Have you been published?

[Darcy88]

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

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.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

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

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.

[The Truth]

There is some excellent discussion in this thread.

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.

[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.

[JuniperWoolf]

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.

[Darcy88]

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.

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.

[The Truth]

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.

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.

[louisgeorge]

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

i agree with you Mojtaba iraqi ...

[Charles Darnay]

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.

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

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.

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.

[Darcy88]

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.

[The Truth]

^ I've sent my stuff to academic presses too, hope it works out for both of us.

[Darcy88]

What about facebook? Any writers here care to share their thoughts on that service and whether it helps get oneself published? I think its good for getting in touch with the right people and navigating the massive world of publishing.

[Darcy88]

Right now on the radio there are representative from Canadian publishers whining about how times are so tough for them. I have no pity. They brought this upon themselves. They insult quality talent. They give works a brief scan and then dispose of it if it does not seem like it will sell. I have media attention, am being stalked by reporters and citizens and I have enough romantic fiction and poetry to fill 3 books and yet they are not emailing me. I say they deserve to go down. They disrespect talent. Every writer on this forum knows how nasty publishing houses are. They chase us writers away so that we self-publish or give up on being published and just work our day jobs. They make us give up. People love my writing, people always say "wow man, you can write. I mean you can really write." And yet they send me insultingly demeaning and terse emails saying how much they hate my work. We live in a capitalist society. CAPITALISM WON. IF THESE STUPID PUBLISHERS CANNOT HANDLE THE FREE MARKET THEY NEED TO GO INTO BEADING OR DRUM CIRCLING OR SOME OTHER HIPPY OCCUPATION THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE COMPETENCE IN THE FACE OF COMPETITION. I cannot emphasize how disgusted I am with the Canadian publishing system. My only hope is that some university press will get on to me and publish my romance writing. I would not entrust the promotion of my work to these dastardly hippy publishing houses. I just wouldn't. They need to go open their offices in Cuba or North Korea. They cannot handle the fact that we live in a free market system. Away with them. Bring on the multinational American and British publishing houses. They insult talent and then moan on the public radio about how tough the game is. NO SYMPATHY FROM ME. NONE. NOT AN IOTA OF SYMPATHY. Unless a book is the next Davinci Code or Harry Potter or Twilight it is dismissed perfunctorily. They suck. The publishing houses suck. This is not opinion, this is fact. My work is too precious for them. It is mine and everyones. It goes up on here for free. Here where it is appreciated, respectfully critiqued.

That's all I have to say. I would rather live on disability or welfare or a small army salary than kow-tow to these incompetent mutts who think they own writing.

[The Truth]

^ Couldn't agree more, this is why I'm loving more and more the really experimental small presses who'll try anything. It's really fun to see and read what comes through them and it really inspires me to keep writing.

[Shea]

I was just popping on today because I finally finished my pressing editing duties of my first book, when I saw this thread. I didn't get to read everything, but some comments would lead me to think I was a money-hungry idiot for wanting to publish my book. I'm sorry, but I'm EXTREMELY PROUD of my up-coming release! I don't care about money. If I did, I would have gone to Random House first. I never even tried them. I sat on my book for a year before someone suggested Astraea Press which is a publishing company that has only been around for a little over a year. I'm very satisfied with them and love what they stand for as a company. So what if I don't make a lot of money; so what if I do. Something I poured my heart into is being read by others. I hope they like it.