had previously pitched her work to. After being asked to send the full manuscript, her book was put up for auction. “I got one offer, but as far as I was concerned that is all I needed and I got the offer of a two-book deal,” she says.

Her debut novel, I did a Bad Thing, about a guilty secret, was published in 2007, more than eight years after Linda quit her day job. This was followed by 10 Reasons Not to Fall in Love, about a woman who gives her heart away once and has ten reasons not to make the same mistake twice, then came Things I wish I’d Known, about a woman and her teen idol, which salvaged some of Linda’s initial novel, Idol - And Then It Happened, the story of a woman whose husband is left in a coma after an accident, and The Mummyfesto about a group of mums who launch a campaign to save their children’s school lollipop lady.

Between them the books have sold almost 250,000 copies and Linda is hoping for similiar success with her latest novel, The Marriage Mender, which is based on a relationship counsellor whose marriage runs into trouble when her husband’s ex turns up after 16 years.

Linda’s books are popular in the booming ‘chick lit’ market, and she says relationships are a constant inspiration. “I’ve been with my husband for 23 years now and I actually think how couples stay together, or how they break up, is far more interesting than how they got together in the first place,” says Linda.

“I deliberately chose to set the first scene of The Marriage Mender in a relationship counselling session because I wanted to make it clear this is a book about real relationships, ones that don’t necessarily fall into the ‘happily ever after’ category.

“The book also features a series of fictional ‘talking heads’ discussing the moment when they knew their relationship was in trouble. These were inspired by the wonderful vignettes at the end of the film When Harry Met Sally, when elderly couples discussed how they met and fell in love.”

For Linda, the publication of her latest book is testimony to the hard graft she has put in over the years.

“I look back and I’m incredibly proud that I persevered,” she says.

While she encourages young people to strive for their dreams too, she says they need to be aware of the hard work and potential knockbacks involved. “I think there is an element of society that everyone wants it now. It was quite a lesson that you have to work incredibly hard to achieve something you really want, and be prepared to put in the hours and be prepared for rejection, but pick yourself up and get on with it,” she says.

The Marriage Mender is published by Quercus. Visit linda-green.com.