Excellent! There's something holding me back a bit. I've a spreadsheet, I've packets, I've a poet's statement...I don't think I am divining, by reading journals, etc., which eyes want to read my work, though the spreadsheet helped find who are the stronger possibilities. I love that you replace "fit" with "resonate." Words matter.
I'm working on a book description this month for my debut collection. Using your descriptions as inspiration and trying to triangle in my zone of creative genius. Thanks for sharing your work with the world!
These two keys are very smart, and I see how they crucially fit together. Re: whose work yours is in conversation with, I look in the acknowledgments of books I especially like and think align with my poetry, then go digging in the journals listed there. I’m not too keen on “theoretical” summaries of my poetry, but I’ll take a stab at writing one.
I feel I must point out there’s in fact a third key to success in the poetry world: have money to spare to pay the fees for an endless litany of submissions, contests, fellowship apps, and workshop seats ($155 for two hours?). Some of us give up because we’re just broke and, after a while, subsidizing other people’s success grates on us.
Spend wisely is my advice. Most workshops, contest fees, etc. do not bring us closer to publishing, which is why it is so crucial to have a strategy. The two keys above will save you a lot of time, money. Together, they help you focus the funds you decide to invest on the opportunities that align with your work. It's interesting ... I don't see as many folks complaining about fees for publishing workshops in other genres. Hmm. I don't know about you, but I work several jobs, often seven days a week, to support a family. I'm not complaining, but I often encounter the expectation that poetry and all things poetry-related should be free. The good news: Much of it is. This publication is free. And many poetry publishers are working to reduce or do away with fees for those who cannot afford them. My advice is to appreciate what's available at no cost (so much!) and double down on the time you have to develop your work and your own sense of those two keys. Let us know how it goes.
“Poetry doesn’t pay,” the old saw goes. I think folks don’t complain about workshop fees in the other genres because there’s some kind of expectation they will eventually make some income in them — not a living, per se, but something — while all that 99.9% of poets, even those who succeed in publishing books, can expect is that they’ll only ever pay in, never cash out. At least, that’s what I’ve heard from other poets for over twenty years: “You will probably make a net loss on your poetry books, after all’s said and done.”
I’m not saying you’re not entitled to charge as you see fit for your workshops. If people pay $155 for a seat, heck, more power to you! I can only admire that you do all this while working jobs and raising a family. For various reasons, I’m homeless, broke, intermittently employed. One reason was, after finishing my MFA, I threw myself into my writing life with high hope and not much realism. I’ve never been able to balance writing with employment. For instance, I can’t write at all while teaching, which hurts because I love both. I dunno, I just felt I had to point out that the poetry world is stacked in favor of the wealthy, the leisured, and the folks with bottomless stamina.
Excellent! There's something holding me back a bit. I've a spreadsheet, I've packets, I've a poet's statement...I don't think I am divining, by reading journals, etc., which eyes want to read my work, though the spreadsheet helped find who are the stronger possibilities. I love that you replace "fit" with "resonate." Words matter.
I may need to rethink and rewrite my "statement" and learn what I'm missing!
I'm working on a book description this month for my debut collection. Using your descriptions as inspiration and trying to triangle in my zone of creative genius. Thanks for sharing your work with the world!
These two keys are very smart, and I see how they crucially fit together. Re: whose work yours is in conversation with, I look in the acknowledgments of books I especially like and think align with my poetry, then go digging in the journals listed there. I’m not too keen on “theoretical” summaries of my poetry, but I’ll take a stab at writing one.
I feel I must point out there’s in fact a third key to success in the poetry world: have money to spare to pay the fees for an endless litany of submissions, contests, fellowship apps, and workshop seats ($155 for two hours?). Some of us give up because we’re just broke and, after a while, subsidizing other people’s success grates on us.
Spend wisely is my advice. Most workshops, contest fees, etc. do not bring us closer to publishing, which is why it is so crucial to have a strategy. The two keys above will save you a lot of time, money. Together, they help you focus the funds you decide to invest on the opportunities that align with your work. It's interesting ... I don't see as many folks complaining about fees for publishing workshops in other genres. Hmm. I don't know about you, but I work several jobs, often seven days a week, to support a family. I'm not complaining, but I often encounter the expectation that poetry and all things poetry-related should be free. The good news: Much of it is. This publication is free. And many poetry publishers are working to reduce or do away with fees for those who cannot afford them. My advice is to appreciate what's available at no cost (so much!) and double down on the time you have to develop your work and your own sense of those two keys. Let us know how it goes.
“Poetry doesn’t pay,” the old saw goes. I think folks don’t complain about workshop fees in the other genres because there’s some kind of expectation they will eventually make some income in them — not a living, per se, but something — while all that 99.9% of poets, even those who succeed in publishing books, can expect is that they’ll only ever pay in, never cash out. At least, that’s what I’ve heard from other poets for over twenty years: “You will probably make a net loss on your poetry books, after all’s said and done.”
I’m not saying you’re not entitled to charge as you see fit for your workshops. If people pay $155 for a seat, heck, more power to you! I can only admire that you do all this while working jobs and raising a family. For various reasons, I’m homeless, broke, intermittently employed. One reason was, after finishing my MFA, I threw myself into my writing life with high hope and not much realism. I’ve never been able to balance writing with employment. For instance, I can’t write at all while teaching, which hurts because I love both. I dunno, I just felt I had to point out that the poetry world is stacked in favor of the wealthy, the leisured, and the folks with bottomless stamina.
Emily Stoddard collects info for submitting manuscripts including many fee-free choices: https://poetrybulletin.substack.com/p/2025-poetry-book-publishing-trends
Thank you!