How do youget a valid agent and also how do you copyright you literary work?

Question

I'm a writer and I am alwasy complimented on how good of poetry i write and I just wanted to know these things since I am 13 years old and I'm sincerely hoping to become a writer.
So anyone that can help me please do.By the way I'm writing poetry.

Answer 1

I hate to say this, but there is practically no way to sell poetry these days. Go to a major bookstore and check out the poetry section. You will find very little there. Not much poetry sells anymore. No major publishers are publishing poetry and no major agents are reading it. What sells is big time thrillers and mysteries ... novels. Bookstores just don't have the room to carry books that do not sell, and publishers don't have the money to print them.

First of all - stay away from poetry.com. It is a scam.

That said, if you get a copy of Writers Market and go through the smaller publishers, you will find several that publish "literary works." You would have to have a full volume of poetry for them to publish. As for copyrighting, if it is a complete volume, do not copyright. Just don't share them online. Your publisher if and when you get one will arrange copyrighting for you as a part of a standard author's contract. But always remember, a copyright is only as strong as the lawyer you PAY to protect and defend it for you. They are for the most part worthless.

If you are interested in publishing single poems - some magazines publish them.

However I can tell you that even the Poet Laureate of the US doesn't make money writing poems. For a five line poem in a magazine, 5 dollars a line or 25 dollars. That is it.

If you go to my profile, you will find I star all good Q and A regarding publishing and writing. Go through them and print out some that you think will help you. Several actual authors have posted responses here that are very helpful.

You might also go to Absolute Write Water Cooler and join. They have a poetry forum. It used to be run by poetinahat. I am not sure if he is still there. If he is, tell him I said hi. Join their poetry forum and exchange ideas with other poets.

At 13, a lot of us wrote poetry we were told was great and should be published. As a teenager, I published a total of ONE poem. It wasn't until I went through several genres and found the one that was right for me that I hit my stride and began writing publishable work. It will happen - in time.

Good luck.
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C