Have you been published?

I have not yet, but I believe a poem I wrote will appear in a youth poetry collection. Kind of cool but I just wish I could get my stuff out there and make a living writing.

Has anyone here been published? If so, could you tell me your journey on doing so and its rewards? And if you have not, how are you attempting to do so?

I've entered several contests and submitted my work to several literary magazines and all I can do is wait and see if anything happens. The waiting is sort of strenuous on me and I know I shouldn't let it be so but I can't really help it. I just really want to make a living doing what I love.

No. Apparently my writing sucks. lol. But I wish you the best of luck. Its a tough game. I find the hardest part is the waiting. Worse than the harsh rejection letter is the damn waiting.

I got a poem published in my university's yearly literature magazine. There was really no journey. I had written it quite a while ago and sent it in as an afterthought. I didn't even get one of the magazines.

This is the poem (I think one of the reasons it got in is because it's so short and therefore didn't need much space):

“Death and Oreos”

No good can I see in the world
Death and despair
Rape and murder
Sickness and famine
(Oreos on sale this week)
Three soldiers killed in a car bomb
Oreos sound good, come to think of it

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis

I got a poem published in my university's yearly literature magazine. There was really no journey. I had written it quite a while ago and sent it in as an afterthought. I didn't even get one of the magazines.

This is the poem (I think one of the reasons it got in is because it's so short and therefore didn't need much space):

“Death and Oreos”

No good can I see in the world
Death and despair
Rape and murder
Sickness and famine
(Oreos on sale this week)
Three soldiers killed in a car bomb
Oreos sound good, come to think of it

---

I like that poem. I really like it. Mixing the tragic with the trivial really creates a strong impact. Detachment from suffering and disaster is what seems to me to be the theme. Or maybe you've plunged right into suffering and disaster and the oreos on sale is like you poking your head out of your black despair-filled burrow.

This is my own subjective viewpoint, but I think writing for living may decrease the quality of a written text. Right?

In some cases it most certainly does but honestly I don't go into writing thinking, "I hope this makes the big bucks." It'd just be nice to get paid for what I put a ton of work into and not feel the pressure of having to find time to write when I have another job.

Writing for a living doesn't decrease the quality of writing. We like to think that writers write solely because it its their drive and they can do nothing else - and to an extent, this may be true. However, the truth is that writing takes an inordinate amount of time (both to perfect your craft and to perfect a work) that is not available to someone who is writing on the side while he or she works to support themselves.

It is hard, and many will tell you not to think about making a living as a writer, particularly if you are young. I don't know. I wanted to, for the longest time, make a living off writing - and still do to an extent - but at this point, have not had the good fortune.

I suppose the practical solution is to work your way in to the practical writing community (publishing houses, copy-writing, journalism) and try to publish from there.

Today everything is different thanks to the internet. Write an intriguing and emotional story and publish it in kindle format. Kindle ebooks are selling. Their price is low, but many people are making a lot of money by selling many kindle ebooks. This is a way to be recognized as an expert.

When you become famous somehow, many doors open for you.

I know you prefer to see your writings admired for their quality and you care more about recognition than about making money. However, if you’ll sell your kindle ebooks, you’ll be respected. You can also publish a regular book at Amazon and become known this way, but kindle ebooks are more attractive and successful.

If I had enough time this is what I would do, but right now I cannot care about my literary talent. I have the intention to it someday, though.

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis

“Death and Oreos”

No good can I see in the world
Death and despair
Rape and murder
Sickness and famine
(Oreos on sale this week)
Three soldiers killed in a car bomb
Oreos sound good, come to think of it

---

:thumbsup: Like.

Publishing has nothing to do with making a living out of it. Making money requires good marketting, which is a separate and unrelated task. Most of you misinterpret the market and think that if you write well, you'll get rewarded for it. Ridiculous.

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Originally Posted by cafolini

Publishing has nothing to do with making a living out of it. Making money requires good marketting, which is a separate and unrelated task. Most of you misinterpret the market and think that if you write well, you'll get rewarded for it. Ridiculous.

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I agree that marketing is something else. Of course, you cannot expect to sell your work only because it is good. However, you can learn a few marketing techniques and promote your work online. If you are a good writer, of course your writing will attract many readers.

For example, most marketers rewrite already written content and sell their poor-written kindle ebooks because there is an audience online looking for romances in kindle format. If they can sell their ebooks of poor quality, don’t you think that a good writer has the chance to sell even more?

It’s not so hard to learn how to be an internet marketer. However, it’s not a simple matter to learn how to be a good writer.

I think many well-known writers started with a real job and a hobby of writing. I say hobby because they didn't publish anything until someone (relative or a friend) suggested so. I'm a good example myself :D I work in translation services and write just to pass time because writing is something I really enjoy.

I don't know if it counts, but I got one story published in a weekly mag. It was a murder case. I received some feedback (believe it or not) from some readers after publishing the last part. I don't think it's that hard to get anything published in a magazine, though. Still, it's thrilling all the same.

For my sins. But it doesn't pay the bills.

Mostly I submit stuff cos it would be weird to just hoard it.

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis

I got a poem published in my university's yearly literature magazine. There was really no journey. I had written it quite a while ago and sent it in as an afterthought. I didn't even get one of the magazines.

This is the poem (I think one of the reasons it got in is because it's so short and therefore didn't need much space):

“Death and Oreos”

No good can I see in the world
Death and despair
Rape and murder
Sickness and famine
(Oreos on sale this week)
Three soldiers killed in a car bomb
Oreos sound good, come to think of it

---

I really like that Mutatis. It's damn good. It's got a bit of Bukowski in it. Love it!

I have given up on ever being published. I've sent several hundred emails over the years to writers and publishers but I am very incompetent when it comes to professionalism and so they always react negatively. I tried to self-publish but it was too stressful. I have reams and reams of material which people read and give rave reviews but I have given up on ever being published. I am just going to do what I always do - write stuff here and let the fine people who frequent this site read what I write. I don't care about money. All I care about is self-expression and reaching people.

Thanks for the complements on the poem. Bukowski, eh? Interesting.

And don't give up, Darcy.

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis

Thanks for the complements on the poem. Bukowski, eh? Interesting.

And don't give up, Darcy.

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I'm not a huge fan of Bukowski, I respect him more for his life-story than for anything he wrote, but I can see the similarities.

I don't see the point in being published. Posting on this site, a site frequented by bibliophiles like me, seems better than having my book in stores. My professional incompetency is so stark, so heinously stark I believe it entirely possible that I will never get published in the sense of having a book out there in stores. I am okay with this. I don't mind having a day job. I don't mind living on disability. I don't mind making money by busking or playing dives. I don't mind living like a poor hobo-like creature. I enjoy my lifestyle. I enjoy it very much. It is the life-style natural to many of the people I admire throughout history - monks, writers, philosophers, generals, ect. All that really matters is survival and honor. I think I best keep my honor by posting my writing here for free than by kowtowing to some big publishing house. If they don't want me I don't want them. And from the emails I get its pretty darn obvious they don't want me. I am fine with this. There are a million ways to make money and support myself and any dependents I might have in the future. I love to cook, I love to play music, I love to sit here on litnet just writing, writing, writing in my spare time. The publishing houses like to think they own the writing game. They don't. The internet has opened doors and if a person has a day job or another source of revenue other than from writing, then that person has a power greater than that of the publishing houses.

Rant over.

I read one of Bukowski's books, Ham on Rye, and wasn't too crazy about it. I've never read his poetry, so the similarities are unintentional.

And that was a good rant. :D

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis

I read one of Bukowski's books, Ham on Rye, and wasn't too crazy about it. I've never read his poetry, so the similarities are unintentional.

And that was a good rant. :D

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Thanks. Don't get me wrong - I consider Bukowski to be one of the great figures of the last century. But I consider him to be great in how he lived, not in what he wrote. To me he is a poor man's Henry Miller. I know this sounds harsh and a lot of Bukowski fans will bear their teeth at hearing it....but its my opinion.

So I admire Bukowski, admire him greatly, but my admiration lies in my awe at how he lived, how he suffered, not in how he wrote.

I wouldn't worry about it. The Bukowski detractors far outnumber his supporters around here, lol.

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Originally Posted by cafolini

Publishing has nothing to do with making a living out of it. Making money requires good marketting, which is a separate and unrelated task. Most of you misinterpret the market and think that if you write well, you'll get rewarded for it. Ridiculous.

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This is so darn true, so darn true. Its about marketing, and even then, even if someone has a lot of attention, if one does not play by the rules....one will not get published. The publishing houses, as corporations, have incredibly large egos. I know for a fact that with the amount of attention I receive from the media that any book I put out there would sell like hot-cakes, but I still do not get emails or calls from publishing houses. I'm being stalked by reporters who want to write about slanderous criminal things and the fact that I resemble some movie star, and yet, even though I've sent a hundred emails in the past two months to writers and publishing houses - I am not being published. I laugh at it. Its like a big joke. I enjoy the fact that I make no money off my writing. Its like a big middle finger to the publishing giants that this potential source of revenue just sticks his writing up on the internet for free, for everyone to read. Its beautiful really. Its an act of rebellion. I've actually reached the point where if I were to receive a positive email from a big publishing house I would probably print it and then joyfully set it on fire. Their rejection of me during a time when I am receiving such a large amount of attention is down-right beautifully absurd, comedic to a wonderful degree. I love it, I really do love it. Hahaha.

I've been published a lot, over 25 years worth of writing poetry, and can promise you that you're never goint to make a living, nor much glory. Readings/workshops sometimes bring in a decent bit, but I've worked all my life and written when I could. I define myself as a poet, am proud of what I've done, but sometimes it seems like a pain in the arse. Can't stop it, though, and would be bereft and distraught if I lost the inclination. Good luck to you. Don't give up!

What I am interested in hearing is whether the writers here like their own work. I love my own work for about a week after its written and then after that I prize it about as much as I do the coupons which arrive daily in the mail.

For that first week my work is revelatory, after that its recyclable. The people who accept submissions do not experience that first week wonderment. They must pour through so much stuff they shoot down anything that is not pure gold.

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Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis

I read one of Bukowski's books, Ham on Rye, and wasn't too crazy about it.

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I'm not a big fan of ham on rye either. I prefer Salami on Italian Bread.

The ending of Factotum is fantastic. This poster's relationship with his previous work is directly correlated with his relationship with himself. Anybody dreaming of being published is artistically immature.







J

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Originally Posted by Jack of Hearts

The ending of Factotum is fantastic. This poster's relationship with his previous work is directly correlated with his relationship with himself. Anybody dreaming of being published is artistically immature.







J

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I agree. I have matured as an artist dramatically over the past year and have somehow lost the burningly obsessive desire to be published. Now all I want is to have my work read by people who love and understand real literature. I can achieve this without getting published. I send my stuff to my friends and I post it here and this is enough for me. If all I did was write, if I had no day job or no other hobby (which is the way it used to be) I know my writing would suffer. Sometimes you have to force yourself to write but its also nice to write only when you have inspiration. Luckily I feel inspired nearly everyday, but if I go a couple weeks without writing because I am busy with other stuff I don't get a guilty conscience like I used to.

Engaging myself in other creative outlets has improved my writing. Painting and making music and training martial arts I think in a way enhance the imaginative faculty. Same goes for regular professions and hobbies. I do carpentry, sometimes for work and sometimes for fun, and I find it really engages my mind too.

Anyway. Now that writing isn't the only thing I do I find my writing is much better, as is my editing.

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Originally Posted by Jack of Hearts

The ending of Factotum is fantastic. This poster's relationship with his previous work is directly correlated with his relationship with himself. Anybody dreaming of being published is artistically immature.







J

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Well, I think that's a bunch of BS. Unless you explain yourself further. One can be a great writer and dream of making it big. The two aren't mutually exclusive. Frankly, it sounds like the mentality of a crappy writer trying to make himself feel better for not getting published. "I'm such a great writer, no one understands and I'll never get published." Right.

Shove it.





J

Well, thanks for explaining yourself further. :lol:

I'm sorry if I insulted you. I didn't mean to imply you're a bad writer. I have know idea what kind of writer you are. It's just the interpretation I came up with front your very glib statement. I've always liked you as a poster, Jack, but I'll be a smartass with my best friends on this forum.

Don't worry. We're cool.

This reader's first response was based on personal experience. This reader has been every bad thing. It's bad to be fixated on your ego instead of your passion; the being published and getting read instead of the process. The process is enough in itself. Having been a bad writer in that way, and perhaps still being not so good, this poster just thought he'd throw in his two cents. This is not shoptalk to Jack of Hearts. This is something that has grown into his life in a way he thought no thing ever could.

The great irony in this reader's opinion is that we do need other people in our life, in our art. But not to validate us. Someone to be human with.






J

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Originally Posted by Jack of Hearts

The great irony in this reader's opinion is that we do need other people in our life, in our art. But not to validate us. Someone to be human with.

J

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Well put. If we use others for validation then that is like using them, and then if they fail to validate us our egos get stung. Its best to create with total independence and have one's art exist in and of itself, like an island. People (readers) can sail to that island, we as writers can build bridges (publishing) to welcome them to it, but it remains an island, an autonomous unit.

Creation, writing, is volcanic. The result of its explosion is this island of art I'm talking about.

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Originally Posted by Jack of Hearts

Don't worry. We're cool.

This reader's first response was based on personal experience. This reader has been every bad thing. It's bad to be fixated on your ego instead of your passion; the being published and getting read instead of the process. The process is enough in itself. Having been a bad writer in that way, and perhaps still being not so good, this poster just thought he'd throw in his two cents. This is not shoptalk to Jack of Hearts. This is something that has grown into his life in a way he thought no thing ever could.

The great irony in this reader's opinion is that we do need other people in our life, in our art. But not to validate us. Someone to be human with.






J

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Okay, I get what you're saying, and I completely agree. One shouldn't write with the sole purpose of getting published. The writing will suffer, the artist will suffer, and a person is most likely not going to be published anyways, so why add the anguish of shooting for a goal that may not be attainable? It's much better to write what you want to write to the best of your ability. If it gets published, that's just a happy bonus. Of course, I doubt there's a writer out there who hasn't dreamt of making it big and becoming rich beyond belief just from writing.

There is some excellent discussion in this thread. :D

Indeed, no one should go into writing for the sole purpose of getting published but that isn't exactly what I was trying to figure out. I just wanted to know if anyone's work had been published, not because they had that singular goal in their head, but because it was happenstance and awesome. I just wanted to know how any artist could possibly make money writing in these days.

It certainly lays a ton of pressure on me when I can't find time to write and that's why I think it would be a dream (I guess nothing but a dream) profession when I wouldn't have to worry about anything but relaxing and letting my thoughts come out on their own. In this day and age, writers can't do that anymore, or not that I can see, and I wanted to see if there were any examples of that actually coming to be.

2 issues being confused here, you seem to think getting published and getting rich are the same thing. Maybe they are sometimes, but not often, certainly not in poetry. I would consider myself well published, in magazines, anthologies and my own collections. It does give me a bit of exposure, but it doesn't make me money, it doesnt lead to fame or being a better writer. Once you're over the initial satisfaction that others like and enjoy your work, you're really back to the beginning: trying to write the stuff to your own satisfaction, for yourself, essentially. Nothing better than producing a new poem you think is good.

My boyfriend is creative whereas I am not ("I don't create, I consume"), and he's had some poetry and drawings published in Carousel. Not much of a journey really, he just sends stuff to them every year and they picked him once. He won some Alberta-wide youth playwriting competition thing when he was younger too, I'm told people acted it out in Edmonton but I didn't know him then and also I was nine.

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Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf

My boyfriend is creative whereas I am not ("I don't create, I consume"), and he's had some poetry and drawing published in Carousel. Not much of a journey really, he just sends stuff to them every year and they picked him once. He won some Alberta-wide youth playwriting competition thing when he was younger too, I'm told people acted it out in Edmonton but I didn't know him then and also I was nine.

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Your boyfriend sounds like a really interesting guy.

I'm gonna stick, out of spite, to my rebellious attitude regarding being published. I don't want it anymore. I would probably give in and let a publishing house publish me if they showed marked interest in my work, but for now I am happy with the fact that no one is making a dime off me. I would rather publish myself, make collections and then donate the proceeds to charity.

I don't care about being a professional full-time writer anymore. I have achieved this partly by styling myself as an intellectual rather than as a writer. Rather than getting a novel published I would much rather see one of my short essays on current events get published in a magazine, or posted on the internet where people can read it and be influenced by it. Writing fiction is what I like best but it seems that market is swamped with high quality work. Just looking at the short-story section of this website I see plenty of writers whose works equal or surpass mine, but when it comes to political essays I do not as often encounter people who can write them like I do unless they are professors or lawyers or people who work in politics/business. I like to write polemics.

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Originally Posted by hallaig

2 issues being confused here, you seem to think getting published and getting rich are the same thing. Maybe they are sometimes, but not often, certainly not in poetry. I would consider myself well published, in magazines, anthologies and my own collections. It does give me a bit of exposure, but it doesn't make me money, it doesnt lead to fame or being a better writer. Once you're over the initial satisfaction that others like and enjoy your work, you're really back to the beginning: trying to write the stuff to your own satisfaction, for yourself, essentially. Nothing better than producing a new poem you think is good.

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I'm not saying getting rich, more just making a living at all. I guess it's a stupid childhood dream I've let flourish too long, I let that initial check corrupt me into thinking it could be repeated on a larger scale. I'm going to keep trying nonetheless.

I suppose I could always look forward to being famous posthumously like Kafka or Kharms.

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Originally Posted by Mojtaba-Iraqi

This is my own subjective viewpoint, but I think writing for living may decrease the quality of a written text. Right?

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i agree with you Mojtaba iraqi ...:thumbs_up

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Originally Posted by The Truth

I'm not saying getting rich, more just making a living at all. I guess it's a stupid childhood dream I've let flourish too long, I let that initial check corrupt me into thinking it could be repeated on a larger scale. I'm going to keep trying nonetheless.

I suppose I could always look forward to being famous posthumously like Kafka or Kharms.

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That's the spirit....sort of. But I understand fully where you are coming from: I consider myself to be in the same situation.

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Originally Posted by Darcy88

Rather than getting a novel published I would much rather see one of my short essays on current events get published in a magazine, or posted on the internet where people can read it and be influenced by it.

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This is also where I am at. I am still working on some short stories, and reshaping and pushing my novel when I can, but my free time has become consumed by an essay series I am currently working on. I'm not much for the real world or current events, but I would love to influence the tide of academia - particularly where Shakespeare is concerned. I know this is also a swamped market, but I have not found anything thus far to suggest that what I am undertaking has been done yet.

In the end, publishing is a bi-product and, as was mentioned earlier, is done (when done well) not for personal gain for the reason that when we create we need to share in order to vindicate our creation. And the writer's dream, more than fame or money, is to influence someone, a group of people, or the world.

I am going to send my stuff to university presses. I think there might be a better chance of being published by an academic press than by a big corporate publishing house.