Publishing while working for the Civil Service

LegacyUser

Going unreg for this even though its not embarrassing, but I'd rather not have my real life identity tracked down to my boards.ie account.

I'm a civil servant, and have been for about two years. I've also been a writer for a long time, and have had articles published in newspapers, magazines etc. The thing is, that was before I got my current job, and I'm working on something much longer at the moment. My first novel is a fantasy set in 1938 Ireland. There's nothing overtly "political" in the thing, but I'm concerned that, assuming I can sell it, there might be issues with me releasing it while working for the civil sevice.

I've signed documents for work that say I wont publish anything without approval from higher up, but there is no clarification on if this is just political pieces, or if general fiction is outside its scope. Should I even go asking permission when I don't even have an offer yet? Would it not be extremely bad form to submit a manuscript for consideration and then once they accept it tell them I need to get permission?

I've considered just submitting it under a pseudonym but I have no idea how that might play out.

Any civil servants (or anyone else!) here who can weigh in on this?

Red Hand

PaperbackWriter wrote: »

Going unreg for this even though its not embarrassing, but I'd rather not have my real life identity tracked down to my boards.ie account.

I'm a civil servant, and have been for about two years. I've also been a writer for a long time, and have had articles published in newspapers, magazines etc. The thing is, that was before I got my current job, and I'm working on something much longer at the moment. My first novel is a fantasy set in 1938 Ireland. There's nothing overtly "political" in the thing, but I'm concerned that, assuming I can sell it, there might be issues with me releasing it while working for the civil sevice.

I've signed documents for work that say I wont publish anything without approval from higher up, but there is no clarification on if this is just political pieces, or if general fiction is outside its scope. Should I even go asking permission when I don't even have an offer yet? Would it not be extremely bad form to submit a manuscript for consideration and then once they accept it tell them I need to get permission?

I've considered just submitting it under a pseudonym but I have no idea how that might play out.

Any civil servants (or anyone else!) here who can weigh in on this?

Well, one of Ireland's most famous writers was Brian O Nolan and he was a civil servant (he rose to a senior position in his later years). Again, there was a rule about not publishing stuff while being a civil servant, but he got around that by writing every day in the Irish Times under the pen name Myles na gCapaleen (and that column ran very successfully for over 20 years). He wrote in a Leinster paper under the pseudynum George Knowall, and he published novels under the name Flann o Brian.

Also, Hugh Leonard is the penname of Jack Keynes, a writer who started out as a civil servant in the Land Commission of the civil service.

Zillah

Can't you publish under a pseudonym?

Marcus.Aurelius

You would be better off asking a line manager than a Sec Gen anyway!

I agree with Zillah, a pseudonym is a good idea. You need to check your contractual obligations in case the pseduonym doesn't work out in any case.

Brian Capture

Hugh Leonard is a bollocks.

Silverfish

Brian Capture wrote: »

Hugh Leonard is a bollocks.

Banned for a week.

spurious

Ask up the line. I can't see any problem unless the subject of your writing is in some way connected with the work you do, but I'm not in a position to say - your managers will be.

Chips Lovell

Not exactly the same thing, but I wrote freelance for a national newspaper while I was still in the Civil Service. My boss at the time, an AP, told me it was fine as long I wasn't writing about anything connected to the department's sector. I can't imagine there would be a problem with publishing fiction, but if it were me I'd check with your line manager if you were offered a book deal.