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[Smiles and Cries]

Just curious since GAF always seems to have a vast range of talents...

It seems like around me everyone is getting published or self-published being an Artist I hang around people who are into stuff like this but I'm always scared to ask.

I ran a website for a while and have many people asking me to have some of the stuff I write into book form to make it easier for them.

Any way on the advice of a friend I've been looking into it.
I've always hated the Idea because I've always been careless about spelling and grammar and such... I have 3 languages in my head and it gets kind of dazed up in my brain sometimes.

Oh what I'm putting together is a collection of lame poetry I've written through the years to get attention from various women... I don't know why but it works for me.
Don't ask me to post any of the shit here because it would not be anything you'll like

So anyway, I don't make much money off my paintings yet so I think it would be a good idea to provide myself with another way to market my work. Maybe fund my art supplies.

Any advice?

 

[brooklyngooner]

I'm a literary agent. If you want to ask me any questions about getting publsihed (I assume you don't mean self-publishing), feel free to PM me. In general, poetry collections by an unknown author are a very tough sell.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Thanks for the reply... yes I'm thinking more along self-publishing
I know what I have will be a tough sell... So I was thinking of just finding a route that gets me listed on sites like amazon.com and leaving it at that.

I want to write fiction someday but for now just publishing what I'm being asked to provide
on my site

 

[Iceman]

Not me yet.

I'm beginning to write fiction right now. About 1/8th of a way trough my first novella. But I really wouldn't consider this book for publishing, more of an exercise to see if I really have the stuff.

I'm entering a short story contest at the end of the month locally. I think I'll have a strong entry and hopefully the publishing house will take notice.

I do have about 6 novel ideas that I'm trying to flesh out on my spare time.

 

[teiresias]

I've had a couple of plays performed but never had any of my prose fiction published. With my school schedule the past few years my writing has seriously been in a slump - I've got like three ideas for novels or novellas (one idea is definately novel length if not one or two novel lengths), but I just haven't had time between writing papers and doing research and working. I can't wait until I graduate and only have a job to worry about and not two jobs and classes, lol. :lol

 

[Dilbert]

I've had several poems published in some anthologies, and I will be submitting some pieces to journals (Fence, Swink, Ploughshares, Spillway) later this year.

In general, the "food chain" for poetry is to get your pieces into journals with "name recognition" or into larger anthologies to build your resumé. Many people pursue an MFA degree to further hone their craft and to build a reputation. If you are successful enough in doing those things, you MIGHT be able to get a publisher to take a chance on publishing your book-length manuscript. The other way that people can be discovered is by submitting their manuscript to a competition -- if you win, you get published with the endorsement of the well-known poet who judged the competition.

I haven't seen your poetry, but statements like "what I'm putting together is a collection of lame poetry I've written through the years to get attention from various women" and "don't ask me to post any of the shit here because it would not be anything you'll like" don't bode well for its quality. Not to be flippant, but how do you know if any of it is good?

 

[Scrow]

there was someone on this board who got a nintendo/video game themed book published. forgotten their name though

 

[Justin Bailey]

there was someone on this board who got a nintendo/video game themed book published. forgotten their name though

Kobun Heat aka Chris Kohler

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

does a newspaper count? I had a weekly column in the local paper during high school. $10 a pop, it wasn't too bad. Plus I got to claim videogames as a deduction on my taxes.

 

[Tarazet]

Only in magazines, most often Car and Driver. I write letters to the editor frequently.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I've had several poems published in some anthologies, and I will be submitting some pieces to journals (Fence, Swink, Ploughshares, Spillway) later this year.

In general, the "food chain" for poetry is to get your pieces into journals with "name recognition" or into larger anthologies to build your resumé. Many people pursue an MFA degree to further hone their craft and to build a reputation. If you are successful enough in doing those things, you MIGHT be able to get a publisher to take a chance on publishing your book-length manuscript. The other way that people can be discovered is by submitting their manuscript to a competition -- if you win, you get published with the endorsement of the well-known poet who judged the competition.

I haven't seen your poetry, but statements like "what I'm putting together is a collection of lame poetry I've written through the years to get attention from various women" and "don't ask me to post any of the shit here because it would not be anything you'll like" don't bode well for its quality. Not to be flippant, but how do you know if any of it is good?

I did not think the topic would go so well without the common GAF talk invading it

I really enjoyed your post the most Jinx
Because that is what I hear most in mainstream poetry all the time, the craft... So many tools but they soon forget the heart.

The only way I can answer your question is to say I really never meant to say I do not believe in what I write, My statement about it is just the surface cover I use to explain why I write without ever telling anyone the deeper reason... Also I just don't think it's GAF material to post and wanted to avoid getting into it

I write for a target in mind... And I'm not sure I quite understand yet why I write what I write
and for the Question of if its any Good... I believe that anything that you really pour yourself into has to be good - at least good enough for the excersize of doing it like ICEMAN said... If I have learned something about myself through doing this all the better.

For that reason I only post rough drafts of any thing I write and share on my site
because I want people to see the feeling in it not how scholarly my mind is but what kind of heart I have... I'm not saying hey look I'm smart and I'm great with my words... What I am trying to get across to my readers is "I FEEL"

You are talking to a Painter... that is the reason I am an artist it is all about feeling

If my little rant about heart is not good enough... I have been told by very qualified people that I am good enough to explore this if that helps but for me, I do not care about that

 

[Dilbert]

Because that is what I hear most in mainstream poetry all the time, the craft... So many tools but they soon forget the heart.

...

I believe that anything that you really pour yourself into has to be good - at least good enough for the excersize of doing it like ICEMAN said... If I have learned something about myself through doing this all the better.

...

I have been told by very qualified people that I am good enough to explore this if that helps but for me, I do not care about that

I hear where you're coming from...here's another take on it, though.

Yes, a lot of poetry demonstrates technique at the expense of meaning or impact. However, without technique, it isn't poetry. As a visual artist, you should understand how that's true in your domain as well. When people tell you that "any paint slapped on a canvas could be 'art,'" don't you bristle? Of COURSE there is more to it than that...right?

Writing can be cathartic and a good form of therapy for an individual, but that doesn't make it ART. Art is created by someone trained in technique who also has a vision to communicate to an audience. No technique, no art. No vision, no art. No communication, no art.

Ultimately, your own judgment of your art is irrelevant -- if someone else doesn't find it to be "good," or to have meaning, then it isn't going to go anywhere. In particular, it needs to be compelling to an agent and an audience. How many people have critically read your poetry, and what are their qualifications? Have you performed your poetry in front of an audience? Which poetic techniques have you practiced and mastered, and which do you still have to learn?

Good luck with everything...but if you're serious, you should get a subscription to Poets & Writers, join a workshop, and start submitting to journals. Self-publishing is the kiss of death.

 

[NLB2]

Only in magazines, most often Car and Driver. I write letters to the editor frequently.

Are your favorite cars Jaguars

 

[human5892]

Jinx, can you recommend any journals/magazines/etc. in particular (as far as short fiction and poems go)? I'd like to submit, but I'm not familiar with what's out there, and what will get me credibility.

 

[teiresias]

Go to a local library and check out the latest copy of "Writer's Market" (I'm guessing the 2005 edition is out by now).

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Thanks Jinx great points

 

[Dilbert]

Jinx, can you recommend any journals/magazines/etc. in particular (as far as short fiction and poems go)? I'd like to submit, but I'm not familiar with what's out there, and what will get me credibility.

Two suggestions, since journals vary widely in what they want to accept:

1) Go to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble, read some journals, and submit to the ones in which you find stories/poems which match your own style and sensibilities.

2) Find out which journals have published your literary "heroes," and submit to those.

The ones I listed in my earlier post are good places to start, but there are certainly others.

 

[Phoenix]

Yes, published technical book Direct3D Professional Reference and lots of papers, and other light publications. Looking to do another technical book in the near future.