Guest Post: What Being Published Means To Me by Janet Cooper

Today's post is a guest post written by the lovely Janet from Rambles Rants and Writings!

 

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: http://myrandommusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/innocent-witness-short-story-by-janet.html.

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 ☺

Show Janet some love!

Check out her blog: http://ramblesrantswritings.blogspot.co.uk/
Check out her website: ramblesrantswritings.wix.com/janetcoopercw
Follow her on Twitter: @dementedjan

Feel free to leave her some comments :)