A MOTHER of three who was rejected by publishers has released her debut novel thanks to social media.

Despite a string of disappointments, Ericka Waller has published her fast-paced, Confessions Of A Mother Inferior.

Described as a “laugh out loud tale of betrayal, baking, loss and friendship”, the title is based on her own family.

Mrs Waller, 33, from Rottingdean, secured her publishing deal with Britain’s Next Bestseller after meeting her target of 250 pre-orders in six weeks.

She used social media for crowdfunding, posted excerpts on Facebook and watched as the number of pre-orders on the website increased.

She told The Argus she had cried a lot and felt great relief when she reached her target – especially after being turned down so many times by publishers.

She said: “They felt the plot was not complicated enough and the main character was too hard to relate to. I was feeling pretty low.

“Aside from the book failing, my personal life was falling apart.

“There were hideous similarities between my life and the fictional life I’d written about. My husband and I separated and I became a single mum.”

The turning point was meeting the founder of Britain’s Next Bestseller, where readers choose which books are published.

Mrs Waller said: “I was scared to let it go and afraid it was going to fail.”

But all her friends pitched in with the housework and childcare so there were no more excuses and she could complete the final edit. And as a thank you she used her friends’ names in the book.

Confessions Of A Mother Inferior was finally published on Friday, January 30.

Mrs Waller said: “It will be surreal to see my own book on the shelf.”

The idea for the book came from her award-winning blog – visit muminthesouth.co.uk. The book is available in shops now.