Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Chapbook is Ready to Submit

The chapbook I spoke of is ready to submit.  I finished the acknowledgements and formatting yesterday.  This is the first time I've seen a chapbook through to completion and now it sits, waiting.

I planned on submitting it directly after I finished.  It's as ready as I can make it.  But the press is closed to free submissions until February.  (They were only supposed to be open this month but extended it to Valentine's Day because they hit their "submission cap" on Submittable.)

It's waiting, and I'm losing my nerve.  I wish I could've sent it when I was feeling proud and had a bit of confidence.  Each hour it stays put, the worse it appears.  I now hate nearly every poem in it, think the link between poems isn't strong enough, believe the title too amateur, etc.  Eight out of eighteen poems in it have been previously published (six of which can be found online) which I keep telling myself is too many.

I'm also heading back to my family's soon to assist them during a time of upheaval and can't be certain I'll be back in time to submit.  If I miss the window, I must wait another year.  Part of me says it's a sign if I'm not back.  The chapbook has speculative poetry which most places won't touch so I can't easily shop it elsewhere.

But I finished it.  I didn't think I had the guts.  It must count, no matter how things go.  I'm (slowly) making my way.
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What is one writing goal you have yet to accomplish but want to this year?  What goal are you not going to tackle and why?


2 comments:

  1. Stay steadfast in your mission, but be true to yourself. If you believe strongly enough in what you are doing, then it's worth pursuing. And if things don't work out then you reorganize yourself and start over. Never give up. Finishing was a huge step forward.

    I still want to finish my two nearly completed novels and edit them to a polished stage. I probably won't tackle any of my less complete novel projects because I want to focus on some memoir work. But I'm not going to say never either.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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    Replies
    1. Take the project you have the greatest passion for and focus on it. Submitting, editing, etc. is so difficult, you'll need belief and desire to see it through.

      I love your blog though, so I believe your memoir would be highly enjoyable.

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