Tiny Pages

What’s a micro-chapbook? At the Origami Poems Project, it’s a way to spread poetry free—yes, free—through palm-sized books printed on a single sheet of paper, then folded Origami-style into, well, micro-chapbooks.

Richer Resources poet Sherry Weaver Smith just published one called “Charing Cross,” which contains six poems. Find Sherry and her little book here.

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Your Byline Here

Seven is a nice, symbolic number—seven deadly sins, seventh heaven, seven wonders of the world. So, fingers crossed and trusting in the possible power of numerology, here are my seven steps to getting your poems published:

1. Submit, submit, submit. If you really want to get your poetry published, you have to work at it. My go-to source is the classified section of Poets & Writers Magazine. Sure, you can see the listings online, but why wouldn’t you pay for a subscription and help the cause along?

2. Submit with surgical precision. Look for a good fit. My first published poem appeared in CHEST Journal, a publication for thoracic surgeons. The poem arose from hallucinations I had while coming to after lung surgery—virtually made for CHEST.

3. But cast a wide net. This isn’t as contradictory as it sounds. Keep an eye on the blogs and email newsletters for unexpected opportunities, and consider revising/refocusing an existing poem to better fit a particular call for submissions. A poem I wrote about a typhoon in Hawai’I didn’t sound like a good fit for an anthology of poetry about Hurricane Sandy, but the subtitle said “and other natural disasters,” and the editors accepted my piece.

4. Keep careful track. Sure, you file submission emails, but it’s a pain to keep double-checking them to make sure you haven’t already sent these poems to that journal. One way to stay organized is an online submissions tracker. Check Writer's Database for one example.

5. Follow the guidelines. If you send poems to journals that accept simultaneous submissions, be scrupulous about withdrawing any that are accepted elsewhere. And don’t expect editors to bend their guidelines for you. If they say, “Send up to five poems,” don’t send six. That goes for line length, document format, thematic focus, and other requirements.

6. Be patient. The good folks who edit poetry journals usually have day jobs and are inundated with submissions, so don’t expect a quick response when you submit a poem. Submission guidelines often provide a rough estimate of response time.

7. Don’t take rejection personally. My first poetry teacher called rejection letters membership cards in the poets’ club. I kept my first one on my bulletin board as an incentive to keep trying.—S.Z.