Am I Published?? Ahhh help!

sparkypants · Nov 30, 2010

Hi guys, hope everyone is having a nice Tuesday (not too snowy if you're in the UK!)

I need a little help and this is a leetle bit off topic but hopefully that's okay (and this is the right place!).

I'm trying to get some work experience in publishing at various publishing houses based in London. I want to write on my CV that I've twice been published and am interested in seeing how the other side of the process works, but I don't know if they'd count my 'publishing' as actually being published.

I had an article published in a sports magazine - but the magazine is only filled with submissions by readers, so there was a lot more scope for getting something in print. And I won a short story competition for a writers magazine and the prize included being published in that months issue. Can I say that I've been published twice? Or will they totally dismiss that??

If anyone has any other tips on getting publishing work experience that would be really helpful too!

Thaaanks! =)

Margarita Skies · Nov 30, 2010

I think if you published POD or vanity press, you are not genuinely published. Really published, meaning publishing that counts and to where everyone will review your book and when it's available at your local bookstores, is when you submit to an agent, an agent sells it to commercial publisher, like Random House, here in the United States, for example, and it's released, then you're officially published. Hope this helped and I hope you receive more knowledgeable and accurate opinions on this.

waylander · Nov 30, 2010

I would say that you have been published twice, in the sense that someone else picked out your work and put it in a publication, even if they didn't pay you.

Phaeal · Nov 30, 2010

I'd say you've been published, but you should be careful not to exaggerate or obscure the scope of that publication in your CV. Listing the publications would prevent misunderstanding.

veinglory · Nov 30, 2010

I would suggest not leaning heavily on low level publications, especially if they don't relate to the product of the publishers you are approaching.

MsGneiss · Nov 30, 2010

Phaeal said:
I'd say you've been published, but you should be careful not to exaggerate or obscure the scope of that publication in your CV. Listing the publications would prevent misunderstanding.

I agree with this. Definitely indicate the name of the magazine/writing contest, and that will eliminate any sort of misunderstanding. You don't want to be deceptive in your letter.

Parametric · Nov 30, 2010

You're not on my MA Publishing course at UCL, are you? :tongue

Susan Coffin · Nov 30, 2010

Sparky,

I would. Just indicate the sources and what you published.

Jamesaritchie · Nov 30, 2010

Simply list where you were published. "I've been published twice" really has no meaning. List the places, and allow whoever reads it to make the decisions. If you don't list them, they will ask you, so you may as well be upfront.

happywritermom · Nov 30, 2010

I wouldn't worry about it simply because, in all honesty, employers won't really care that you want to see what the other side of publishing is like. What they want to know is what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. If you learned something from those experiences that will make you an asset to the publishing company, that's important. For instance, maybe your own publishing experience makes you better able to relate to writers or clients.

Alitriona · Nov 30, 2010

Magali said:
I think if you published POD or vanity press, you are not genuinely published. Really published, meaning publishing that counts and to where everyone will review your book and when it's available at your local bookstores, is when you submit to an agent, an agent sells it to commercial publisher, like Random House, here in the United States, for example, and it's released, then you're officially published. Hope this helped and I hope you receive more knowledgeable and accurate opinions on this.

Wow, I didn't realize that unless a book is with an agent who submitted it to Random House it isn't actually published. Clearly the vast majority of published writers aren't actually published at all.

I would advice the op to be honest and mention being published and where, then let the person reading their CV decide if it counts. It may not for some and it may for others.

blacbird · Dec 1, 2010

sparkypants said:
Hi guys, hope everyone is having a nice Tuesday (not too snowy if you're in the UK!)

I really can't help you in the publication comment part, but a welcome, and a mention that I lived in a southwest suburb of London (Weybridge) for three years a while back, and never saw snow even once.

Since then I've lived in Alaska. Ya want snow, I can give ya some snow. I got it right here, fourteen inches in my yard right this instant. And it's right at zero degrees by God's own Fahrenheit scale.

sparkypants · Dec 1, 2010

Thanks for the help guys! Think I'll find a way to drop it in there somehow, with the relevant publications listed and hopefully make it sound convincing enough for someone to at least bother finishing to read my CV! Job hunting is a total nightmare these days if you want to work in anything other than recruitment or sales!! Boo.

Parametric nooo i'm not on your MA, or any MA for that matter!

blacbird snow is very elusive round these parts, but it does happen every so often, and obviously the entire country grinds to a halt when it does as we are totally incapable and utterly unprepared for it!

Am I Published?? Ahhh help!

sparkypants

Margarita Skies

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

MsGneiss

Parametric

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

Jamesaritchie

happywritermom

Alitriona

Attends The School of AW

blacbird

sparkypants