Saturday 31 January 2009

Poetry Submission Poll: results time

Time is up for my blog poll. The response has not exactly been much to blog home about, but it has been an interesting experiment all the same. It certainly set me thinking about my own publication priorities and aspirations.

The results are as follows:
  • 3 voters prefer to submit to hardcopy outlets.
  • 3 voters pressed the 50:50 button.
  • 2 poets like to go for gold and grasp every opportunity that presents itself.
  • 1 poet prefers to submit to online magazines.
Books can be among our most treasured possessions, so I do not intend to comment on them here. However, the poll made me think about the magazines that come through the door. Most of us would keep a copy of ones that include our work, but what do we do with others? Do we stash them away or pass them on to our fellow writers? Do we cut out work or features of interest? Do we recycle the remaining pages?

I keep a commonplace book of snippets, articles, new poetry forms and quotations that appeal to me. This means that I do not alway feel the need to keep everything that comes my way (though I am a squirrel by nature!). What policies do you adopt? Do let me know if this poll has set you thinking.

1 comment:

Tips for Writers said...

Yes, fascinating, so editors need to be extra-busy... keeping print magazine and offering opportunities online.
But many writers only buy issues where their work appears, and many mags are folding as subscribers reduce or move online.
I would sink under the weight of paper, if I kept all mags; so I keep cuttings - laminate the best, to cheer me up. But I keep anthologies longer - and favourites I hang onto.