I have a bunch, and i would really like to get them published, if thats possible. Any idea how I could do it?
2007-09-24 08:50:37 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
There are basically 4 ways to sell short stories. To magazines, to e books, to anthologies and in contests.
In the first three ways you will find that pay for a story ranges from 5 bucks to about 25 bucks or between 1 and 5 cents a word. The reason for doing anthologies isn't to get rich, it is to get your name out there. Some pay nothing more than a copule copies of the book you're in.
Of course magazines like Playboy, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GQ etc. pay a great deal more. However, they primarily deal with major authors and they hire them to write specific stories. Very rarely do major magazines accept a pitch from an unknown and tell them to go ahead with it.
As for contests, there are a few legit ones. Check with Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks and Preditors and Editors. There are contests that pay 1,000 like Glimmer Train but they are very very hard to win. They are almost impossible to even sell a story to. Glimmer Train also charges a 35 dollar fee every time you enter a story.
Sorry but you will not be making thousands or even hundreds selling your stories. PJ M - a regular contributor here is a fairly well known anthology contributor. I have known him for several years now. I don't think he has ever gotten more than 50 bucks and a couple copies for a story. But it does get his name out there for the benefit of his longer works.
Poetry is a lot harder. Major publishers don't publish poetry anymore. No real call for it. They can sell millions of high body count James Patterson novels for every book of poems they sell. The only thing you can do is try magazines and contests or small literary publishers who still put out volumes of poetry. Agents don't represent poets, so you are on your own.
Just avoid poetry.com - one of the biggest scams in the publishing business. They prey on people who want to get poetry published and still believe people read poetry. It is well known they are a scam and that "getting published" with them means nothing. Many of us have tested that by writing the worst poems we possibly could - some have even sent in copies of well-known poems with their names on them. You get back a letter saying your poems have been "accepted" and you are going to be in a volume of poems - but send us a check to pay for a copy of the book.
They also send you a letter saying you are nominated for "Poet of the Year" and request you attend a convention to get your award. The convention costs several hundred bucks to attend and "EVERYONE" who shows up is "Poet of the Year" and gets a little trophy. Poetry.com is the laughingstock of the publishing world. Anyone can be a published poet just as long as you send in a poem and buy the book. It means nothing and it is a sign you are an amateur when you tell people you are a "published author" with poetry.com. Agents and publishers love hearing that. It gives them a good laugh for the day. And the trophies they award to the Poets of the Year are cheesy plastic things worth about a dollar. It costs several hundred to get one though. I would be ashamed to show you the poem that got me nominated for "Poet of the Year". It was hilarious and sooooo bad. Send in one and see.
By the way - they also send people to forums like this to brag about how wonderful they are. They are called sockpuppets in the industry. They are here to encourage you NOT to believe the truth. Check with Preditors and Editors and Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks. Professionals in the industry will tell you Poetry.com is a complete scam and fraud.
Hope that helps. Pax - C
2007-09-24 09:01:49 · answer #1 · answered by Persiphone_Hellecat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to writersmarket.com and sign up for a membership. But really your best avenue is to treat them like a songwriter trying to get their songs around. Go to poetry venues and read. Network with the other poets and you're sooner or later to find someone who hosts poetry events or in-town publishers. And if you're good then there's the probability you can get in with one of these folks.
2007-09-24 10:03:42 · answer #2 · answered by joezen777 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Poetry.com is where I publish my stuff its wonderful and they even have conte3sts that are fun to enter.
2007-09-24 09:00:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
poetry.com is a nice site to give u lots of answers on getting your stuff piblished.....
2007-09-24 08:57:23 · answer #4 · answered by heavenzchild11 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋