Here’s a quality home for your writing.  Definitively a worthwhile place to seek publication.
Cheers!

This is another project of Nostrovia! Poetry’s.  It is another publishing press focuses on digital publishing via a blog styled zine, “jogs” (micro-chapbooks) and “journeys” (chapbooks).  Poems are published in blog posts that are compiled into a monthly issue.  W.I.S.H. is publishing its first issue, so how about you come hop on board, and shoot the press a submission?

The Open End (Tiny TOE Press)

Founded in 2008, this press has hosted some of my poetry before, and prints high quality, DIY chapbooks through the name Tiny TOE Press.   They offer homes for most styles of creative writing, and publish work that they deem to be of high literary merit.  Shoot them a submission.  They will home your writing well, and truly care about it.

-Lyn Hejinian

This was Lyn’s response when asked, “how do you go about creatively promoting poetry?”.  This answer bears a lot of weight in finding poetry a place in culture and society.  She’s stating that with poetry’s development, and over time, people will come to poetry and place it in the stronghold of mainstream day-to-day culture.  She does not look at poetry as a “product”, but rather a separate entity.

I don’t think poetry should be sold as a product, in the sense that she is defining selling, but I do think poetry should be promoted, especially creatively, to general society and the average audience that may not have poetry as a piece of their lives.  Poetry is not always a “quick-fix” and can take some time to chew over.  In today’s culture, quick pieces of interesting tidbits that we can digest swiftly and move on from are gaining popularity.  This is not a bad thing, just social evolution at play.

This is something I’m going to continue thinking about, and provide more on in the future.  But I’d like to hear what you have to say.

The Conversation Piece:

What are some creative ways you’ve seen poetry being promoted?

How do you think poetry fits into general society?

Well, not anymore.  All you need to do is use the Like/Tweet/Google+ button at the top of the zine’s webpage, and you can download all the filthy poetry and flash fiction you desire.  Obscene writing with literary merit and value makes for entertainment, and thought-development good reading.

Download Here

Every writer has done that at least 1000 times.

You have to defeat that white screen stare.  Just write.  It’s the only way to push that away.  Keep focused, and write write write.

Write absolutely awful.  Smash that keyboard recklessly, and enjoy it.  I’m not telling you to set out to write terribly, but get your ideas and stories recorded.  It’s practice.  Just keep chugging along.  Don’t get stuck on the empty space.  Start slashing into the empty with your words, your thoughts.  Stream consciousness, keep typing, and don’t stop.  You can always edit later.

Editing is a completely separate state of mind and process versus the actual act of writing.  I started writing this article, and kept writing, and then wen’t back to edit.  I didn’t edit as I typed the first draft out.

First drafts are always, without a doubt, shit.  I agree with Hemingway on this.  Write not what comes next in the story, but what comes to mind next.  It’s liberating.  It allows you to flow with the story, slamming out ideas.

This doesn’t mean write weak.  This doesn’t mean you’ll produce something utterly fantastic.

Clunky sentences, errors, weak imagery, cliches, etc, the whole gang will be there.  That’s okay though.  You’re second draft will swipe them away like dust off a table.

Some moments, overwhelming inspiration will strike you.

In these moments, you’ll drop whatever you’re doing to go frantically scribble down the idea, but, more often than not, your Muse is taking a nap or off for a walk, and it’s just you.  Even so, write.  Don’t wait for that fleeing inspiration to return.  Getting your ideas down, and writing, will push you forward and help you explore and develop new ideas to incorporate into your stories and writing. You’ll sweat out all the bull in the first draft, and then begin polishing and re-writing.

But when you’re in the process of writing, don’t worry about revision.  Take down the other possibilities that pop in your head as you write, be free to explore the concepts and connections coming to mind.  That’s why their not concerned with stopping to revise at writing workshops.

I hope this helps guys.  I struggled with this for a bit, and spent time waiting for inspiration for my next poem.  Now I just start writing.  Something good always comes out of it.

Cheers!

“we cannot promise you your book will sell well, even if you follow all the tips in this guide. In fact, most books, both traditionally published and self-published, don’t sell well. Whether your book is intended to inspire, inform or entertain, millions of other books and media forms are competing against you for your prospective reader’s ever-shrinking pie of attention.”

(From Smashwords — Smashwords Book Marketing Guide – A book by Mark Coker – page 7.)

No one knows where the next hit is coming from.  Writing is subjective.  There are things you can do to improve your writing skills, but you have to compete with all other forms of media to “get your hit” out there.

If you’re writing to create a bestseller, good luck.  It’s not likely.  Breaking into that zone takes a mixture of skill, talent, and luck.  There is no direct formula for success.  A lot of writing advice is thrown around because something worked for them.  That something may not work for you.  Plough your own way through the fields of bull and learn from your own mistakes.  Grow as a writer and grow as a person.

This is a mixture of writing advice trying to avoid being writing advice, and observation.

Cheers!

This press focuses on publishing poetry of 21st century writers that talks about the here and now.  We want poetry that is honest, that is accessible and speaks some measure of truth we can all relate to.

I hope you can help back the cause.  The press just opened for submissions; but before sending in your work, please read the submission guidelines.

Liking W.I.S.H. on Facebook is greatly appreciated.  This is a new press founded the other day, and it needs your help to grow.

Cheers!

W.I.S.H. Press Homepage

They seek poetry not exceeding 20 stanzas, and short stories from 1000-3500 words.  Unsolicited submissions are accepted, as long as it has not been previously published.  If it has appeared on a personal blog, that’s fine.

Pictures and artwork are also welcome.

Read the submission guidelines carefully, as they ask for the submissions to be sent in a particular format.

Clutching At Straws

A venue for poetry seeking the absurd and odd.  Humor is appreciated.  It’s a very chaotic venue for poetry, but offers good homage and dedication.  The quality of poetry is also worth noting.

You can check out their submission guidelines here.

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If you’re seeking more poetry publishers, you can check out Small Press Army, a one-shot zine of potential publishers for your poetry.

We’ll, I guess I can

make it a poem.

There is an

atom-bomb

opportunity

shotgun-sparking

smiles on

poets’ lips.

“What is it, you ask?”

The Small Press Army is recruiting troops

to help poets

obtain publication.

Spread word

to help us

recruit soldiers

for the war.

Besides being a giant pain in the ass, it’s been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life. I’ve always been a writer but it wasn’t until high school that I began to take myself seriously and aimed to get published. Unfortunately, also in high school, I made the mistake of self-publishing a few embarrassing efforts that are now stapled to the internet forever. Lately, though, I’ve been able to let that go and excel at what I do best: dark fiction, opinion pieces, and movie reviews.

What writers have had an influence on how you write?

Irvine Welsh, for sure. I read Trainspotting when I was a teenager and that book definitely left a lasting impact on me. I’m sure a lot of pretentious writers out there will consider this a hacky answer, but Stephen King is strong influence of mine. George V. Higgins is another. These guys operate in different mediums but: Frank Miller, Nicolas Winding Refn, Harmony Korine, and Park Chan Wook, also.

When and why did you start to write?

If you can even consider it writing, I started at the age of 4 or 5. I’d tell my mother to sit down, shut up, and jot down whatever words I was about to speak. I’d rattle off stories, usually involving Power Rangers getting into mishaps with Spider-Man or whatever I was into at the time.

I can’t really say for sure why I started writing. I’ve always had this pulsing urge in the back of my head to tell stories. If I don’t then I become frustrated and it’s hard for me to do much of anything else.

How early did you begin writing?

I began writing on my own around the age of 7 or 8. I had this really old typewriter that I used to hammer out stories on for hours at a time.

Tell us about your writing process.

It’s really not that exciting. I usually procrastinate until 2 or 3 in the morning by looking  at pointless things on the internet. When I finally become sick of looking at cat .gifs I open up Microsoft Word and write until sunrise.

Favorite place to write?

Wherever it’s quiet. I’m not picky about my surroundings as long as there aren’t others around to distract me.

Do you keep a notebook, or do you prefer a computer?

Everything I do is on my MacBook. This baby is my lifeblood. With my upcoming novel, Disorderly, I did have to resort to a notebook for a while though to keep track of the timeline and make sure there weren’t any periodic errors.

I was looking through your blog, Captain Cool As Fuck, and saw a number of poems and pieces of writing. It’s a lot of work to maintain a successful blog. Any tips for writers attempting to start one?

Consistency is key. If you’re a writer and you want to have some of your work read, starting a blog is a great way to go about things. However, if you’re going to blow it off after a couple of weeks or a month because nobody is reading your shit then don’t bother.

If you don’t have the durability to stick it out during the periods where you aren’t getting attention then this isn’t the path for you. Even if your poems, or stories, or opinion pieces– whatever it may be –don’t get noticed right off the bat, you’ll be laying the bricks to a foundation of what’s to come.

If people want to take my advice, that’s awesome. If not…well…more followers for me.

Before Sunrise Press is a quality publisher. Can you give a brief synopsis of the work you had published with them?

I had an eBook, Youth, released under the Before Sunrise Press imprint this past April.

It has since become their top online seller. Youth is a social commentary on the most problematic contemporary issues plaguing our society – corrupted innocence, gun control, and safety in public schools. I feel like there aren’t many clear-cut answers in life and in fiction, you’re often given grey characters who find themselves with a black or white resolve by the end of things. Certain issues are a bit more complex than that and Youth reflects upon that.

I’m actually going to be narrating the audiobook version in a couple of months. That’ll either be a fun or miserable experience.

My debut novel, Disorderly, is set to be published June 10th.  Disorderly focuses on a cancer patient who is given a second chance at life at the expense of eating others. It tackles the topics of cannibalism, isolation, and mental illness and also plays off of the current state of zombie pop culture. It’s probably the most autobiographic piece I’ve ever written, even if it is drenched in over-the-top horror and downright degenerate behavior.

Finish this statement; I think writing should____.

Provoke.