Thursday 20 August 2020

Guest post by Womagwriter Charlotte Sabin.

Today's guest is Charlotte Sabin, talking about her very first womag sale.

I’ve been writing stories since high school and after I enjoyed a home study course in creative writing I decided to improve on my craft and go to university to study a degree in the creative writing and English literature but due to my mum becoming terminally ill I returned home early before completing my course so transferred my studies to distance learning and then years later achieved enough points to gain a higher education diploma which covered all aspects of creative writing and English literature. I knew I wanted to become a writer but having a family took priority so over the years I self published many children’s books with my fiancĂ©, Andy Wegg, using kdp self publishing platform on Amazon but I still had this burning desire to write short stories for women magazines.

I had submitted and failed with many attempts over the years but it was only recently I thought 'I’m going to give it one more shot', so I wrote a handful of stories and sent them off to several magazines. I’ve had a few rejections so far, actually a lot, but I now know you should never give up on your dreams.

I have had my first success and had my ghost story – The Pink Ball published in this months edition (August) of Yours Fiction and another acceptance from Yours for another ghost story to be published in their October edition.
I sent the story to them via email, following their guidelines back in April and they sent me an email of acceptance in June with a copy of a contract attached and said the date of publication and how much I would be paid.

I was doing cartwheels around my living room and I am looking forward to going out to celebrate with Andy somewhere very special.

Seeing it on the shelf in Tesco was just surreal and seeing it in the magazine was so amazing and I couldn’t stop smiling – it looks fantastic and I can’t wait to see my next story in print and how it will look.

The advice I can give to writers is that never, ever give up and keep writing and keep sending your stories out as one day you could see your name in print and you can feel very proud of yourself! And I will mention use the support of those around you, especially family and loved ones as they are your readers and your proof readers and really listen to their opinions as I really couldn’t have achieved what I have set out to do without their help and their support.

Congratulations on your first sales, Charlotte. I'm sure there will be more, especially if you follow your own excellent advice to keep writing and submitting.

You can find Charlotte's children's books here.

25 comments:

lionsshare said...

Congratulations Charlotte ! Well done and hope there are many more to come. I will look out for your story.

Marguerite said...

What a lovely positive story for us wannabees! Congratulations, Charlotte!

Jane Bettany said...

Well done, Charlotte. Seeing your work in print for the first time is a magical moment, never to be forgotten. Here’s to your continued success.

Penny A said...

Your advice about never giving up is excellent, Charlotte! Congratulations, and I'm sure you've been writing your next...
(And should you ever hear of any writers who are an 'overnight success', I think you can bet that it probably took them around 20 years :-)) Good luck!

ados123 said...

Congratulations, Charlotte. It's a wonderful feeling seeing your story in print!

Nicola Martin said...

What a lovely, uplifting post. Congrats, Charlotte!

Elizabeth McGinty said...

Many congratulations Charlotte and well deserved after never giving up on your dream.

New girl on the block said...

Love this post! So good to read something uplifting.

Julie Day said...

Congrats, Charlotte. I shall look out for your story. I too write ghost stories and have submitted to Yours Fiction. Yet to hear from them though.

Keith Havers said...

Well done, Charlotte. You did exactly the right thing by keeping at it. Just read The Pink Ball and really loved it. My story - Brief Encounters - is a few pages on from yours so we're magazine buddies.

Anonymous said...

Well done, Charlotte! Great news. I will look out for your story, and for your name appearing again in the future. Eirin Thompson

carrie said...

Well done, Charlotte! It is such a wonderful feeling seeing your story in print. I'll look forward to reading.

Charlie said...

Thank you! And I hope you enjoy the story.

Charlie said...

Thank you! Please never give up - my fingers are crossed for you.

Charlie said...

Thank you Jane - it was so magical and surreal, still can’t really believe it.

Charlie said...

Thank you Penny, I never thought it would happen and now got another acceptance - just makes me so proud and I finally achieved what I set out to do.

Charlie said...

Thank you - an incredible feeling.

Charlie said...

Thank you Nicola - just want to give those who feel like it will never happen, to keep positive.

Charlie said...

Thank you Elizabeth.

Charlie said...

Thank you!

Charlie said...

Thank you Julie. And good luck with your submission, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Charlie said...

Thank you Keith, I’m so glad you liked the story. I have read your story and its fantastic and beautifully written. Here’s to more success in the future.

Charlie said...

Thank you Eirin - hope you like the story and I’m hoping to have more submissions published in the future.

Charlie said...

Thank you Carrie - it’s such an amazing feeling, hope you enjoy it.

Charlie said...

And thank you Patsy for inviting myself to do this guest post - if it wasn’t for your support and help and all these lovely fellow writers we wouldn’t have a womanmag market. I think it’s congratulations to us all for never giving up!