Black Hippie Chick Day: Thoughts on Publication

Many of you are already ready to publish, so it seemed a good topic to cover for Black Hippie Chick Day.

When I began writing, my mentor told me to hold off on publication. He said, given the terrible standards of poetry in those days, I would probably be accepted for publication if I tried, and that was the problem. It was intended as an insult, and it was a valid one. Did I really want to leave traces of my terrible work lying around for everyone to see in perpetuity? Well, nope, so I waited. And waited. I waited three years, in fact. My brother, at 11, was published before I was.

Then my mentor said I was ready.

In those days, I thought getting published was like winning the lottery. It hardly ever happened and more than likely would never happen to me. Then I fell ill and had little to lose, so I opened up a magazine, found the phone number, and called the sub-editor. I told her I had a column. Could I send it? Incredibly, she said yes. That little column was accepted for publication that day. They even paid for it. So began my career as a fashion magazine writer. The magazine began assigning me features, and I kept agreeing to write things I had no idea how I'd ever handle. I said yes first, and then asked "how" later. Sometimes you just have to take risks.

Yes, sometimes it really is that easy, particularly these days when everyone posts their submission guidelines for anyone who wants them.

I'm a career poet, though, so literary journals are where it's at. I found my two favourites and submitted some poems. Incredibly, they published those, too. (And they, too, provide submission guidelines for anyone willing to look) Almost three decades later, I'm still publishing with them. While it's true that literature journals have rather high standards, you might one day achieve them.

Still, my mentor was right about holding off on publishing. Some of my magazine features followed me around for decades. People would discover them in doctor's rooms or friends' houses. Even after I'd moved to an entirely new city, those damned magazines just kept resurfacing. People keep journals on their shelves for decades. They buy them in second-hand bookshops. If you publish a crap piece of work, it will come for you like Jason. (Happy Halloween, by the way)

You should publish. Some of you should publish later, and some of you should publish now. It can and will have an impact on your career. Every year waited is a year lost. You never know what might happen when people start seeing your work.

Navigating the market is quite complex, so instead of writing a vaguely applicable guide, I'm going to ask you to approach me instead. I will advise you as best I can