Experiences of being published – Nikki Dudley

I know a lot of authors say it but my love for words started when I was very small. I loved reading, loved poetry at primary school and loved getting to write short stories in a scrappy old book that the teacher probably didn’t pay much attention to. I kept writing throughout school but it wasn’t until I came to make my university choices that I seriously thought about writing properly. I did a combined BA in English and Creative Writing, and followed this with a Masters in Creative Writing. This was really the beginning of my belief that I might actually see something in print with my name on it.

I’d been shortlisted in some competitions, won a prize for poetry and had a short story published, plus a few pieces in some small print and online magazines. It was all a great start and I couldn’t help loving the feeling of being published. I’m not sure what it is – pleased that someone thinks it good enough to publish, happy to have contributed in some small way to the vastness of this world, being proud of having a product for writing incessantly for hours on end, wanting to share with other people who enjoy writing – who knows!
However, it got to a point where I wanted something more substantial in print. I never thought of myself primarily as a novelist but I started one on my MA and decided to pursue it. I uploaded chapters to authonomy.com, which I found invaluable for kneading out all of the little mistakes and inconsistencies. It also compensated for the criticism of my MA peers once the course was over. When I finally felt like my novel made sense and was at a good level (when the feedback stopped being that critical), I started submitting. I got limited interest from agents, only one asking to read more and eventually deciding against it. Not to be defeated, I tried some small presses. And lo and behold, one of them liked it!

This is how my novel, Ellipsis, came to be published by Sparkling Books in hardback and paperback this year. It was certainly strange at first being on the other side of the process. I’d been working in publishing for two years, I run my own online magazine and do a lot of editing myself. Suddenly, I had an editor picking me up on things I had written, spotting typos and altering copy. It was tough at first and surprising that there were a fair amount of typos in the novel. But being so close to it definitely makes it hard to spot all these things!
Ultimately though, I like to think I’m big enough to take the advice of others with lots of experience and/or experience that differs from my own. In the end, the process was great. It certainly gave me further insight into how some of the people I had worked with felt and how to approach the sensitive issue of editing someone’s beloved work in the future with even more grace.

Since Ellipsis, I have also had a chapbook published (exits/origins) as a chapbook and had a small collection published as an ebook online. Apparently, I find being published and publishing a little addictive! I enjoy that I have experience both sides of the industry. I believe my experience with publishing really helped me with my novel in particular and also helps you understand where your publisher is coming from – if they want to make a change, there is probably a reason and if you don’t agree, I’m sure you can work it out. At the same time, my publishing experience has made it harder in some senses as after being an editor, being edited by someone else can be a challenge. But all in all, the product is really what matters, so taking advice on your writing well, even if you don’t take it all into account, is something that is essential as a writer.

Ellipsis came out in hardback in April 2010 and paperback on September 27th 2010. You can read more about Ellipsis here.