Outlier Poem Submission Strategies

How to handle poems that fall outside of your usual stylistic choices

Photo by Daniel Tuttle on Unsplash

Last February I shared a poetry submission strategy that has helped me greatly increase the number of poems I have accepted by literary journals. I’m happy to share that the method still works! Combining the Power of Threes approach with research into simpatico journals—plus having more finished work to send out, the outcome of increasing my diligence in generating and revising work—resulted in my having more poems accepted in 2022 than in any other single year. So, yay, it works!

The first step is:

• Create packets of 3 poems each (because most journals want between 2-5, and there’s no reason to send more than 3 poems unless absolutely required)

• Read the next two steps here.

In step one, I take a thoughtful approach to grouping poems, matching poems tonally and/or stylistically, sometimes by motif, imagery, POVs, or a particular approach to language. I try to group poems by theme or emotional quality—poems that include ecological phenomena, for example, or stories about people, or a meditative quality. 

I consider the poems’ style, too, grouping those with more "standard" choices— straightforward, narrative, etc.—separate from those that push the boundaries of language and form, that might be considered more "experimental."

But what about the outliers?

What do we do with poems that don’t fit with others—poems in which, for whatever reason, we took a wildly different approach to language, form, etc.?

This was the gist of a question I got from a member of the Poet to Poet community this week:

“‘[POEM]’ is unlike any other poems that I think are ready to go out in the world. Should I (i) hold onto it for awhile first, see if I write anything else like it, (ii) send it out solo, or (iii) send it out with two to four more poems that are unlike it?”

If we're writing beyond our habits, pushing beyond our default processes, trying new approaches, making poems fresh—as this writer certainly is—we are going to end up with a few outliers that are different stylistically, etc., from the majority of our work. IMHO this is NOT a problem. At all. It's a sign of vitality.

Options for orphans

This poet could wait to see if other poems like it emerge, but only if that seems likely to happen very soon. Even if poems like the outlier did start pouring out, say in the next month, there would still be a revision process which, as we know, can take months or years. Meanwhile, the poor orphan poem won’t be circulating in the world where it belongs. Generally I don’t recommend waiting.

What about sending it out solo? Sure. It might be a poem to send out to single-poem contests or to journals requesting submissions of just one poem (I've run into a few of these). It’s an option.

I recommend looking at the poem again. See if there’s a loose link to other poems through a motif or its imagery, POV, or theme. Even if it looks very different on the page, there may be a thematic tie (poems of loss, awe, or relationships, for example). 

Bottom line: Trust that all of your poems contain your imprint, your voice. Don't worry too much about other variables in the poems. 

How do you handle grouping poems in submissions? Share in the comments.

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The Poets Circle: Drop-in Conversations

FEBRUARY: Infinite Doorways: On Knowing Your Generative Style

Feb 1, 6-7pm MT & Feb 15, 12-1pm MT

How do poems emerge? Which aspects of poetic writing—images, sounds, metaphors, etc—are most generative for you? What keeps you opening new doors?

MARCH: The Problem of Themes

March 1, 6-7pm MT & March 15, 12-1pm MT

Is a thematic approach to writing poetry helpful or harmful for your process? Should you consider themes prior to putting a book together? How do themes emerge and play out in your work? How do themes manifest in the works of others?