Reading - Gapped text

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Part 5: Reading - Gapped text
My dream job
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Preethi Nair tells the story of how she
broke into the world of publishing with
the help of her publicist, Pru Menon
As the weeks passed, I was amazed at how confident and
professional I became in role as my pushy alter-ego. She was
the woman l'd always wanted to be. While Pru secured
interviews, I was busy doing them. If people said we sounded
alike, l'd have a comeback ready: 'That's what happens when
you work so closely with someone.'
It all began about five years ago. At that point l'd never even heard
of Pru Menon, and nor had anybody else. Frustrated with life in
general and with my job as a management consultant, I started
writing a story on my train journey to the office. It was about a
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young woman who wanted to follow her dreams but didn't dare to.
Then, in one of those insane moments when the mouth engages
My next logistical headache was making sure there were
without involving the brain, I told my boss I was resigning and why.
copies of the book in the shops. I had to go to every bookstore
in London and plead with them to stock the title. By this stage,
To finish a novel?' she asked with disbelief.
the stress of it all was getting too much.
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6.
Once it was complete, I enthusiastically sent off my manuscript to
various publishers, imagining the day when I'd be signing copies
of my bestseller for admiring fans. Then came the first of many
'thanks, but no thank you' letters. Being rejected felt awful. So, in
a moment of sheer madness I decided to spend all my savings on
I till didn't get a deal with a big publisher, but when I thought
about all the work I'd done, I knew I had to keep trying. Being
Pru had made me stronger in ways 1 could never have
imagined, and l'd learnt to cope with rejection. What's more, my
second novel poured out of me in Six weeks and was sold as
self-publishing my book. I'd come this far, I wanted to see it
through.
part of a three-book deal to a publisher. Pru is finally in
retirement, but l still maintain that dreams do come true if you
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really make them happen.
My main discovery was that printing the book wasn't the biggest
problem; the publicity would be the hardest thing to arrange. I'd
need a publicist who knew the business to get me book reviews
and press coverage, otherwise l'd never succeed. But I didn't have
any budget. It seemed like yet another setback.
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So l installed two phone lines in my spare bedroom and created a
competent, extrovert alter-ego, by the name of Pru Menon. So
nervous that my hands were shaking, I made my first call. As soon
as the journalist answered, my voice faltered and, sensing my
angst and inexperience, she practically hung up on the spot. I had
my head in my hands. What had I been thinking? But then I thought
about the money I stood to lose.
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