Signs of Spring, Post-AWP Comedown, and PR for Poets!

Signs of Spring

It’s been a dreary winter here, so I was so thankful yesterday for some early spring sunshine and some signs of spring. Went for a whirlwind tour of the flowers and creatures of La Conner – we saw lots of trumpeter swans, snow geese, four seals, herons, a bald eagle. Even more exciting – hyacinths, tulips, forsythia, and one field of early daffodils. I have to say I am looking forward to our season of flowers!

Suffering from Post-AWP Comedown?

Are you experiencing Post-AWP Comedown? Hungover? Tired? Feeling insecure, overwhelmed? Just remember a couple of days of regular sleep, regular food, and not having to be constantly “on” will probably fix it. My other advice is be sure to actually read your AWP haul of lit mags, books, and do something with your swag before it disappears into the ether. Here’s my faux-AWP haul (books and lit mags I acquired in the wild here in Seattle during AWP) with my kitten Sylvia – not too shabby – and I sent out a couple submissions and wrote a little, so I didn’t feel too left out this year. I’m still recovering from the MS flare that put me in the hospital last summer, believe it or not, so I didn’t want to try the whole travel-cross-country-to-a-not-very-accessible-convention center this year. I’m sure I’ll get a handle on this MS stuff before next year’s AWP in Portland, plus I can drive there! Now to start thinking about panels for AWP 2019!

What Are You Looking Forward to This Spring of 2018?

So what are you looking forward to this spring? Besides stalking flowers and birds? Here are some cherry blossoms not far from my house. I am looking forward to being outside a little more, being a teensy bit more social, and of course the launch of my PR for Poets book! I’m looking forward to the Skagit Valley Poetry Festival in May, I may try to make it up to the Port Townsend Writers Conference this summer, and of course, another trip up to La Conner during the Tulip Festival in April!

More PR for Poets!

Here’s another link to the pre-order at Two Sylvias for PR for Poets!

Thank you everyone who wrote me about the cover! This book will give you everything you need to help sell your first/second/third book of poetry! Stop being afraid, start getting read!
Thanks to all the experts who contributed, including Sandra Beasley, Robert Lee Brewer, Kelly Davio, Kelly Forsythe (formerly of Copper Canyon Press), Marie Gauthier of Tupelo Press fame, and many more. This book was mostly written two years ago but came to a bit of a slowdown when I got my cancer diagnosis in 2016 and then my MS hospitalization and diagnosis in 2017, so I’m happy we were finally able to get it out the door after I got a little better and I think we made it even better with the last editing pass and updates! Thank you to my intern Sylvia and all the beta readers who helped me get this ready for press! And my Two Sylvias editors, Kelli and Annette! (Is it so coincidental that my publisher is Two Sylvias, my cat is named Sylvia and the intern who worked with me to proof the book was also named Sylvia?)
I may even be doing a few talks on “PR for Poets” in the Northwest, so keep watching this page. I hope it will be a book that is helpful to poets who have always felt they didn’t know exactly what they were supposed to do once their books actually came out, and to poets who haven’t known exactly what their role is in the whole publishing whirlwind. I wanted this book to be empowering to poets, not discouraging, but some practical advice on what you could do with a “normal” budget (AKA not $7500 a month!) and a little time. You don’t have to be a natural extrovert, and a lot of the basics are much easier than you think!