The (Half) Stars Have Aligned

Ask the Author: Courtney Peppernell

“Ask me a question.” Courtney Peppernell

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Hi!, I absolutely adore your work, your poems pull at my heartstrings enough to make them offer changes in me but not break. My question surrounds how you went about first publishing your poetry, I am a poet also and one day perhaps would love to publish my work. Do you have any tips on how to get started with copyright, etc?
Courtney Peppernell Hi Danah, I started in self-publishing. It's a great place to start as it teaches you a lot about the industry. It's sort of like, if you open a restaurant, the great owners/bosses know how to do everything-cook, manage, wait, clean etc they know every part of their business. It makes them understanding and better problem solvers. That's what being a good author is like. You need to know what goes into cover art, formatting, editing, marketing, not just the writing itself. Because there are many things to consider when publishing a book. I would share your work on social media too, it's a great way to connect with the poetry community and find an audience for your work! Best of luck on the journey, stay true to your voice and keep going :)
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what helped you go from writing poetry (like the love of it) to actual success? and how do you motivate yourself through the difficult times? :)
Courtney Peppernell Honestly, I never started writing poetry with the goal of success in mind. I wrote because it was how I made sense of my emotions, how I processed things like heartbreak, love, grief, healing and growing up. I think what helped me move from just loving it to actually turning it into a career was consistency and connection. I kept showing up for poetry even when no one was reading it. And then slowly, over time, people did start reading it. And they found it relatable. That's when everything started to grow. As for the difficult times, I have had plenty!! Writing can be really lonely. Success is up and down and all around. You have wonderful times, horrible times and then very ordinary times. But I remind myself of why I started. I write for the one person who needs to read something on their worst day. I write for the younger me, who needed to hear something hopeful. You just have to remember the why and it helps you to keep pushing forward! :)
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Courtney Peppernell
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