Encouragement, Coaching and Prompts for Writers
A monthly blog by Eve West Bessier, Poet Laureate of Silver City and Grant County, New Mexico
This is a longer post than my usual, but I’m tackling a big topic: how to unpack that pesky “P” word. Publication. In an effort to create greater clarity around this multifaceted subject, I’m mapping the territory. This is not meant to be a comprehensive overview, that would be an even longer post. It’s meant to be a road map that can help you figure out where you want to go with your writing and guide you in planning your trip.
Writing is a form of communication. Those of us who write creatively often write initially and essentially for ourselves, but does communication require an audience? If a poet recites a sonnet in the forest and no-one hears it, does it make a sound?
There are many options for finding an audience for our writing, including that perplexing “P” word. Let’s take a closer look at the word publication. The first six letters spell another, very familiar word: public. To publish is simply to make public. Clarifying publication as “making our work public” can help us to decide how public we want to make it.
In order to help sort out in this process, I have mapped out various and increasing levels of engagement with the “making public” process into six tiers. Writers can choose to participate in one, a few, or all of these tiers. Each tier has its own rewards, and each has its own limitations and potential frustrations. This blog is primarily focused on creative writing pursuits, but free lance journalists fit in as well, starting at Tier Three.
Tier One: No Public Outreach
This is writing meant for an audience of one: the writer only. It can include journaling or any other form of writing that we choose not to share with others. It is for our personal enrichment and enjoyment. We are happy to read our sonnets aloud, alone in the forest. After all, trees are good listeners!
Tier Two: Limited Targeted Outreach
This is writing shared with an audience of a select few; perhaps through a writing group, at a community open mic (in pandemic times on Zoom), or just between friends. Our audience will be rather small but likely very supportive. Sharing our work as recordings on YouTube can also be included here, the size of our audience indicated by the number of views.
Tier Three: Moderate Targeted Outreach
This is writing that we send to small press or university literary journals, genre magazines, or online blogs and journals. Let’s also add podcasts here. We can submit single poems or stories, chapbooks and even full-length collections. This tier includes literary contests with publication and prize money for their top winners. We send our work in the hopes of not receiving a letter that starts with, “We regret to inform you…” Even if our work is accepted, the readership of these publications may be relatively small. There is generally no payment except for contest prize money. Most journals will give you a free copy of the issue containing your work or a year’s subscription. Nonetheless, there is an intellectual cachet to success in this tier, which makes it a popular way to collect gold stars for a writer’s resume. The frustration here is that there are large numbers of writers submitting with few being chosen, especially for print journals and contests. This is the tier of choice for graduates with MFA degrees in Creative Writing, and for their professors who must “publish or perish.” Keep this in mind. Start out with the more obscure online journals and blogs. Get a few successes on your pub list before you send your work to The Prairie Schooner or The North American Review.
If you are serious about getting published at this tier, here’s my recommendation. Send something somewhere every week if you can, or at least once a month. Keep a log. Note what you’ve sent, to whom, when, and if you’ve heard back. If you get a rejection, make sure the piece doesn’t need further work or editing. If it’s fine, just send it to another journal. Don’t take it personally, just keep at it. I tend to send work to only one targeted journal at a time. I find editors appreciate this and respond more quickly. You can also send a piece to multiple targeted publications, just be sure you keep track. You will have some success if you are diligent and persistent.
A listing of publications seeking submissions can be found in Poets & Writers Magazine, available in print or online. You can also use the current volume of the annual Writer’s Market: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published. It provides hundreds of pages of publications to consider and is available in print or eBook versions.
Tier Four: Mass Market Outreach
This is writing for a regional, national, or even international audience. Publication at this level includes magazines and newspapers with large distribution, and established publishing houses. This is the realm of free-lance journalists, but can be accessed by poets, fiction writers and memoirists as well. A query letter is usually involved to gain the interest of the editors in your work, whether fiction or non-fiction; especially for book-length manuscripts hoping to achieve a contract with an established publishing house. Having a literary agent is highly recommended at this tier and at times essential, especially if you are looking for a book contract. The agent can get you in the door with publishers who do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, and can also help you negotiate a fair contract with a publisher if your book is snapped up.
Fishing in this big pond takes considerable time, effort, courage, and repeated casts into the blue. A fly fisherman’s patience is a must. Success at this tier is what many people consider to be the mark of a “real” writer, but very few writers ever land a book contract with a major publishing house, or get printed in The New Yorker. If this is your publication goal, I say go for it; but don’t gauge your self-worth as a writer on being successful here. It’s a serious long shot. Upside: moderate to potentially large financial payout and a shot at fame. Downside: wallpapering your writing studio with rejection letters and getting discouraged. The best strategy is to keep the faith and get thick-skinned about setbacks. If you succeed at publishing your book at this tier level, you will be a professional contracted writer. That can have its own built-in problems, as with any job that has a boss; but you will have great cause for celebration!
Tier Five: Pay to Publish, Limited Outreach with Growth Potential
At this tier, a writer pays a Print On Demand publication company to create their book. This will include layout, design, and possibly an editing and/or marketing package. The writer pays to receive a print ready and/or eBook that is hopefully ready for prime time and Amazon Prime. There is little or no quality control in regards to the caliber of the actual writing between the front and back covers of books published in this tier. Pretty much anything goes, and goes onto Amazon! This means a plethora of poorly written books are flooding an already saturated online market. In any case, publishing at this tier can be an expensive endeavor. We’re talking thousands of dollars, which makes it an unrealistic option for many writers. However, if you have the funds, it will make your self-publishing efforts much less aggravating! Be cautious and thoroughly investigate your options. Some of these companies produce excellent, professional quality books. Some produce sloppy, unprofessional products.
The public outreach at this tier can be anywhere from just a few print copies for yourself, your family and friends; or an aspiration to reach a larger market. Mass market success is unlikely at this tier, but not impossible. It will depend on your marketing strategies and perseverance; but even a terrific book, with strong marketing can fall flat when it comes to sales numbers. So don’t get discouraged if your book is not a bestseller overnight. This tier still carries a bit of the “Vanity Press” stigma, as some of these publishers will publish any book, not just well-written ones. Upside: you will have an imprint, the On Demand Publisher’s name on your book when it is listed online. That means it won’t look like a self-published book. Some of these publishers have their own catalogues in which they will list your title, possibly for a fee. If there is a fee, make sure the fee includes some level of promotion, otherwise the catalogue listing is of marginal usefulness.
Tier Six: Self-publish, Limited Outreach with Growth Potential
This is where we decide to 100% self-publish our work. We can start a blog online and publish our work to the blog in the hopes of building readership. We can gather our work into chapbooks, or full-length books so that we can publish our poetry, short fiction, essay collections, memoirs, or even our novels. Platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing provide templates for creating the layout and design of our books, or we can use other design options and import them as PDF files to a publishing platform like KDP. If you have Adobe InDesign and can use it, you are already a pro!
Making our work public in this way can range from making a copy for ourselves and a few loved ones, to marketing our print and/or eBooks online to a larger audience. You can purchase your own ISBN numbers and create your own imprint, publisher’s name. The downside is that the process can create a bundle of stress and aggravation. The upside is that you will have complete control of the process and the look of your book. Once you’ve mastered the somewhat steep learning curve, you will feel empowered and you may even make a little money!
Some Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that at every tier beyond Tier Two, your writing project becomes a writing product and you become a publicist. There is a saturated market of books out there, all trying to capture the attention of readers and buyers. You can, of course, purchase ads through Amazon, Writer’s Digest, or Poets & Writers Magazine, but that’s a pricey venture and offers no guarantee you’ll make sales from the investment. You can take online courses about marketing your books, which is a good investment as you’ll have greater knowledge and confidence. Upside to publishing: you will have books to sell at your readings. Downside: you will have less time to write as you devote more time to promoting your products!
As writers, we can fit into any or all of these tiers. We can choose how public we want our writing to be, and we can choose different levels of publication for different pieces of our writing.
I just want to emphasize that even if you decide to stay put at Tier One, because that’s what you want, you are a “real” writer, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! Best of luck with all of your writing!
Here’s my writing prompt: What does being a writer mean for you and how public do you want to be with your writing?
I wish all of you a blessed holiday season and a happy, healthy new year!
Scroll down to About The Author for more information and check out Eve’s website at: www.jazzpoeteve.com.
