Agonies of a Young Author

It seems that the universe is able to smash in with massive irony every time I get a little bit excited about a new project. My Sekret Poetry Blog just started on Monday, and already I have reason to rue my decision. Yesterday I posted on how I was feeling insecure about my writing at the local level. I have decided that the main issue is that I am only getting published at the student level-- and worse, only at the local student level (read: campus magazines). These magazines were truly beneficial to me. I got published when I was starting out, I got confidence when I felt none, and I got established as a writer when I had little claim to the name. Now, however, I have reached the point when student publications cannot offer me anything. So I am moving on. I am now seeking undergraduate journals (these are different because they are run by the English department of the affiliated school, and is reviewed by the professors/professionals to some degree)

And I have done so. I have found two new venues that fit me very well. Both seem to publish my sort of poetry, and I feel that the match would be a good one. So I have been going through my work, picking out pieces to submit. But I have come up against a contract that highlights a very important issue that I, personally, and other bloggers need to be aware of:

Any work that has been posted on a blog, even a personal one, is considered "published" and is not acceptable for use.

This, in terms of my poetry blog, is a very important thing to consider. I really like several pieces, and would like to submit them. For these two venues (Poetry, and Everyday Poets) however, this is not an option. Somewhere else, these poems would still be viable, but one does have to be careful now that definition of publication is changing in the internet world.

I have been lucky in that I never publish anything to my public blog, and rarely to the personal blog. Everything I have, has gone to a publication that does not include similar restrictions in their contracts.

My private poetry blog, however, is now another story. I still use it, because it gives me a freedom and universality when a notebook is not always available, but I am consciously more careful of how I use it. My writing has definitely dropped off. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing. I might have more things available for publication, but I'm also NOT WRITING.

And we all know which one is more important in the long run.

Right Now:
What I'm listening to: "Just for Now" by Imogen Heap
What I want most: poetry prompts! Send me some? =)

I think I accidentally stole a poetry journal.

Actually, scratch that-- I am 90% sure I did.

See, most campus publications are free. Student run, student published, student authors; ergo, quality is mid-range and overhead covered by student activities grants.  There are several different publications on campus, so seeing one in the coffeeshop that I was in particular unfamiliar with(but submitted several poems to regardless), I go grab a copy. And leave, happy.

Until I read the journal later that night, and realize that there is a 5.95 price sticker on the back cover! Oh no!

Whoops.

I've come to realize that this journal is not at the same level as the others I usually read-- probably because of the 5.95 price sticker on the back cover. The table of contents doesn't list any students, but is rather full of already established poets, usually post-grad professionals that are both married and living somewhere that is NOT Virginia. Places NOT on this campus.

I never realized how little I knew about this journal, and how I blindly submitted without knowing the content quality expected. I thought it was the same sort as other publications. I've read the others-- the artsy one, the humorous one, the satirical one, the angsty one-- but I never was exposed to this one other than general rumors of it being the "serious" one. I thought serious translated into "avant-garde" and sent in my best concrete (shaped) poems. I'm not unhappy with my submission, but I really wished that I had listened to all the writing articles that warned writers to DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST.

Whoops. Now let's hope that 1) the coffeeshop doesn't arrest me, and 2) the journal doesn't laugh me off for the misunderstanding. But I'm afraid that I might have butchered it this year's go-around.

Whoops.

Right Now:
What I'm listening to: "Morningwood" by Morningwood
What I want most: to hear back from this journal. It's been several months....

No, no, not the little black dress, but the little black book. Okay, well, perhaps not so little, but my new journal (which comes in at a smidge over 8 1/2 x 11) is definitely my favorite "go-to" item of the moment.

For my Life Writing class I have to create a journal-- normal enough, considering that I am in a creative writing class, except this has to be a visual art journal. While words and writing have their place within this journal, they take a distinct back-seat to collage, sketches, photo montage and other forms of visual self-expression. All in the form of a journal, so self-reflection is key. At first I was a little skeptical, and thought it wouldn't add anything meaningful to my life, but then I went shopping at Barnes and Nobles for my journal. Tired by the long day of class, frustrated at the bookstore's inability to stock my textbooks, I was ready to grab a $1.50 lined spiral bound notebook and call it a day. Then I decided to wander over to the art department's section, and fell in love with a hardcover sketchbook-- with black pages. The unusual color grabbed my interest and must have sparked some sort of creative bug, since I bought it without hesitation and have hardly put it down since. The need for nontraditional decoration (I can't exactly write in it with a normal black ink pen, now can I?) has really shaken up the mental cobwebs. The first page I drew with metallic gel pen, the kind that was all the rage in the elementary school era. The next page I used white-out. Yes, white-out, drawn in diagonal stripes. Then colored pencil, that shows up against the black in varying degrees of success. And then gum wrappers, flattened out and glued to page, the bight silver metallic gleaming beautifully against a field of black.

I'm really starting to love this journal. And I can delude myself into thinking that this, really and truly is homework that I'm doing, because I really and truly actually have to turn it in for review.

See why I love being an English major?

Right Now:
What I'm listening to: "Sweet Dreams" by Beyonce
What I what most: more time.