As National Poetry Month draws nearer, I am planning an experiment that I predict will catch on en masse. I won’t be the first person to do this, but I will be (as far as I know) the first person to codify principles for doing it. The “it” I’m talking about is writing and publishing…
Category Archives: Marketing Poetry
Self Publishing Poetry: The Problem With Vanity
The Internet has made self publishing a whole lot easier. In many respects that’s a good thing. Were it not for the ease of use of capable technology, financial accessibility of the platform, and the internal drive to pursue it, I would not be able to write and publish this blog. All poetry bloggers owe…
Newspapers And Poetry: Parallel Delivery Futures
There’s an interesting article in the online version of Wired Magazine about the future of newspaper delivery. Nick Bilton, an editor in the New York Times research and development lab, who doesn’t even receive the newspaper at his home, believes that in the future, newspapers will all be delivered electronically. It’s really not a brilliant…
Supply Side Literature: Do You Write For The Market?
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that most literary artists, poets included, try in some way to “write for the market.” But I think this is a sorry way to write literature. Beyond sorry. It’s inane. While all literature is in a certain sense targeted toward a particular market – try…
Why Facebook Is The Poet’s Best Friend
I am learning more and more that Facebook is as good a friend as any poet can have online. I decided to experiment a little with Facebook pages and am pleasantly surprised. After creating one page just a day ago I’ve already seen results. First, if you aren’t familiar with Facebook, you should get familiar…
23 Things Poets Can Do With Twitter
Literary agent Nathan Bransford had a guest blogger on his blog this morning. Tracy Marchini shared 21 things an author can do with Twitter. But Tracy left a couple of things off the list. I’m sure there are more, but these two extra things are things that I do as well. Install Twitter Tools into…
Do You Need A Publicist?
I got an exclusive interview with publicist Teresa Conboy in the latest issue of Hyperbole e-zine. Questions I asked were: What exactly is a publicist and what does she do? Why does a poet need a publicist and how does a poet work with a publicist? What is the going rate for a publicist and…
Why Poets Make Good Capitalists
Capitalism and poetry go hand in hand. I imagine that the first poets sold their songs and chants on an open market, traded their entertainment services for fur and weapons. But today you’re more likely to find a poet bashing the excesses of capitalism and proclaiming the virtues of socialism. But I’m not sure why….
Another Rejection: Sweet!
Got another rejection this evening. This is the most encouraging rejection I’ve ever received. I love getting personal notes from editors because if they say anything – ANYTHING – no matter how neutral it is then it’s a good sign that at least they respected your work enough to comment. This last rejection, however, was…
The Post-Literate Age And The Coming Epic (Reprise)
I had intended for this series to be a three-part series. But I found myself digressing into a lengthy discussion on technology in the previous post. I found it to be necessary because I believe technology will be an integral part to creating and publishing literature in the 21st century. We do not yet know…
