a poet's life
Don't be afraid to take a big step.
You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps --David Lloyd George
my poems are about ready to go.
i printed out the cover letters today and i have the following poems going to the following magazines:
Rosebud: Apple Picking Time, Neighbors, Passing Through Twilight
Dandelion: The Beach, Seasons, Lake Breeze (aka there is a certain time of night)
Authors: The Visit, Morning
The Threepenny Review: Going out for Chinese, Legacy, Daisy Chain
that isn't all my poems, but it is a decent start. the various magazines pay anywhere from $20 to $100 per poem that they publish. i was trying to work out in my head the other day just how many poems i would have to publish to be a full time poet at say, a $40 average per poem, and just to survive (barely) it would be five a week (ha!) so i guess i can't make a living at poetry. i need to start working harder at fiction i suppose. poetry take a lot of time for me, because i am so meticulous about it, that i can write a short story in the same time as
two poems, and pay for stories is much higher... it starts at around $100 flat fee for some magazines (1/2 to 1 cent a word in those that pay by length, though) up to anywhere to a thousand or two dollars, which is pretty amazing to me. at that rate, a story a month could support me *grin* but even at say, $200 apiece, that is still waaaaay better than poetry, considering the time and effort involved. poetry may be a hint more prestigious, but it doesn't pay the rent.
the thing that bothers me the most is the wait for an answer. the earliest i am likely to hear from any of these magazines is in two months, which means December 1, which seems like such a loooooooong time away. *soft sigh* well, in the mean time i will have to keep submitting stuff. i think after this first group goes out, i am going to aim for one submission a week, at least, of either a group of poems or a short story. with work and school that seems like a decent interval for me, especially considering i still have bunches of poems i haven't submitted yet *giggle*.
i really really wish i had my own copy of Writers Market, but i looked at them in the bookstore and they are about $50. maybe if i sell some poems, that is what i can use the money for. as for now, i spent my last $20 on an inhaler today, and i have no more cash til next friday. good thing my car is full of gas. it is funny, when one is low on money, what goes through your head. i was standing in the checkout line in Walgreens with the inhaler, thinking, this is 80 packages of ramen soup worth of inhaler here... i darn well better need this thing!!! i mean, not that i ever ~really~ want to have an asthma attack, *giggle* but, that is what i was thinking, that i better have bought it for a reason.
i miss Master so much today... *sigh*. i have been thinking about Him a lot today, with an achey sort of missing Him, and i'm not sure why that is. it's just... i guess i felt i needed Him today a little, and i was so scared about the other thing i planned to tell him today in my homework. i just wanted to cling to Him because i was so scared.
well, is quarter to eight and my roomie is wanting the puter, so i am going to send these and go take a shower... will come back in a bit to see Master, *sigh* i miss Him so much. till next W/we meet be well and happy --di.