The WRITE Prompt had a chance to speak with Libby Taylor, a published poet, and author of the upcoming poetry chapbook, Ethereality.

Libby is currently at university studying English Literature and Creative Writing. She also works as a News Journalist for the award-winning newspaper, The Linc, and as a fiction editor for The Lincoln Review.

Her writing has been published globally in a range of literary journals and her first ever book, Ethereality, will be coming out on 11th November 2020. It is a poetry chapbook that explores life in all of its messy and beautiful ways.

If that weren’t enough, Libby is also in the midst of writing the first book of a young adult fantasy series, which (fingers crossed) will be finished by November.

She is always creating new ideas for short stories, poems, and books. Ethereality is just the first step of what she hopes is an amazing journey. You can connect with Libby on her website here, or via Facebook or Instagram.

TWP: What was your road to publishing like?

LIBBY: I have always wanted to publish my own book, but I first seriously thought about publishing my work during my second year of university. We had a module that focused on writers’ careers and how one can be published, so since then I have had some knowledge, and hope, to get my work published.

I began my ‘publishing journey’ by sending out poems to smaller literary journals to get my name out there and, to be honest, just do something with my work. I felt like I was insulting both myself and my writing by just keeping it locked away on a file on my laptop or in a notebook in my drawer.

Over lockdown, I had numerous poems, poetry collections, articles, and short stories published which was amazing! I decided to self-publish my poetry chapbook not too long after I discovered what chapbooks actually were.

Since I have started to focus on novel writing, I’ve wanted to publish a collection of poetry as my first book so I can move onto other projects (and come back to poetry on the side of course). I spent a long time looking for possible publishing houses that published chapbooks and I wasn’t really having much hope.

I felt like I was insulting both myself and my writing by just keeping it locked away on a file on my laptop or in a notebook in my drawer.

Publishers either weren’t accepting submissions for a very long time (a lot had a year wait) or the submission fee was something I wasn’t in a position to afford as a student, especially with submitting to multiple publishers. It was at this point I decided to just go for it and publish myself – I don’t see any problem with it and as I said before, I had learned about publishing at university so knew the basics of what I was doing.

I had always envisioned publishing traditionally, but publishing chapbooks through someone else would have been a long and pricey process for me at that time.

I hope to have my book series published traditionally, but I am more than aware of the struggle of getting your work noticed, so if it comes to it I will be happy to self-publish again – I already have the experience from my first book.

TWP: What is the most surprising source of inspiration you’ve ever had that led to a book idea or a scene?

LIBBY: To me, most of my inspiration for my writing hasn’t really been surprising. It mainly comes from walks in scenic places. A lot of the poems in my chapbook were inspired around the places I have lived or visited.

I also get inspiration from people – I love to tell as many stories as I can, whether it be my own or someone I have created in my head.

My favorite poem that I have written is about an old man in “The Old Man and His Memories” which is about appreciating life for what it is now, as one day you will wish to be back in those moments. My inspiration comes from the musings of life which I then turn into a story.

TWP: Do you have any favorite writing exercises or prompts to get the creative juices flowing?

LIBBY: I like to get my creative juices flowing by noting down a list of ideas for poems, for example. I will then pick one to start off with and begin writing literally anything. Even if it is rubbish, I will just get out what I can.

After this, I will either move on to another poem or have a cup of tea, then go back to the original poem and I usually then can create something from that. For me, it is just coming back again and again until I have written something I love.

This is also the same for my short stories and chapters of my book. No matter what, when I am writing I try not to think “will other people like this?” because I need to love it first. The best writing advice I have ever received is that if you don’t like it, other people won’t like it, if you love it, someone else out there will love it.

TWP: What do you do when you experience writer’s block or when you are struggling to create good material?

LIBBY: If I ever have writer’s block I firstly just plan out a poem, a story, or a chapter and then try and get whatever I can written down. If this doesn’t work I usually then sit down and listen to some music that relates to the mood of what I am trying to write and that generally works for me!

You just need to remember everyone gets writer’s block and struggles to get something written sometimes, but you don’t need to stress yourself out – just relax and it will eventually come to you.

TWP: Do you have any advice for other aspiring authors?

LIBBY: I think the best advice I could give to an author who wants to self-publish is to just not care what others think.

A big problem that people have with self-publishing is that they worry people won’t take them seriously, or they think they won’t do well. A lot of famous authors and poets started off self-publishing and then went on to be traditionally published, for example, Rupi Kaur.

For authors who want to stick to self-publishing, there are also hundreds of bestsellers that are self-published. It is nothing to be ashamed of. Personally, I would like to try and get my future projects traditionally published, but again, I am more than happy to self-publish.

The best writing advice I have ever received is that if you don’t like it, other people won’t like it, if you love it, someone else out there will love it.

You put in the exact same work as a traditionally published author, but along with the process of writing, editing, making the cover, marketing, pricing, etc, it can be a lot more work.

Lastly, my final advice is to just go for it! Don’t let anything hold you back because the longer you leave it, the longer your book is hidden away from someone who could love it. It is a hard, but a rewarding experience and I am really proud of myself for self-publishing my first ever book.

I am so excited for what this will bring me in the future, and I wish the best of luck to all the poets and authors who wish to self-publish and to those who want to be traditionally published.

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