Writing Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for the craft of professional writing, including fiction, non-fiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Until now I have written just 2 poems. I was looking around to have my poems published. From past few days, I am looking for magazines/journals that pay and accept online submissions.
After having spent a lot of time submitting, I am wondering if it is worth it? Should I just post it online in my own website of something like that?
My condition is that I have a full time well paying job and currently have no plans to make a living out of writing.
What are your views on this issue?
I kicked a soccer ball around in the park yesterday and now I'm trying to decide if I should go pro or get a college scholarship. Any ideas?
Or, slightly more directly... if you've only written two poems until now, probably your two poems aren't much good. I guess it's not impossible that they are, but for most people, writing is a skill that needs to be developed and refined. So, with that in mind, you're probably pretty early in your writing life to be looking for publication.
There certainly are journals that accept and pay for poetry (although I don't think there are many poets making much real money at it, so it's good you've got a day job!) but they tend to look for... well, they tend to look for really good poems. Which, again, your two poems probably aren't.
It certainly isn't impossible that you'll get your poems published - but do look out for the 'publishers' who want YOU to pay, rather than the other way around. There are contests and such like this, mostly aiming at teenagers but some at older writers. They're a scam, more or less.
But more realistically, I think it would make sense to post your poems, get some feedback, refine your craft, and eventually submit for publication when you've got a better idea of what's required.
I say submit your poems. Give editors a chance to buy them. If the chances are slim, so what?
As far as I can tell, the only harm in submitting is the time it takes to research the markets, and whatever anguish you might feel when an editor chooses not to buy. If those things aren't bothering you, go ahead and submit.
The big advantage of submitting is that if a magazine publishes one of your poems, your work gets free advertising. Depending on the magazine's circulation, that might be worth the effort.
So send your poems to editors. When you don't feel like sending a given poem out again, post it on your own website. But first give a few editors a chance to buy.
I think Kate S. has a good point, in that the odds are that your first few poems may not be up to the snuff of what publishers are looking for. If you're not successful and get frustrated with the time it takes, there are sites that will allow you to post your poetry, just to be able to share it, without having to go through an acceptance process. Poetry.com is one of them.
If you want a good site where you can give and get critiques on your writing, try Scribophile.
One more benefit which can be gleaned from submitting your writing for publication, is that occasionally someone at the publishing company will include some constructive criticism in their rejection letter. When it happens, that advice is a treasure buried under what is otherwise, a pile of disappointment. Once you get clear of the anger and self-doubt which often accompany such letters, go back with an unemotional eye, and search for some clues on how to make your writing better.
I once got a rejection letter that simply said... "Not in the specified format". I got pissed. I got self-righteous. I eventually even let in a little self-doubt. But eventually, I went back and read the publisher's website and found their submissions requirements page. Before that moment, I didn't even know there was such a thing. Since then, I have searched for and found one on almost every magazine and publisher site. From that reject letter, I learned something that made my submission packages, if not my writing itself, better.
Learn from your failures and then they aren't failures any more.
