Posted on by Laura Lee

Submitted Three of My Favorite Poems

 6 wordle  I don’t intend to make a living writing poetry–I’ve done that with teaching and business jobs. But reading and writing (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) help me live. So I submitted three of my favorite poems to a journal I really like and respect, a journal that doesn’t seem to have a social media presence.

Since I like the poetry this journal publishes and I like the way their poets are treated, I submitted to them.

Not on Twitter at all. And maybe that’s okay. I know I should spend more time reading and writing! (But I am a sociable person so…)  With such a huge emphasis on social media and publishing, who would submit to such a journal?
I will say it again: Reading and writing help me live. I want to share this with others, so I write poetry mainly and sometimes fiction/ nonfiction.
And I am a literacy teacher and tutor.
It all fits together; my vocation is also my avocation.
Now wish me luck with these poems–they are three I love the most, and it will be a big rejection if they are all rejected.  Or a sign I submitted to the wrong journal or at the wrong time?  (They are my babies–I’ve held them back a long time.)
Thanks for reading.
Posted on by Laura Lee

Submitted Nonfiction Today

img_3954I submitted a piece of nonfiction today; it felt very scary. No hiding behind poetic license. It was an essay about grief, something we all know about as we get older.

But even though submitting nonfiction was very scary to me, I was able to enter this essay title and information on the excel sheet I created after learning from another writer; I followed his suggestions for creating a submissions excel tracking sheet. I added color coding for Rejected, Accepted (that’s in green), Pending, Withdrawn, and Unknown. Too many unknowns, it seems!   I am learning to sort by these categories as well.

I am having fun working with this!

I don’t think I will become a nonfiction writer now, for I really need that poetic license and I do tend to look at the world through a poet’s eyes.

But I am still trying to grow as a writer.

Thanks for reading.

Posted on by Laura Lee

Winnow Magazine: New Literary Magazine

          typewriter-vintage-old-vintage-typewriter-163116    I like to support new literature ventures, and am supporting and submitting to this new journal, the Winnow Magazine,https://thewinnowmagazine.weebly.com/about.html
which states:

the winnow is an online literary magazine devoted to showcasing urgent works of prose, poetry, and photography from underrepresented creatives.

​We strongly believe that everyone has something important to say. From the marginalized, to the disillusioned, to the unpublished, we want to hear your voice.

I, too, believe we should support hearing the voices of others.

Why not consider submitting there and reading there when they publish?

Thanks for reading.

 

Posted on by Laura Lee

After a Rough Summer of Submissions–Finally Positive Publication News

After a rough summer of submissions and many “declined” (rejections), I am pleased to learn my poem “Herstory Lesson” will be published by Coffin Bell Journal on October 1st.  I’ll put up a link when it’s published, but for now, the journal can be found here: https://coffinbell.com/.

I don’t write in the genre they publish, dark literature, very often, but I did my research, read there (fun!), and decided some of my work does fit.  Phew, because I was correct.  While I wrote this poem as feminist poetry, about killing women, it did fit the genre of dark literature.

(And now this post is longer than the poem!)

Lesson learned? Read before submitting, read more, think creatively, and keep on submitting!

Thanks for reading.

Posted on by Laura Lee

Crack the Spine Literary Magazine: a Mini-Review

spines   Yes, people still read. Yes, people still write. Don’t forget that on days when you feel discouraged.

I know I am holding on to this knowledge when the news gets too awful, when I feel my own writing is not going well, when I wonder about the world.

But where there is a love of literacy, I sense hope. And I sense a lot of hope when finding so many earnest and passionate literary journals, including one that is new to me, Crack the Spine Literary Magazine.

When I first heard the name of this magazine, Crack the Spine (CTS), I was put off a bit–no cracking spines, please.  But I kept going back to CTS, intrigued by the name and wondering just what is this magazine all about.

I’m delighted to find out “Crack the Spine loves the written word. Some might say we’re in love with the written word.” (from their website)  Furthermore, the process of submitting to the magazine is full of kind humor, encouragement, and wit.  CTS publishes flash fiction, micro-fiction, poetry, short stories, and creative non-fiction, sponsors a themed print edition, biweekly digital editions, a “best of” and yearly anthology.

In addition, CTS has a cute “shop” where you can buy their published books as well as literary gifts such as mugs and tee-shirts.

While being a serious literary magazine, Crack the Spine emotes a kind and playful attitude that is welcoming to writers, even down to making submissions easier by using Submittable.com.  I highly encourage writers to read there and consider submitting to this magazine.

As to the name? I’ve learned not to judge a magazine by its title–but I’m still watching out for my aching back.

Thanks for reading.

 

Posted on by Laura Lee

35 submissions this summer—and the rejections roll in…

blog word cloud       Since late spring, I’ve made 35 plus submissions just using Submittable.com.  I love using this vehicle since it helps me keep track of my submissions in one convenient location.  I’ve also made email and US mail submissions.

My goal in submitting work is yes, to be published, but also to encourage me to improve my writing and to feel a part  of a writing community.  I am not a great writer, but I can be a good one if I work at it!

It’s obvious there are more poets than poetical publishing opportunities.  I am receiving a number of rejections after an early spring run of four acceptances, and so yes, I am feeling the sting a bit, even while the editors are quite kind in their notes.  Just doesn’t fit, not right now, etc.  No one has said I should seek solace on another planet.  Yet.

Poets, you know this is mostly unpaid publication anyway, and it’s the joy of being published that urges us onward.

While I’ve submitted mostly poetry, I’ve always worked on some mini-dialogue experiments and one short story.

In the meantime, I am enjoying revising my writing, and submitting more.

I am glad I am not trying to support myself with my writing, but I am also glad I write.  It’s been a part of who I am since I was an angsty pre-teen, writing my wretched “woe is me” type broken-hearted poetry.

Now it’s time to get back to work; I have a lot of writing to do.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by Laura Lee

Poets? About Frontier Poetry: poetry contest and submissions

poetry        Frontier Poetry is accepting poetry

for a Summer Poetry Award and poetry for General Submissions.

What is Frontier looking for?  It’s refreshing that Frontier specifically tells poets.  In their words:

As a home for emerging authors & established voices together, we are looking for poems that express both traditional excellence in craft and a willing fearlessness in content and form. For us, the frontier of poetry is a place where voices—of all colors, ages, orientations, identities— are made equal by a shared belief in the power of language to confront the dark, the vast, the unexplored.

For further tips, you can look here: What We Look for at Frontier.

In other words, this is a literary press that tells you what they want, offers poets free submissions as well as reading fees for contests.  It has it all, it has a vision, and it is exciting to read there.

Good luck!

And thanks for reading.

Posted on by Laura Lee

Poets, how are YOUR submissions going?

poetry  Poets, how are your submissions going?  I have twenty submissions out there, and three were short manuscripts. The rest were single poem submissions. Two contest submissions.

Hope it’s going well.

Next up, I’d love to have a discussion about writing poetry–poetry tips, perhaps?

I really need to write more poetry, not submit as much. But I am not getting any younger!

Thanks for reading, and good luck.

 

Posted on by Laura Lee

No Tokens Literary Journal

spines      No Tokens Journal declares it is “…a journal celebrating work that is felt in the spine”  and it can be found here, at No Tokens Journal.

Reading that reminds me of what Emily Dickinson wrote about poetry, that “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire could ever warm me, I know that is poetry.” (http://notable-quotes.com/d/dickinson_emily.html).

No Tokens publishes a print/ bound volume as well as an online journal, making it doubly interesting, in my opinion.  They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and “other,” which could include include plays, comics, graphic novels, interviews, etc.

The journal’s passion for great writing is evident, right down to when they declare they will ask for NO TOKENS (no submission fees) while they promise to be a journal:

“…featuring the words and artwork of all voices of the past, present, and future.”

I love this passion for words, stories, voices.

I think I will give them a try.

Thanks for reading!