Submitting Is the Hardest Thing to Do. . .In Poetry!

courtesy writingforward.com

Let’s face it, it is difficult to decide to submit your work, your poems, your babies out there to a careless, heartless, ruthless editor.  And what is worse is that ugly NO that comes back more often than not.

Here’s the thing, if you don’t let your poems out there into the world, no one will know how great you are, except you, and maybe a few friends.  To be honest, editors are not (normally) careless, heartless, or ruthless.  Most editors are dying for really good work to hit their inbox, and you could be hiding that poem that will rock their world from them.  I cannot begin to fathom how many magazines and journals are out there waiting for work.  Duotrope (great tool, but does cost $50 a year-worth it if you are going to really use it) might be able to help you a bit, or Poets & Writers for that matter, but I can talk about a few places that I think would be kind to you as you start or continue your journey into the publication world.

Let me start with the guy that I hands down think is the nicest EVER, Russell Streur, and his journal The Camel Saloon.  He has guidelines to follow as all of these will have, but he will also write you back quickly whether it is an acceptance or a rejection.  He also, on rare occasion offers information on new journals.  Big bonus he has a great list of other magazine to check out on the web.

Is your writing a bit dark, maybe twisted, or just simply strange.  Carnival Literary Magazine wants YOU and your work.  Currently the editors are Shannon and Jose Miguel.  I find the work on these pages refreshing and risk taking.  Nothing good happens without risk.

 

Next up Gutter Eloquence, founded and edited by Jack T. Marlowe.  This is a quarterly magazine ran by a darn good poet.  the work here is relevant, gritty, hard truths with powerful imagery, more often than not.  Send him work (when not on hiatus) that knock the proverbial socks off.

We all write about heart ache and heart-break, and Napalm and Novocain wants to hear all about it, in fresh imagery and poems that knock the wind out of the reader.  What is great about this press is Amy Huffman actually has several online magazines catering to different styles of poetry and flash fiction.  Write Haikus? There’s a place for you.  Write nature poems?  She’s got that covered too, and so much more.

Eunoia Review has a dear place in my heart, because when Kevin says he wants to help the new writer find a place, he means it.  This is the place that first accepted my work, over two years ago.  And Kevin continues to give new writers a place to call home.  Send to him, and he will respond with lightening speed.  Always kind, even when it’s a no.

Nice intelligent people, that love poetry, are not as hard to find as you would imagine.  Take for example Ariana Den Bleyker, who genuinely wants to bring new work to the public.  She does so through her press, and this journal, Emerge Literary Journal.  I should disclose that her New York Press, ELJ, is publishing my debut collection in October of this year.  How much more must I say to prove how nice editors can be?

 

Before you go off and start sending your work out, still make sure you read the magazines, and their guidelines.  The  quickest way to be rejected is to ignore guidelines.  Most (editors) won’t even read your work if you fail to follow those rules set by the magazines.

Happy Poeting Cats and Kittens.

 

 

All pictures from said magazine’s Websites

How to Submit Poetry for the Novice & Not So Novice Poets

Poetry is Hard

A lot of sites talk about Writers in a chunk, as though we all fall into the same category.  And we do to an extent, but poets do have a slightly different road to travel.  People do not understand how much time it takes to write a poem, to critique, to revise, to rewrite, to rewrite, to rewrite. Many of us publish a poem knowing it will never be done to our liking, and others publish a poem and keep editing even after its publication.  All this to say, for the purpose of this blog I am only talking to Poets!

When getting ready to submit your work for publication, I would first be sure that there are no grammatical, punctuation or spelling mistake that are not intended for the poem.  If they are there, it gives the editor a bad impression of the writer.  As an editor, I feel like, “they couldn’t even take time to proof-read  the work?”  Then Investigate the magazine and read some (we know you cannot read all) of the work that appears on/in its pages.  I cannot tell you how often I shake my head, when the magazine I edit for, that only takes prose poems, gets regular left aligned poems.  It is a disrespectful move that immediately tells the editor(s) that you not only did not read the magazine but also ignored the guidelines.

The basics of formatting:

• single spaced
• spacing between lines indicates a new stanza
• aligned left
• if you choose to align differently make it purposeful
• note odd spacing is difficult for editors if you do choose to use a non traditional align left space with tab bar, it makes life easier for the editor(s)
• one inch margins (many computers have 1.25″ margin, it is a simple fix)
  • I do not think this is a big deal for editors, but good to know
• bold title that adheres and adhere to title punctuation
• do not put title in all caps or italicize, both of those are a publisher’s decision
• do not include your name on individual poems unless specified by editor(s)

 Cover letter:

Some publishers don’t even want a cover letter, but some do.  If they do, or ask for email submissions, remember to be polite.  Seems like I should not have to say that.  Sadly it does have to be said.  If a publisher or editor asked for a cover letter, please make it more than a list of poems and your name.  Go with a simply friendly interaction that can be customized quickly for all your submitting needs.  Do your research, and mention something on the site that you loved, and why you think you will fit into their aesthetic.

• Intro – who you are & how you found out about the journal
• body – something you loved in their journal
• closing – thank you for taking the time to read your poems (list the poems in order they will see them)

The bio:

• Never been published before?
  • It is okay.  Make your bio short, and a little quirky.  BUT PLEASE STOP TELLING US that you have been writing since you picked up a pen.  It is not interesting and it does not let us know anything about you.
• Been published before.
  • That is great, now let’s have some compassion for the editors and the readers, both of which would like to tell you that we do not need to know every place you have been published, and every book that has published you.  A good rule of thumb (that I will admit to breaking on occasion) list 3 journals you have been published in and 2 most recent books, even if you have 8 books.  If you have awards, give them one.  This is your contributors bio, not the bio for your book

Seems like a lot of information, and tomorrow I’ll give you a couple of sites to try, if you are ready to make an attempt at submitting.  All places that were extremely ind to me when I began.

Happy Poeting Cats and Kittens!

Ringing Out the Year Like a Poet

Thanks to Eunoia Review, As a Poet, I am ending 2012 on a rather high note.

Please check out my poems, Little Girl Allergic to the Dark and The Haircut,  that appear on the site today, and for all my writer friends in this blogverse, considered submitting.  The response time is amazing.

Here is one of the poems, a prose poem at that:

Little Girl Allergic to the Dark

Posted on December 30, 2012

Just before sunset she starts to shake, her eyes glaze over, and sweat fills her brow. There are no prescription pills she can take. Her mother has tried many things, practicing Tao, herbal medicine, even called in a witch doctor, but still the convulsions followed sundown.

Her mother longs to swap places, but mothers cannot be allowed to live their children’s lives. So she does what she can; turns on the reading lamp, readjusts the closet light, and even leaves open the Frigidaire. It’s a small price to pay, wilted vegetables and curdled milk.