Today’s post is a guest post written by the lovely Janet from Aspiring Warrior Mum!
What Being Published Means to Me
Hi everyone! My name is Janet and I am honoured to have been offered the opportunity to guest blog here on My Random Musings, so it looks as though you are stuck with me for the duration of this post. I promise it will not be too painful.
First of all I will tell you a little about myself. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing last year and I am currently studying for an MA in English Studies on a part time basis. I work as a self-employed tutor and I also lead a team of Copywriters for a publishing house. I thought it relevant, as a creative writer, to apply as a guest blogger as this month’s theme is #Fictionalfun.
Although I prefer to write Crime Fiction my published stories are Gothic tales, published in a collection of short stories. One is a Fairy-tale adaptation, and a school in the North East of England has ordered copies to add to their A Level syllabus to compare with Angela Carter’s works.
I am also lucky enough to have four articles that are going to be published in a magazine too, I am just waiting for a confirmed date of publication. Even though I should probably name myself a writer, I struggle with the term and it makes me blush. I am effectively a published writer (there, I said it)!Earlier in the month, I also had a short story posted on this blog too, called Innocent Witness. Usually, I write whodunit crime fiction, but this one had quite a sexual twist to it in order to represent the psychotic state of the killer. You should certainly have a read, it’s only short: Innocent Witness
Today, I want to talk about being published and what it means to me. I am always pleased to hear that my work has been selected for publications. It’s a bit of a whirl-wind to be honest as one publication happened last year, and the rest are more recent and have happened this year.
I remember starting my English and Creative Writing degree and the Lecturer drummed it into us all that it’s likely we would never get published as the publishing world is brutal. I have had several short story works turned down, and it can be hard to get with the niche of what a magazine or publisher is looking for unless you are an avid reader of their work.
A lot of people self-publish, yet others I know say that it’s a waste of time as you haven’t been chosen. There is nothing better than being ‘The Chosen One’ but I say do what is right for you, whatever you have to. I have personally read some well written self-published eBooks, yet I have also read some awful pieces. Either way, you get to put your publications on your CV or in your portfolio but a lot of people do look to be published by a publishing house. The problem is the publishing world seems to be shrinking as people prefer (the price of) eBooks and buy books cheaply online. Paper books from a bookshop now have a very limited audience and this is sad news for bookworms like me, and for authors, editors and publishers. Blogging and guest blogging are also publications which gives you a chance to get noticed. I tend to post a lot about my life on my blog, whereas I have a website too.
Sometimes I think that being published is overrated. Why stress yourself out? Yet all writers strive to be published, it’s what we do! When we are refused or brushed aside, sure, our pride is damaged but we get back up, dust ourselves off and then we try again.
I guess what I am trying to say is that there are publishing opportunities out there if you’re a good writer but you have to find the one that’s best for you. For me writing is a form of expressionism, it’s an outlet for my creativity and I love to write. I commented earlier that some self-published books I have read have been awful but that doesn’t mean I want to revoke the right of a person to self-publish. Why shouldn’t they, I don’t HAVE to read it? In fact, I encourage and applaud the person that does so!
So what’s next for someone who has articles and short stories published – well apart from growing my blog and website, I hope to be published further. There are two areas I would like to explore in the future: a novel, and academic research journals/papers. I would love to expand my horizons and become published in either of these areas.
Thanks for reading, Janet ☺
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Congratulations Janet on getting more work published. You rock!
She does! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Thank you so much for your positive comments, it means a lot. The publications came out of nowhere, when I least expected them. 🙂
Janet
http://www..randomsrantswritings@blogspot.co.uk
Well done on getting published – and good points for writers
Yes, there were some excellent tips here! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Thank you for reading my post and for being so supportive! Janet
http://www.ramblesrantswritings.blogspot.co.uk
Congrats on being published. That is a huge milestone.
Thanks for commenting, I will pass this on 🙂
Thank you for your kind comments. Sometimes I still don't believe it! It is a huge milestone and when I talk about it, I feel like I'm talking about someone else.
Janet
http://www.ramblesrantswritings.blogspot.co.uk
Congrats on getting published. I attended a seminar at Britnums this past weekend about a similar topic that really got me thinking about finally starting a book #Brilliantblogposts
Go for it! You've got nothing to lose 🙂
Thank you for your kind comments. You should definitely write a book – go for it! I don't know if you have heard Nanowrimo.org but it's a website that runs a novel writing in a month, in November. You can sign up and write at any time and it has all sorts of motivational tools to help you. They do push it more in the November though.
Huge congrats!
It seems to me the publishing world is very similar to the music business. It's incredibly cut throat but if you have talent, work hard and keep going you can achieve almost anything. I could fill a folder the thickness of the Argos catalogue with the rejection letters that I have had over the years.
You have done it! Amazing!
#brilliantblogposts
It is amazing isn't it – well done Janet! I think you have to develop pretty thick skin quickly too 🙂
Thank you so much for your positive comments, it can be so difficult and it's certainly a tough industry. I too have many rejection letters and I think sometimes once you have been published, people take more notice of you. Again, very similar to the music business. You just have to dust yourself off and start again.
Janet
http://www.ramblesrantswritings.blogspot.co.uk
Congratulations on being published…what a big accomplishment for any writer. Great guest post and I too believe there is nothing I want to stress myself out about with blogging. I want it to continue to be a hobby and not a chore. #anythinggoes
Glad you enjoyed the post, it was a good one for sure 🙂