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Can I get published? Please help!


  • writeroftoast
    Dec 2 6:05 PM 2008
    Reply
    I really need criticism here. I've been writing poems since I was a little kid, and my poetry has grown substantially in that time. What I am wondering is:

    Am I good enough to get published?

    Nothing big, no best-selling book of poems across the world kind of thing, but published in a magazine or compilation of poems. Please read a couple of my poems on my profile please. Layers is a good example of my style of poetry, so read that one to get a feel of my skill if you would be so kind.

    I wouldn't ask, but many comments left on my poems are horribly positive. I want criticism people! Be tasteful, but be honest. It would be greatly appreciated.

    -Thanks

  • Papagallo
    December 2, 2008 ↑
    Reply

    Poet's Market

    Try and buy or borrow a Poet's Market. Browse through it and see if u can find a place for your work. That is a good way to start. Good luck, but be careful of vanity presses.

  • wbiro
    December 17, 2008 ↑
    Reply
    I think that once you have reached a certain artistic level, then getting published and gaining celebrity is a matter of jostling, politics, and luck... of course you won't be writing anything during that time...!

  • wbiro
    December 18, 2008 ↑
    Reply
    The question is not "are you're good enough to get published", the question is "do you fill a public need" (which answers the question "can your work make a profit for the publisher")- for example, if there is a large paying kindergarten audience out there that no one is writing for, and you just happen to fill that void, then...

    On the other hand, if you are vying for the same audiences or aspects of audiences as everyone else, then you are in a crowd of thousands vying for the last seat on a subway car...




  • Kakkorot13
    May 13 ↑
    Reply
    Poet's market is basically the bible of publishing, check it out. Anyone can get published regardless of skill level. If publishers do not like your style you could just make your own web page.

  • patriciarose07
    May 18 ↑
    Reply
    I agree with Kakkorot as I have made my own web page and put my poetry on it for others to view if they wish.

  • Mairi bheag
    July 27 ↑
    Reply
    Standard reply, cut and pasted half a dozen times tonight:

    Spend time and money buying poetry magazines, see what they are publishing, consider whether your poems fit in. Then keep writing, and keep submitting, but bear in mind that only about 2% of all creative writing ever makes it into print.

    Poetry magazines is the way to go, because practically no one who hasn't built up a reputation that way ever gets a collection published.

    Adding:

    A web site is a good thing too - I have one myself - it was free (but I had the option of paying to lose the ads).

  • GinryuStargazer
    July 27 ↑
    Reply

    With Mairi bheag

    Absolutely correct; start out with magazines. That can get you known.

  • I-Am-Custard
    July 29 ↑
    Reply
    I got published with one poem in a magazine, and I only sent stuff out to 3 different ones. It's not very difficult if you're sending to the right places.

    just make sure you pay close attention to the submission guidelines and that your writing fits the publication. Just googling 'poetry magazines' will get you a good list to apply to.

    Aesthetica is a good one to go for. They get published in a few big chain stores, so you'll be read... Other than that, google away.

  • Poetrist
    August 17 ↑
    Reply
    Can you still write a poetry book even though your work is here on AP?

  • babygall
    August 26 ↑
    Reply

    Inspiringnewpoets.com helps poets to publish real books

    I discovered thisnew poetry website at inspiringnewpoets.com. They publish poetry books every month and if you want your poem to be in any edition, you pay $10 for five poems and they will mail the book to you when it is published.

  • uldiah
    October 16 ↑
    Reply
    If I have posted a work on Allpoetry.com, is it considered "previously published"? Can I still submit it to magazines?

    • just mercedes
      November 3 ↑
      Reply
      Yes, visible online is considered 'published' by most magazines/journals. You can delete the poem, change title, edit and make revisions etc and say it has been 'workshopped' online and very few readers have seen it. Good luck!

  • RikkiRae
    October 25 ↑
    Reply
    Anyone, no matter how brilliant or how abominable their poetry is, can self publish, that is pay a printer or small publishing house to print your poems. There are many printing companies that specialise in exactly that.

    To me publishing in such a format does not make them a published poet. I believe that one must submit their work to a recognised publishing house and they accept it for print and distribution.

  • Stuart Higginson
    November 2 ↑
    Reply
    uldiah: I have pondered this myself, and I think the answer is "yes"; some publishers / magazines and such publishing outlets stipulate your work must not be online/in e-zines, self-published or published anywhere before, when sent to them. The only way around this, is to remove (from the internet) the poems you are intending to submit to the publisher, at the time you are ready to send them.

  • Stuart Higginson
    November 2 ↑
    Reply
    RikkiRae: I know what you mean, but at the same time, it's a generalisation that gives instant grandeur to those published by professional publishing houses, over the poet who chooses for a multitude of reasons (and there are many reasons for self-publishing) to opt for SP.

    Sure, it's the way to go if you're after the grandeur of having your books on bookshelves in major retailers across the country, if perhaps you want to have a better chance of a good income from it (or better than the chances most self-published poets have, considering the fact that poetry doesn't sell as vastly these days), and if a poet feels the need for a prestigious publishing house to tell them their work is the new voice of an era, as a few examples. Of course, for most poets, to be published by the recognised and reputable houses is the ultimate aspiration, and to have the greatest and widest reaching readership possible ... for their works to endure long after they, the author, die. Yet there are many reasons as to why one might self-publish, and it's not always about having been turned down by professional houses. Creative control, small scale production, wanting to bring a collection out for a certain purpose within a specific time etc., are reasons for self-publication. There are also SP poets who actually make a good go of their efforts, though must put in a lot of effort on the marketing side.

    It's a "horses for courses" thing though. Yet I am sure many of us can say we have bought/read works by poets published and endorsed by the big houses, however, whose words/style just did not resonate with us, while there are excellent poets online, branded "amateurs" because of the prejudice against SP poets and unpublished poets.

    The import lies on the poetry, and the poet, not the publisher, packaging, price-tag (et al), as we must always consider, too, poets who did not/do not take the route of publishing in their own lifetime ... those whose works are discovered/published posthumously (like in the case of Janet Frame). Stephen Fry writes poetry (and brought out a very witty, excellent and informative guide to poetry called The Ode Less Travelled) but his poems are not collated for the purpose of publication, merely for his own satisfaction. The lyricist to the singer and composer "Enya", Roma Ryan, is a wonderful poet and one of my favourites, who self-published some of her own work in the book "Water Shows The Hidden Heart" as an inclusion in the Deluxe Edition of Enya's "Amarantine" album (the book now being very hard to obtain copies of without resorting to e-bay and the ilk).

    There are some wonderful poets among us on AP, such as Night Hope and Nicolette, who have published their own ~ this to me does not detract from their right to be known as poets or published poets at that.

    With the SP industry on the rise, and more new means becoming available all the time, I think the boundaries between the two are blurring.

    (Hope I've provided something interesting for the debate!)


  • Stuart Higginson
    November 2 ↑
    Reply
    **What does really get my goat though, is when you stumble on here, to find profiles whose creators have self-published, and blurb about it arrogantly and shamelessly as if they were next in line to become Poet Laureate ... then you browse the poems they've posted here, to find a thousand cliches, endless typos and atrocious demonstrations of "spelling" and "English". The worst ones being those who look down on others, or give misleading and unhelpful - even hurtful - "critiques" that have who-knows-what kind of affect on the recipient.

    A good writer should also be a good editor (especially if they've nobody suitable to edit for them), if they are to stand a chance of producing a credible book/collection through the medium of self-publishing. When this is accomplished, I see no reason as to why they should not be regarded with due merit and respect ~ the aforementioned types, however, are those who perpetuate the disdain that often stigmatizes the SP field.

  • poetwind
    November 12 ↑
    Reply

    Indigo Dreams Press

    Indigo Dreams Press have 3 poetry magazines - monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly plus competitions plus anthologies plus a self-publishing service.
    www.indigodreamsonline.com
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