Okay, I sat down today and got busy compiling some fall submissions. After reading many blogs, I felt like a submission slacker. The truth is...it is my least favorite part of writing. My favorite part is right when I finish a first draft of a poem. I don't have children, but when I am done with that first draft, it is a sort of birth.
I told myself that I would do one submission a day for the first three weeks of October. That felt reasonable. I knew I would probably do seven or so at a time and then I could take a week off. Last week I did six so today I had to do eight. It's so tedious and sometimes I just don't know what the hell I'm doing. So much of my work has some smidgen of Vincent in it. I don't want to overwhelm an editor. I have been trying to balance the subject matter.
And then...someone told me last week that I shouldn't mention my education in the cover letter. I never even thought of that. Any thoughts or advice on that?
I have been feeling a bit guilty lately because in my recent publication bios I noticed that I just said where I was from and where I have been published. I never mentioned the NEOMFA program. Is that a no-no? The professors I have worked with in this program have fostered my growth as a writer and as a human being. I wonder if I should make sure in the future that I mention the program. Any thoughts on that?
Another issue that I am interested in investigating is online vs print publishing. I am thrilled that I had work in Diagram. I love reading online journals, but when it comes to publishing, I love to have it physically in my hand. I just love books. Do you think it matters? Is one more legit? Certainly more people will read it online.
I did force myself to submit to two or three online journals. I would love for people to share favorite online journals.
In other news, I got some Starbuck's today. I can count on two hands how many times I have ever had Starbuck's. I purchased a Pumpkin Spice Latte and it was rather tasty.
4 comments:
Hi Jen! I miss you. And I love Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
The on-line vs. print debate drives me insane. But it seems I'm partial to on-line...or they are partial to me. I send my work to both, but so far am only published in on-line journals (with the exception of Pengiun Review). Caketrain has a nice list of links on their website to other journals, a lot of them on-line. You should check it out.
I miss you too! Pumpkin Spice Lattes for both of us very soon, okay? I will check out Caketrain. Thanks for responding. Excited to see you on Wednesday. And, I haven't had much time to work on our presentation yet. I will probably put that on my list for Thursday or so.
Jen, I'd probably leave the MFA student bit out of the cover letter, but put it in the bio. Some editors have a bias against student poems, thinking they're over-workshopped. You have a great pub credit list, so just run with that.
I like the physical thing too, which is why BOR is a print mag. Though holy expensive! And what an RPITA to put together! Etc.
Thanks for the advice, Mary.
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