Get Your Poetry Collection Published
I’ve just been looking at online thoughts about the pay to be considered idea for poetry, and wonder how you feel about it? There is no charge to submit to a full length collection to Ginninderra Press, nor to Pure Slush/Truth Serum Press (two important South Australian Publishers), but there are certainly reading fees if you wish to submit to many other publishers.
How do you feel about the idea of paying a fee to submit your poetry? I don’t feel that is something I wish to take part in. My finances don’t run to paying money to have a poetry collection considered for publication, not at the moment anyway.
I am willing to pay a competition fee, for entering a poetry competition, and I am the Competition Secretary for Adelaide Plains Poets, a writing group that also runs a national poetry competition every year. This competition has a fee for entering, for the Open (Adult) section, but not for the two student sections, it is free for them to enter, but the students can only submit one poem.
This competition has cash prizes for the top three entries in each of the sections, quite good prizes, and the fee is only $10 for the first entry, and $5 for subsequent entries, from each adult entrant. I haven’t taken a big look at such things, but I think our fee per possible prize ration is fair.
So, What Do You Think?
I hope to get responses from other poets about this issue. Both from poets who submit manuscripts for possible publication, and those who submit individual poems or groups of up to five or so for publication in a journal or other literary publication.
This website has the article with some interesting information. I think the idea of paying big dollars for a little result is something that has been going on for many years. Poets or wannabees, are often ripped off by unruly types.
There are many ‘publishers’ who are more than willing to assist people who want to self-publish their work, and charge exorbitant fees too, with little in the way of producing a quality book one to be proud of, nor much money put into the marketing of the books.
Please leave a message, this is an important thing. Poets tend to not be rich people with lots of money to spare.
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 