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I'm an English teacher and a published poet and I say that your daughter is a real gem!
Thumbs way up!
Hi! I have tried a few times to become published, but am getting really tired of scam poetry contests and anthology offers. I do not want to be self published or in an anthology that I have to purchase. How did you get to become published? Do you have any advice? Some of my work can be seen on the games and trivia forum, in the gamers creative corner thread. I get a lot of compliments from the everyday person, put these poetry publishers always tell me the same thing, that my work isn't what they are looking for at this time.
Hi! I have tried a few times to become published, but am getting really tired of scam poetry contests and anthology offers. I do not want to be self published or in an anthology that I have to purchase. How did you get to become published? Do you have any advice? Some of my work can be seen on the games and trivia forum, in the gamers creative corner thread. I get a lot of compliments from the everyday person, put these poetry publishers always tell me the same thing, that my work isn't what they are looking for at this time.
Buy a copy of Poet's Market by Writer's Digest and start reading the listings. If you feel that a poem fits a certain publication, mail it.
However, you should hone your craft first by taking a writing workshop or creative writing class if you haven't already. Keep reading poetry and writing. Ask for feedback at times, but it's better to get feedback from editors. If they take the time to write an encouraging note on your rejection letters keep going!
Also, steer clear from most contests except for the larger ones such as Writer's Digest.
I received an honorable mention in that one and they are reputable...don't spend too much money on contests!
You might also want to subscribe to Poet's & Writers magazine or join a writer's group or organization like IWWG--they are really good for new writers.
You can learn a lot from talking to other writers.
Last edited by teacher-writer; 02-01-2008 at 05:25 PM..
Reason: typo
Buy a copy of Poet's Market by Writer's Digest and start reading the listings. If you feel that a poem fits a certain publication, mail it.
However, you should hone your craft first by taking a writing workshop or creative writing class if you haven't already. Keep reading poetry and writing. Ask for feedback at times, but it's better to get feedback from editors. If they take the time to write an encouraging note on your rejection letters keep going!
Also, steer clear from most contests except for the larger ones such as Writer's Digest.
I received an honorable mention in that one and they are reputable...don't spend too much money on contests!
You might also want to subscribe to Poet's & Writers magazine or join a writer's group or organization like IWWG--they are really good for new writers.
You can learn a lot from talking to other writers.
There are a lot of writer's blogs out there, too. And there is a difference between 'paid' and 'published' - getting published is great, but if you hope to make any money at it, forget poetry and concentrate on prose. I've had some poetry 'published' too, but the payment was in extra copies of whichever magazine published them. You can learn a lot from editor's comments, too - my favorite rejection letter [for a short poem] was three pages long!
Don't get me wrong, I love poetry and I love writing it, but it's personal satisfaction that is the payoff. I also have several mss I've been working on for far too long, but there are times when life really does get in the way, so my drive to be creative is limited somewhat to blogs, emails, and forums. Short and thoughtful things that assuage my desire to communicate.
You've gotten some good advice from karibear and teacher-writer. I'll just add my three cents plain.
If you aren't in a writing group, think about joining one. If you can't join one, see if you can start one. Also perhaps subscribe to Poets & Writers magazine - chock full of good articles, suggestions for writers, and many competition listings.
I've taken a few poetry workshops sponsored by Poet & Writers and found them invaluable. I've also lead some writing workshops, and learned as much as I taught. Lastly, feed-back, re-writes and exchange between and among like-minded writers is enormously supportive and helpful.
I don't know where you are in the Poconos, but I do know that the Honesdale Library has an active writing group. They recently sponsored a writers workshop/seminar in Hawley about "how to get published."
Quote:
Originally Posted by poconoproud
Hi! I have tried a few times to become published, but am getting really tired of scam poetry contests and anthology offers. I do not want to be self published or in an anthology that I have to purchase. How did you get to become published? Do you have any advice? Some of my work can be seen on the games and trivia forum, in the gamers creative corner thread. I get a lot of compliments from the everyday person, put these poetry publishers always tell me the same thing, that my work isn't what they are looking for at this time.
Hi! I have tried a few times to become published, but am getting really tired of scam poetry contests and anthology offers. I do not want to be self published or in an anthology that I have to purchase. How did you get to become published? Do you have any advice? Some of my work can be seen on the games and trivia forum, in the gamers creative corner thread. I get a lot of compliments from the everyday person, put these poetry publishers always tell me the same thing, that my work isn't what they are looking for at this time.
I meant to comment on the contests, etc, and got sidetracked.
Not all of the ones who require reader's fees are scams, a lot are legitimate, like Glittertrain. Some of the ones that require reader's fees use a percentage as the prize for the winner, in addition to getting published. Some are trying to run a publication on a shoestring, and they are called 'contests' so that if something really bad shows up that they don't want associated with them, they don't have to publish it, but it's very close to self-publishing, and is a lot cheaper than publishing your own book. Some really are just scams. The best way to find out which is which is Poet's Market. The best way to decide which publication you really want to go for is to buy some sample copies, either from a bookstore that carries that kind of thing, or directly from the publisher. Another good source is the New York Review of Books, not to be confused with the New York Times Book Review. NYRB also lists in every issue - or used to - upcoming deadlines for contests, and announcements of contests.
As for the anthologies, those are a whole different category. The better ones really do want you to buy their book, at a very high price, but if they like what you've written, they will publish it anyway with no committment from you. They will target you and try to get you to buy the anthology, buy a lovely framed copy of your poem, encourage you to sign up for a weekend in Las Vegas for the 'awards' banquet, and so on. But you don't HAVE to do any of that. And being in one of the anthologies counts as 'being published.' It's a limited win-win situation. You get published, they have another name to add to their database to impress potential investors, and one more name to sell to those who buy such lists.
The main thing to remember is that being a writer is only part of it. The other half is business, and if your eventual goal is to have a complete book of poetry published by a real publishing house, your best bet is to be a successful [not necessarily good] writer. Danielle Steele did it that way.
Thank you all for your responses and encouragement! I had become so tired of trying to get my poetry recognized, that I decided that the only way it would be was if I was a published author of a novel. That is what I have been working on since 2003. It is called Raining Steel - A War Story. I have had great feedback from everyone who reads it, and am working harder on that than on my poetry. I have also written two plays. I do not only want to be a published poet, I'd like to be a paid, published writer. I will take all of your suggestions and advise to heart. Thanks again!
You might feel inspired and optimistic knowing that one of my friends, young, energetic and talented with a masters, applied to one or two competitions a few years ago. She won in one of these few, was invited to receive recognition at an out of state event, and was approached by an agent. Three years later her hard work paid off: her book will be on our bookshelves this Fall. From start to finish I believe more than 6 years.
Hi! I have tried a few times to become published, but am getting really tired of scam poetry contests and anthology offers. I do not want to be self published or in an anthology that I have to purchase. How did you get to become published? Do you have any advice? Some of my work can be seen on the games and trivia forum, in the gamers creative corner thread. I get a lot of compliments from the everyday person, put these poetry publishers always tell me the same thing, that my work isn't what they are looking for at this time.
oh ...? let me put it this way, it took Steven king 4 years to published short story in national literature journals. poetry is a hard shall to crack. less then 1%get published. you should try joying your local poetry groups in your area you can start making literature world connections from there and then you may grow.
I meant to comment on the contests, etc, and got sidetracked.
Not all of the ones who require reader's fees are scams, a lot are legitimate, like Glittertrain. Some of the ones that require reader's fees use a percentage as the prize for the winner, in addition to getting published. Some are trying to run a publication on a shoestring, and they are called 'contests' so that if something really bad shows up that they don't want associated with them, they don't have to publish it, but it's very close to self-publishing, and is a lot cheaper than publishing your own book. Some really are just scams. The best way to find out which is which is Poet's Market. The best way to decide which publication you really want to go for is to buy some sample copies, either from a bookstore that carries that kind of thing, or directly from the publisher. Another good source is the New York Review of Books, not to be confused with the New York Times Book Review. NYRB also lists in every issue - or used to - upcoming deadlines for contests, and announcements of contests.
As for the anthologies, those are a whole different category. The better ones really do want you to buy their book, at a very high price, but if they like what you've written, they will publish it anyway with no committment from you. They will target you and try to get you to buy the anthology, buy a lovely framed copy of your poem, encourage you to sign up for a weekend in Las Vegas for the 'awards' banquet, and so on. But you don't HAVE to do any of that. And being in one of the anthologies counts as 'being published.' It's a limited win-win situation. You get published, they have another name to add to their database to impress potential investors, and one more name to sell to those who buy such lists.
The main thing to remember is that being a writer is only part of it. The other half is business, and if your eventual goal is to have a complete book of poetry published by a real publishing house, your best bet is to be a successful [not necessarily good] writer. Danielle Steele did it that way.
I must disagree strongly with this. Your Danielle Steel reference is okay in terms of popular fiction but there's no precedent for poetry that I can think of. No legitimate publisher will require you to buy a book in which your work appears. Small publishers may not have the funds to pay you in your work, but they will pay you in terms of a copy of your work. And if they are somehow attached to an awards banquet, well, I can't imagine they would be a legitimate publisher.
Poets do have awards presented to them but they have worked long and hard and are very well-known within the literary world and that is what awards are presented for.
You're absolutely right that poets write for love not money.
As for the OP, with regards to publishing poetry, you must read respected journals such as The Paris Review or Ploughshares. Google "literary magazines" for a more extensive list of quality journals. And read what contemporary poets are writing to get a sense of what is being published.
Writing classes can help but while a good writing class can make anyone write better, it can't give someone a talent that one might not possess. There is almost certainly a writers' association of some sort in your area. Join it. They have workshops and readings and will put you in touch with other writers and publishers of literary magazines.
What you do is you write for yourself, be your own worst critic instead of falling in love with everything you write, and never believe a word your friends say about your work unless they are published and respected writers.
Then you submit to little magazines, the kind that pays in copies until you start to build up a resume of publications, and in the process becoming a better poet. And then you submit to more prestigious magazines. And eventually, if you have talent, you will get a book deal with a small, but respectable literary press.
But the pay-off in poetry is not in dollars but in the pleasure of working with words. It's a calling not a career plan.
Here are a couple of links about writing scams: Seven Deadly Signs of Poetry Scams (http://ezinearticles.com/?Seven-Deadly-Signs-of-Poetry-Scams&id=229567 - broken link) What You Need to Know about Writing Scams
I must disagree strongly with this. Your Danielle Steel reference is okay in terms of popular fiction but there's no precedent for poetry that I can think of. No legitimate publisher will require you to buy a book in which your work appears. Small publishers may not have the funds to pay you in your work, but they will pay you in terms of a copy of your work. And if they are somehow attached to an awards banquet, well, I can't imagine they would be a legitimate publisher.
Poets do have awards presented to them but they have worked long and hard and are very well-known within the literary world and that is what awards are presented for.
You're absolutely right that poets write for love not money.
As for the OP, with regards to publishing poetry, you must read respected journals such as The Paris Review or Ploughshares. Google "literary magazines" for a more extensive list of quality journals. And read what contemporary poets are writing to get a sense of what is being published.
Writing classes can help but while a good writing class can make anyone write better, it can't give someone a talent that one might not possess. There is almost certainly a writers' association of some sort in your area. Join it. They have workshops and readings and will put you in touch with other writers and publishers of literary magazines.
What you do is you write for yourself, be your own worst critic instead of falling in love with everything you write, and never believe a word your friends say about your work unless they are published and respected writers.
Then you submit to little magazines, the kind that pays in copies until you start to build up a resume of publications, and in the process becoming a better poet. And then you submit to more prestigious magazines. And eventually, if you have talent, you will get a book deal with a small, but respectable literary press.
But the pay-off in poetry is not in dollars but in the pleasure of working with words. It's a calling not a career plan.
Here are a couple of links about writing scams: Seven Deadly Signs of Poetry Scams (http://ezinearticles.com/?Seven-Deadly-Signs-of-Poetry-Scams&id=229567 - broken link) What You Need to Know about Writing Scams
Danielle Steele came to mind because she did have a book of poetry published by the same house that handled her romances. An agent came to our local college, gave a workshop on the publishing business, and read some manuscripts. She was asked about the Steele poetry book, and she is the one who said it never would have happened if she didn't have that track record with all of the romances (up to that point). The last of the popularly published books of poetry I can recall were several by Rod McKuen - which probably dates me! I'm not all that sure I'd even call it poetry, though I liked it at the time.
There is or was a publishing house for poetry called Sparrowgrass or something like that, that accepted some - but far from all - poetry for their annual anthology, and encouraged everyone who had a poem in the anthology buy it and to attend an awards banquet in Las Vegas. But as I said, it wasn't mandatory. I've had one poem published in one of their anthologies and they did send me a free copy of the poem, just not the one I'd have had to pay for. Nor did I have to buy the anthology or commit to going to Las Vegas. While there are a lot more scams than otherwise, legititmate ones are out there. You just have to be careful to read all the fine print.
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