These bonus tips won't necessarily improve your chances of getting published, but they will make things easier for the editor(s) and help make the publishing process more pleasant.

The bio section of a publication is a great place for you to promote current and future projects. However, remember that, most likely, the publication is not all about you but rather a collection of poems that happens to include a few of yours. Keep your bio appropriately brief and save the lengthy advertizing/bragging for your next collection of poetry or your website.

Don't take it personally if your poem is not accepted in a publication. Most editors won't reject a submission because they don't like the poet or they find him or her inadequate. When sending your work out, you will inevitably need to deal with some rejection.  Take each one as a learning experience rather than a personal affront. Being rejected from an publication is nothing more than an indication that the pieces you sent were not good fits for the it.



That wraps up our series on how to improve your chances of getting published. Please like and share these posts if you found them helpful, which I hope you did.

-Nick Hale

This may seem like a lot of work, but it's worth it, trust me. Keep at least general records of what you've sent where. Keep track of where your works have been published. This becomes even more important the longer you've been sending your work out.

This will help you avoid submitting to the same publication multiple times and help you to keep track of the publications you're in. It's also a good idea to keep a current bio at all times. As with any other aspect of life, a small degree organization can make things much easier when it comes to sending your poems out for publication.



(To Be Continued)...
Check back each day this week for a new tip.
-Nick Hale

Happy Pi day, everybody! I've almost gotten through my entire list of tips and today's is a short one.

Do a little research on the publication you are sending in to before you send to them. Read their sample poems, if they offer any. Read the editors' bios and mission statements. Many editors I know go so far as to say you should learn the editor's name(s) and address the editor(s) by name in your e-mail or letter rather than writing a generic "dear editor(s)."

This shows an interest in the publication and it shows you've done your homework before submitting. It will also help you find publications in which your work will be a good fit.



(To Be Continued)...
Check back each day this week for a new tip.
-Nick Hale

This is really several tips rolled into one(call me a cheater if you like) because there are several little things you can do to make the editing process a little easier.

                A. For mail-in submissions  always always always include a self-addressed stamped envelope! Always!  Also, include sufficient postage if you wish for your poems to be sent back to you.

                B. For online submissions, avoid sending your submissions from someone else's e-mail address. If you use your son's, wife's, cousin's, or neighbor's e-mail address, it makes things a little more difficult for the editors. It can be frustrating to get a submission from "John Smith," with no name in the body of the e-mail only to find out after sending John his acceptance letter that you have actually accepted a poem by "Maggie Baker-Smith." 

                C. I would recommend starting a new e-mail address for publishing and writing or using a professional sounding address if you already have one. Treat sending your work out the same way you would treat sending out your resumé during a job search. Having a separate e-mail address will also make it easier to keep track of what you've sent where.

                D. For e-mail submissions, make sure you state your name as you would like it to appear in the publication somewhere in the e-mail. It's also a good idea to e-mail yourself so you know how your name shows up for the receiver. Again, this makes life easier for the editor by avoiding possible name confusion. 

                E. For online form submissions, beware autofill. Autofill is a feature in most browsers that will automatically fill in un-populated fields on a form based on forms you have filled out in the past. It can be quite useful when buying things online, but it's not always accurate. Make sure you check the form for errors before hitting the submit button. Never assume technology is a substitute for your due diligence!

Above all, keep in mind:
If any of these tips break tip #1, however, (some publications require anonymous submissions) ignore them! Make sure, you always follow the submission guidelines.



(To Be Continued)...
Check back each day this week for a new tip.
-Nick Hale

Here is part two of our series on how to improve your chances of being published. Yesterday, we left off on a bit of a cliffhanger so let's dive right in.

This is fairly straightforward. Mistakes happen. We're all human and we all make them but mistakes will greatly hurt your chances of getting published. Many larger publications will outright reject pieces with simple typos, misspellings or other mistakes. You should triple check to make sure all guidelines are met, all typos and other assorted errors are fixed and that everything else is as it should be before hitting the send button, licking the envelope, clicking submit or sending that carrier pigeon off with your work. I usually ask a friend or two to look over the piece before I sent it in, just to be sure (and because I'm not the best at finding typos in my own work.

This may sound excessive, but it's better to be a stickler than a slacker. Really, err on the side of caution here.

(To Be Continued)...
Check back each day this week for a new tip.
-Nick Hale

I've been editing poetry anthologies for some time now.  Based on my  experiences and those of some of my fellow editors, I've complied a list of amazingly simple things people can do to improve their chances of having their poems published.

I realize that each publisher and each editor has different preferences when it comes to submission dos and don'ts and don'ts. However, there are some (almost) universal maxims that can help make your submission more appealing editors.

Most people have the importance of following directions drilled into them from a very early age, and with good reason.  Many editors will outright reject submissions that don't follow their guidelines. In fact, a large number of poems are rejected not because they are bad, but because they do not follow the publication's submission guidelines. These guidelines exist for a reason. Read them carefully!

If the guidelines require you to use a submission form, use it. If they require the submission sent as an attached as a .pdf file only, send them a .pdf. If the publication you are submitting to is looking for birthday themed acrostic poetry, do not send them a sonnet about a funeral.   This has to be both the easiest and most important tip to follow.

If you have a technological or geographical restriction, maybe an inability to save the file in the requested format or paste the piece into the body of the e-mail, it's better to ask the editor or publisher how to proceed.

Not following the submission guidelines says nothing but bad things: 1. You didn't read the guidelines at all. You sent out a blast submission e-mail and don't know anything about the publication nor do you care about it, 2. You read and disregarded the directions for some strange reason, or 3. You made an honest mistake. It happens from everyone from time to time, but that's why you should:


(To Be Continued)...
Check back each day this week for a new tip.
-Nick Hale

Just about everyone at some point in their life has had SOME experience in retail whether working in it or merely shopping that we swore we would write about. Here it is in this wonderful mostly comedic sometimes serious anthology that people have called "very unexpected yet somehow obvious."  

The Charge Card Delight Brigade

“Sale today!  Sale today!”
  headlines had thundered.

Off to the Miracle Mall
   Rode the six hundred.
Charging the price they paid
For every purchase made.
Into the Miracle Mall
   Rode the six hundred.

For every purchase made
Pay any price displayed!
Not that the shoppers knew
   How they had blundered.
Theirs not to clarify,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to shop and die:
Into the Miracle Mall
   Rode the six hundred.

Bargains to right of them,
Bargains to left of them,
Bargains in front of them
   There to be plundered.
Stormed by the eager horde,
Nothing they can’t afford.
Shopping carts overflow,
Nothing on sale ignored
  By the six hundred.

 Pushing straight past the guards,
Flashing their credit cards,
Clutching their debit cards,
Charging and spending while
   All the world wondered.

 Shopping, they never stopped
Shopping until they dropped,
Not till the shelves were bare.
Spent by the way they shopped
   Storewide they plundered.
Then they rode home, but not,
   Not the six hundred.

Bargains to right of them,
Bargains to left of them,
Bargains behind them,
   All they had plundered.
Now, as if in a spell,
One by one down they fell,
They who had shopped so well―
Lost in the Valley of Debt,
Broke, in the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
   Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charges made!
   All the world wondered.
Honor the charges made,
Cherish the prices paid,
   Noble six hundred.

      ~George H. Northrup

Stay tuned for more information on Retail Woes, Poetry From Both Sides of The Counter and the upcoming launch events for the anthology. The first one is scheduled for March 18th at 7:30 at Dowling College in Oakdale, Long Island, NY.

Have you heard the legend
about an Indian princess
who fell in love
with the wrong man?

Her father was tribal chief
he forbade the romance
no man was good enough
for his little girl

He caught his lovely daughter
naked in her lover's arms
he swore the youth
would suffer a most painful death

Fresh from the evening hunt 
hepointed with a maniacal grin
to the bloody scalp
tied high on his belt

The princess lost her mind
and jumped in the muddy waters
of Lake Ronkonkoma
her watery grave

If you walk along the shore
you may hear her moan
mourning her lost love
over and over

Throw a rock in the water
see if stops the wailing
see if it stops the pain
see if it stops

~ Roberta A. McQueen