Anyone who is interested in Poetry should check out the Guardian online poetry workshops. They run every month. Go through the archives for numerous gems of wisdom.
Sunday, 8 April 2007
Paying Poetry magazines
One of the ezines I subscribe to had information about two poetry magazines that sounded interesting. I checked them out.
http://www.prairiepoetry.org/Publish_Poetry.html based in the rockies in North America but it doesn't pay. It's online only and they even ask you for a donation. What's the point? If you have to pay someone to publish your poetry, what does that say about the quality of your work or of the other work in the magazine? Do they ask the web hosting service to provide their services for free?
http://www.wolfmagazine.co.uk/submit.htm a UK mag, doesn't pay either. It is a print based magazine, I think. But they don't even give the authors a copy of the magazine. You have to buy your own copy. What's the difference between this and poetry.com?
I subscribe to lots of ezines about writing. Most of those around are US based. Some are just published to advertise writing courses or books but some include interesting articles and information about competitions or conferenceds.
Here are some ezines I subscribe to that I think are worth reading:
http://subs.zinester.com/94631/ Small Markets
http://subs.zinester.com/30604/ Funds for Writers (both from Cynthia Hope Clarke)
http://www.thepoetrymarket.com Poetry Market - buyer beware. Check the contests and submissions. There is some interesting stuff in there.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wordpool/ Wordpool - writing for children's
http://www.prairiepoetry.org/Publish_Poetry.html based in the rockies in North America but it doesn't pay. It's online only and they even ask you for a donation. What's the point? If you have to pay someone to publish your poetry, what does that say about the quality of your work or of the other work in the magazine? Do they ask the web hosting service to provide their services for free?
http://www.wolfmagazine.co.uk/submit.htm a UK mag, doesn't pay either. It is a print based magazine, I think. But they don't even give the authors a copy of the magazine. You have to buy your own copy. What's the difference between this and poetry.com?
I subscribe to lots of ezines about writing. Most of those around are US based. Some are just published to advertise writing courses or books but some include interesting articles and information about competitions or conferenceds.
Here are some ezines I subscribe to that I think are worth reading:
http://subs.zinester.com/94631/ Small Markets
http://subs.zinester.com/30604/ Funds for Writers (both from Cynthia Hope Clarke)
http://www.thepoetrymarket.com Poetry Market - buyer beware. Check the contests and submissions. There is some interesting stuff in there.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wordpool/ Wordpool - writing for children's
Friday, 6 April 2007
Recent Reads
Finally got to read Last Orders by Graham Swift. It's very good. I must confess though I kept getting the characters mixed up in my head. The women weren't very individually identifiable and two of the guys were named Victor and Vince which is a bit close in my head. I did enjoy it a lot though. Haven't seen the film.
I love everything by Kate Atkinson. One Good Turn
is interconnected dialogues by very different characters with great back stories about a murder set around the Edinburgh Festival. Highly recommended. Also Case Histories
which introduces the character Jackson Brodie and the lovely, magical realism short stories in Not the End of the World
First Poetry Collection
I think I am getting close to a first poetry collection.
Although sometimes I wonder why I would bother. First poetry collections are unusual if they sell more than 1000 copies. Even my family isn't that big! So it's not for the money. Except that a poetry collection looks impressive on a CV when submitting or going for jobs.
So how do you know when you are ready? I went to a workshop given by Peter Fallon, who runs Gallery Press based in Meath. And he said that just because you have been submitted in a number of magazines and have won or been placed in some competitions, doesn't mean you are ready. It doesn't mean you are 'owed' a poetry collection. So when are you?
Then I find that there is a hierarchy in the poetry publishers, which I wasn't really aware of. There's the presmiership and then first and second division and so on so just because you have a poetry collection, you also have to look at the publisher.
Gallery Press is apparently Premiership. http://www.gallerypress.com/
as is Dedalus Press - Pat Boran http://dedaluspress.blogspot.com/
but what about all the others? The ones in Ireland, the ones in the UK. Which are you supposed to try first?
I've heard that some presses, don't know which so don't ask, if you come with a bit of a publishing history and a grant or prize for funding, will publish you. Certainly I have read collections where I think they poet was not ready. The poems were not ready, more editing and more time was needed.
Although sometimes I wonder why I would bother. First poetry collections are unusual if they sell more than 1000 copies. Even my family isn't that big! So it's not for the money. Except that a poetry collection looks impressive on a CV when submitting or going for jobs.
So how do you know when you are ready? I went to a workshop given by Peter Fallon, who runs Gallery Press based in Meath. And he said that just because you have been submitted in a number of magazines and have won or been placed in some competitions, doesn't mean you are ready. It doesn't mean you are 'owed' a poetry collection. So when are you?
Then I find that there is a hierarchy in the poetry publishers, which I wasn't really aware of. There's the presmiership and then first and second division and so on so just because you have a poetry collection, you also have to look at the publisher.
Gallery Press is apparently Premiership. http://www.gallerypress.com/
as is Dedalus Press - Pat Boran http://dedaluspress.blogspot.com/
but what about all the others? The ones in Ireland, the ones in the UK. Which are you supposed to try first?
I've heard that some presses, don't know which so don't ask, if you come with a bit of a publishing history and a grant or prize for funding, will publish you. Certainly I have read collections where I think they poet was not ready. The poems were not ready, more editing and more time was needed.
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Writers and Artists Yearbook
Everyone who is submitting to publishers, agents, papers, radio etc needs a copy of this. Check your library if you can afford or justify one every year. The business changes fast.
BUT
I can't believe that in the competition they had for the first chunk of a novel (10K words), mine wasn't placed. They had 100 who won a critique. 100 of the extracts submitted were better than mine? I'm devastated. I'm dreaming up possible conspiracies. Why not me? Were they looking for deep, searing, incisive novels about relationships? Do these writers actually exist?
BUT
I can't believe that in the competition they had for the first chunk of a novel (10K words), mine wasn't placed. They had 100 who won a critique. 100 of the extracts submitted were better than mine? I'm devastated. I'm dreaming up possible conspiracies. Why not me? Were they looking for deep, searing, incisive novels about relationships? Do these writers actually exist?
Tuesday, 3 April 2007
Red Kettle
Red Kettle - isn't that a great name for a Theatre Company.
I don't know a whole lot about theatre really. I probably go to 3 productions in a year - 3 more than virtually anyone else I know. Red Kettle are taking a play of mine, a 15 minute play. My first production. It's very exciting and a learning experience. I went down to Waterford (lovely place, never been there before) to meet them all and Bernard Farrell too. (v famous) Met my director and one of my actors. We're doing the first read through soon. Bernard said a writer always learns from the first read through and he should know.
The contract says 10% of box office if my play's the only production for anything afer this event, after the usual costs. I don't see much likelihood of a repeat performance though as one 15 minute play is 3 actors and the rest. Touring costs more the more people you have. Maybe I should write a monologue.
I was looking for a play to go to in a couple of weeks in one of the new theatres that's started up around Dublin, the M50 loop - Helix, Draiocht, Civic, DunDrum, Mermaid and as far as I can see, they are all empty for that week. What's the point in the government funding the setting up of theatres if they can't afford to put anything on in them?
I don't know a whole lot about theatre really. I probably go to 3 productions in a year - 3 more than virtually anyone else I know. Red Kettle are taking a play of mine, a 15 minute play. My first production. It's very exciting and a learning experience. I went down to Waterford (lovely place, never been there before) to meet them all and Bernard Farrell too. (v famous) Met my director and one of my actors. We're doing the first read through soon. Bernard said a writer always learns from the first read through and he should know.
The contract says 10% of box office if my play's the only production for anything afer this event, after the usual costs. I don't see much likelihood of a repeat performance though as one 15 minute play is 3 actors and the rest. Touring costs more the more people you have. Maybe I should write a monologue.
I was looking for a play to go to in a couple of weeks in one of the new theatres that's started up around Dublin, the M50 loop - Helix, Draiocht, Civic, DunDrum, Mermaid and as far as I can see, they are all empty for that week. What's the point in the government funding the setting up of theatres if they can't afford to put anything on in them?
Monday, 2 April 2007
Mills and Boon
I've never been much of a Mills and Boon reader, never been any of a Mills and Boon reader actually, but here's a competition if anyone out there is. Write a Mills and Boon type romantic story for the Pat Kenny radio show, 900-1000 words by 9th May 2007. You win lots of Mills and Boon and get a flash trip to talk to them.
I do read some chick lit. It seems to be taken as derogatory now but why should it be? Of course there is some dire stuff out there (at least it's published!) but there's some great stuff too, not all frothy and predictable by any means. See Marian Keyes, See Jane Austen. Sure girls gets boy but it's a great read in between.
I do read some chick lit. It seems to be taken as derogatory now but why should it be? Of course there is some dire stuff out there (at least it's published!) but there's some great stuff too, not all frothy and predictable by any means. See Marian Keyes, See Jane Austen. Sure girls gets boy but it's a great read in between.
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