What To Do With This Great Poem I Just Wrote?
Stan Grimes
June 29, 2008
You've gone and done it. You've written one of the best poems in your life. You've poured your sweat and guts into this one and it's the biggest of the big ones. What's next? Do you print it up and place it in a picture frame for your family and friends to read? Do you send it in a Christmas card to all your loved ones? Or, do you wait for the next Thanksgiving Parade and stand at the podium, shared with the mayor of course, and read it to your fellow citizens?
All of those ideas might work, well maybe. Who knows? However, if you're like many poets you want to share your creation to the world. You want others to ponder the words you have written. We all admire the words of Maya Angelou. Her poems inspire millions. We would all love to have our poems admired by millions, at least thousands…all right I'll settle for hundreds.
How do we go about putting our poetry "out there?" Here are some thoughts. Go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and purchase the latest "Poetry Market" resource book. You can purchase "Poetry Market 2007" or order "Poetry Market 2008" by Nancy Breen and Erika O'Connor. These are fantastic resources. There are listings of over 1800 market places including magazines, book publishers, and anthology publishers seeking fresh and vital poems written by new and established poets. The "Poetry Market" series is published every year listing publishers' address, email addresses, phone numbers, and guidelines for submitting your poetry.
Please remember this very, very important rule, "find out what the publisher wants." Do not send a poem about your pet dog to a magazine seeking Erotica. Do not send your poem about the loss of your loved one to a magazine about Sports. In other words, know your market. Know what kind of poetry is being published. You can do this by reading a sample copy of a magazine to which you're interested in submitting. See what others are writing. You'll be pleased to know that some of these magazines are paying markets. Yes, they are willing to pay you for your creation if they accept it.
Let me mildly warn you, you doubtfully will get rich selling poetry, unless you're a young Robert Frost or Ezra Pound. Writing poetry is not a way of making a living unless you are used to living underneath bridges and living at rescue missions. However, an occasion dollar or two in the mail will possibly be a little extra motivation.
What about books of poetry you ask? The above-mentioned resource books also offers poetry publishers seeking books of poetry. If you can't afford to buy a "Poetry Market" book, there are several sources on the Internet offering resources to writers and poets. The few coming to mind are "Predators & Editors," "Piers Anthony," "Fiction Factor," and "Published.Com." These are just a few. Another possibility is go to your favorite search engine, e.g., Google, Dogpile, Yahoo, or Microsoft and search for small press publishers. Most publishers interested specifically in poetry are small independently owned houses. Again, "read" what these publishers publish.
One last tidbit of advice, many poetry publishers are like the sifting sand. They change frequently. Some shut their doors forever, some change their names, and still others merge with larger publishing houses. So, don't be discouraged if your poem comes back to you with "No Such Name At This Address." Or if your poem submitted through the email gets lost somewhere in the stars of cyberspace. It happens. I know. Believe me I know.
Finally, don't give up. You know you're a good poet, I know you're a good poet, but not everyone knows you're the greatest. Give yourself time to be accepted and recognized as the future poet laureate of your deserving country. Good luck and good writing.
All of those ideas might work, well maybe. Who knows? However, if you're like many poets you want to share your creation to the world. You want others to ponder the words you have written. We all admire the words of Maya Angelou. Her poems inspire millions. We would all love to have our poems admired by millions, at least thousands…all right I'll settle for hundreds.
How do we go about putting our poetry "out there?" Here are some thoughts. Go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and purchase the latest "Poetry Market" resource book. You can purchase "Poetry Market 2007" or order "Poetry Market 2008" by Nancy Breen and Erika O'Connor. These are fantastic resources. There are listings of over 1800 market places including magazines, book publishers, and anthology publishers seeking fresh and vital poems written by new and established poets. The "Poetry Market" series is published every year listing publishers' address, email addresses, phone numbers, and guidelines for submitting your poetry.
Please remember this very, very important rule, "find out what the publisher wants." Do not send a poem about your pet dog to a magazine seeking Erotica. Do not send your poem about the loss of your loved one to a magazine about Sports. In other words, know your market. Know what kind of poetry is being published. You can do this by reading a sample copy of a magazine to which you're interested in submitting. See what others are writing. You'll be pleased to know that some of these magazines are paying markets. Yes, they are willing to pay you for your creation if they accept it.
Let me mildly warn you, you doubtfully will get rich selling poetry, unless you're a young Robert Frost or Ezra Pound. Writing poetry is not a way of making a living unless you are used to living underneath bridges and living at rescue missions. However, an occasion dollar or two in the mail will possibly be a little extra motivation.
What about books of poetry you ask? The above-mentioned resource books also offers poetry publishers seeking books of poetry. If you can't afford to buy a "Poetry Market" book, there are several sources on the Internet offering resources to writers and poets. The few coming to mind are "Predators & Editors," "Piers Anthony," "Fiction Factor," and "Published.Com." These are just a few. Another possibility is go to your favorite search engine, e.g., Google, Dogpile, Yahoo, or Microsoft and search for small press publishers. Most publishers interested specifically in poetry are small independently owned houses. Again, "read" what these publishers publish.
One last tidbit of advice, many poetry publishers are like the sifting sand. They change frequently. Some shut their doors forever, some change their names, and still others merge with larger publishing houses. So, don't be discouraged if your poem comes back to you with "No Such Name At This Address." Or if your poem submitted through the email gets lost somewhere in the stars of cyberspace. It happens. I know. Believe me I know.
Finally, don't give up. You know you're a good poet, I know you're a good poet, but not everyone knows you're the greatest. Give yourself time to be accepted and recognized as the future poet laureate of your deserving country. Good luck and good writing.
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