Public domain photograph of American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) This image was made in 1887 in New York, by photographer George C. Cox. The image is said to have been Whitman’s favorite from the photo-session; Cox published about seven images for Whitman, who so admired this image that he even sent a copy to the poet Tennyson in England.
This is a much expanded version of an old post. In light of so many working on novels for [inter]National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it seems a good idea to explore this topic again.
To self-publish or not: It’s an important consideration. Some people are against it. They seek out agents and publishers and we can’t blame them. There’s validation and credibility there. Maybe though, we should weigh our circumstances and the nature of our book before making a decision.
I have an elderly friend who has struggled for years to get a book published by an academic press. She’s a good writer and it’s a good book, expertly researched. Because her subject will appeal to the unique interest of a narrow population, an easily targeted audience, I suspect she might find her perspective readers and they her without too much trouble. This would bring her enormous pleasure and no doubt would please her prospective audience as well. As it is, she’s not open to self-publishing. The gift of her book is languishing in a file drawer where, given her circumstances and the nature of her book, it is likely to stay.
No matter how we feel about self-publishing books and those publishers we once called “vanity press,” one thing’s for sure, if we are blogging and/or posting our poems on Facebook, we’re already self-publishing. And why not? If we don’t believe in ourselves, who else will? (I rarely post a poem to Facebook, not because I think it’s bad but because the visual aesthetic – or rather lack of – doesn’t appeal to me.)
Frontispiece from Common Sense first edition, 1776
We writers have long and principled tradition of self-publishing that didn’t wait for blogging technology or Amazon self-publish, CreateSpace or Lulu. The American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) and the first edition of his Leaves of Grass always comes to mind when I think of self-published work. There’s also the English-American “pamphleteer” – Thomas Paine (1737-1809) – who anonymously self-published Common Sense, an American pro-independence monograph. It was a best-seller in its day.
Self-publishing is a tradition that spans the globe and started long before Paine and Whitman. Self-published books have been known to sell well, to get picked up by publishers and to win awards. My only suggestion would be to find a good editor to work with you. We all need an editor – a second set of eyes – to ensure logic, flow, and accuracy.
Here for hope and inspiration is a partial list of books that started out self-published:
No Thanks, e.e. cummings
Still Alice, Lisa Genova
My Blood Approves, Amanda Hocking
Dust, Hugh Howey
Eragon, Christopher Paolini
Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
The Celestine Prophecy, An Adventure, James Redfield
The Riyria Revelations, Michael J. Sullivan
Ten Tiny Breaths, K.A. Tucker
Damaged, H.M. Ward
Started self-publishing after being traditionally published:
“In 2011 I decided it was time to start publishing my own books. The digital revolution had made that possible with retailers like Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Google and Kobo opening their doors to authors. I formed Fog City Publishing and became my own publisher. It’s been a thrilling few years since then. I’ve sold over 7 million books since going out on my own. I hit #1 on the NY Times Bestseller List with my novel Summer Secrets and since then twenty-two other titles have hit both the NYT and USA Today Bestseller Lists. In July 2014, I was named the Amazon KDP Bestselling Author of All Time! Did I say it’s been a thrilling few years?” Barbara Freethy (Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Romance, and Romantic Suspense / four star reads.) Read more HERE.
The women and men at their devices …
In fine Whitmanesque publishing tradition
Put out newfangled electronic edition
A word symphonic record to leave behind
Carefully tweaked, tempered and timed
Baring witness to love, history, and crime
All good-natured, well-reasoned, and rhymed
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read byNorthern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”
“How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.
‘So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloud shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you.” Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
Opportunity Knocks
ABOUT PLACE JOURNAL, a literary journal of the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, will open a call for submissions of poetry, essarys, creative nonfiction and artwork on January 1, 2019. Theme: Dignity as an Endangered Species: Maintain Respect, Honesty and Integrity in the 21st Century. Deadline: March 1, 2019. Details HERE.
CHERRY TREE, A national Literary Journal @ Washington College publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and literary shade and will reopen for submissions on August 1, 2019. Mark your calendar. Details HERE.
DANCEHALL POETRY has an open call through November 14 for submissions of work on dance halls. Details HERE.
THE EMMA PRESS has an open call for Gothic poems. Deadline: 9 November. Details HERE.
HEAD STUFF has an open call for poetry in several categories: poem of the week (continuous submission); new voices (emerging poets under thirty), unbound (a sequence of poems from one author); and, contributing articles. Deadlines vary among the categories. Details HERE.
THE MALAHAT REVIEW publishes poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Paying market. Details HERE.
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRESS has an open call for prose poems for its 2020 The Australian Prose Poetry Anthology. Deadline: 1 March 2019. Details HERE.
TERRAPIN BOOKS has an open call for submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts from January 24 – February 28, 2019. Demographic restriction: U.S. only. Reading Fee: $12. Details HERE.
THURSTON HOWL PUBLICATIONS is accepting submissions for an anthogy series on furry creatures. Theme: Bunnies. Deadline: January 1, 2019. Details HERE. Scroll down.
THURSTON HOWL PUBLICATIONS is accepting submissions for an anthology series on furry creatures. Theme: Even Furries Hate Nazis. Deadline: February 15, 2019. Details HERE. Scroll down.
THURSTON HOWL PUBLICATIONS is accepting submissions for an anthology series on furry ceatures. Theme: Bears. Deadline: June 30, 2019. Details HERE. Scroll down.
WISHING UP PRESS has an open call for submissions for its Re-Creating Our Common Group, A Wishing Up Anthology and Listening Project, which will include stories, memoir, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Deadline: February 1, 2019. Details HERE.
THE WRITE LAUNCH is a monthly online publication offering short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, short novella, and novel chapters. Submission fee: $5. Details HERE.
Response deadline is Monday, November 5, at 8 p.m. Pacific. Poems on theme are published on this site on Tuesday, the November 6. Details HERE.
The BeZine
Call for submissions for the December issue.
THE BeZINE, Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be. Submissions for the December issue – themed A Life of the Spirit – close on November 10 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific .
Please send text in the body of the email not as an attachment. Send photographs or illustrations as attachments. No google docs or Dropbox or other such. No rich text. Send submissions to bardogroup@gmail.com.
Publication is December 15th. Poetry, essays, fiction and creative nonfiction, art and photography, music (videos or essays), and whatever lends itself to online presentation is welcome for consideration.
No demographic restrictions.
Please read at least one issue. We DO NOT publish anything that promotes hate, divisiveness or violence or that is scornful or in any way dismissive of “other” peoples.
December 2018 issue, Deadline has been extended to November 30. Theme: A Life of the Spirit
The BeZine is an entirely volunteer effort, a mission. It is not a paying market but neither does it charge submission or subscription fees.
Previously published work may be submitted IF you hold the copyright. Submissions from beginning and emerging artists as well as pro are encouraged and we have a special interest in getting more submissions of short stores, feature articles, music videos and art for consideration.
COMPETITIONS
Opportunity Knocks
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PRESS 2021 Miller Williams Poetry Prize calls for entry of manuscripts between sixty and ninety pages. Judge: Billy Collins. Entry fee: $28. Deadline: September 30, 2019. Details HERE.
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PRESS 2020 CantoMundo Poetry Prize calls for entry of manuscripts between forty-eight and ninety pages. Judges: Deborah Paredez and Celese Mendoza. Entry fee: $28. Deadline: April 15, 2019. Details HERE.
“Thank you poets of the world for your great spirit and commitment to justice!” 100TPC Cofounder, Michael Rothenberg, November 2, 2018
Accessible anytime from anywhere in the world:
The Poet by Day always available online with poems, poets and writers, news and information.
The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, online every week (except for vacation) and all are invited to take part no matter the stage of career or status. Poems related to the challenge of the week (always theme based not form based) will be published here on the following Tuesday.
The Poet by Day, Sunday Announcements. Every week (except for vacation) opportunity knocks for poets and writers. Due to other weekend commitments, this post will often go up late.
THE BeZINE, Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be – always online HERE.
Beguine Again, daily inspiration and spiritual practice – always online HERE. Beguine Again is the sister site to The BeZine.
YOUR SUNDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS may be emailed to thepoetbyday@gmail.com. Please do so at least a week in advance.
If you would like me to consider reviewing your book, chapbook, magazine or film, here are some general guidelines:
send PDF to jamiededes@gmail.com (Note: I have a backlog of six or seven months, so at this writing I suggest you wait until June 2018 to forward anything.Thank you!)
nothing that foments hate or misunderstanding
nothing violent or encouraging of violence
English only, though Spanish is okay if accompanied by translation
your book or other product should be easy for readers to find through your site or other venues.
TO CONTACT ME WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION FOR THE POET BY DAY: thepoetbyday@gmail.com
TO CONTACT ME REGARDING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE BeZINE: bardogroup@gmail.com
PLEASE do not mix the communications between the two emails.
Often information is just that–information– and not necessarily recommendation. I haven’t worked with all the publications or other organizations featured in my regular Sunday Announcements or other announcements shared on this site. Awards and contests are often (generally) a means to generate income, publicity and marketing mailing lists for the host organizations, some of which are more reputable than others. I rarely attend events anymore. Caveat Emptor: Please be sure to verify information for yourself before submitting work, buying products, paying fees or attending events et al.
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read byNorthern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”
“Unplug yourself from the hurly-burly of life on a regular basis so your subconscious has time to make some good compost.” Susan Burmeister-Brown, Interview with Susan Burmeister-Brown, Every Writer
Linda Swanson-Davies and Susan Burmeister-Brown, two sisters who co-founded and co-edit the well-regarded 28-year-old short story magazine, Glimmer Train, have announced on the site that they will read through May 2019 and publish a last issue in October 2019. Given the esteem this magazine holds in the minds and hearts of readers, writers, and the publishing industry, it seems proper to feature their final calls in a separate post from regular Sunday Announcements.
I’m sure we’re all sorry to see the end of Glimmer Train but we thank Susan and Linda for their years of service and wish them well.
Currently open in Glimmer-Train:
Sept/October 2018 Short Story Award for New Writers closes on November 10, 2018. Entry fee: $18.
Standard Submission closes on November 20, 2018. Reading fee: $2.
Nov/Dec 2018 Family Matters contests closes on January 2, 2019. Entry fee: $18.
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and the associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The River Journal,The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
I’m ankle-deep in the exercise of this year’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I always find it an interesting experience to write a poem on the same day that I work on a fiction, which is not to imply that they are not both truthful. However, the processes are different. As Umberto Eco pointed out – with a poem you go where the words take you and with a fiction you go where the story takes you. I’ve also had the experience of writing the poem and then no longer having the need to write the fiction.
A Distant Sky*
old woman speaks
of her great tests,
each word dropping
like a leaf in autumn,
bronzed and crisp
and coming to rest in
memory, waiting and
waiting for the day
and the pen and the
restoration of her life
* A Distant Sky is the working title of my NaNo exercise. The major protagonist is already real to me.
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and the associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The River Journal,The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 