What to do with poetry

I'll admit it - I'm pretty lowbrow when it comes to poetry. Dr. Seuss is about my level of enjoyment. There's nothing quite like "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" to get my creative juices flowing. Okay, I know those all rhyme because they are the SAME. WORD. I said I wasn't a highbrow!

But someone asked a question about the issue of publishing poetry, so I decided to give it a go.

When I have a publishing question, I go to the guru of Christian publishing: Sally Stuart. Sally has put out the Christian Writer's Market Guide for years, and it's an invaluable resource for any writer who is serious about getting published. It's a hefty investment - $34.99 for the 2008 edition - but that's a cheap price to invest in yourself, your dreams and your obedience to God's call on your life to write.

Sally also has a website: http://www.stuartmarket.com/. Plus a blog: http://stuartmarket.blogspot.com/

It turns out there is a paying market for poetry in both book publishing and magazine publishing. Here's one example:

The Bible Advocate buys 6 to 10 poems a year, free verse and traditional, 5-20 lines and pays $20 a poem. You can submit 5 poems at a time. You'll need to do your research to make sure you know their guidelines and theme list. They say it's on their website (www.cog7.org/BA)

Now that's nice to know! And I wouldn't have know it if I didn't have this wonderful writer's guide. (I bought my first one at a local bookstore. Although they didn't have it in stock, they ordered one for me at no extra charge).

By the way, you might not want to submit any poetry to me for publication in the P31 Woman magazine. Unless, of course, it rhymes with Green Eggs and Ham.

Love,

Glynnis