Ten Days to a Publishable Poem
Written on 6 August 2008 by admin
While there is no perfect plan to create incredible poetry, there are literally hundreds of possible techniques that will help you achieve your goal of getting published.
This list is just my basic suggestions that may lead to success for writers seeking to craft a publishable poem.
Day One
Write an initial draft. Read it a few times. Make any minor adjustments to your poem that grab your attention at this point. Walk away from it. Consider it a work-in-progress.
Day Two
Go back to your poem the next day and read it aloud. Read it again and listen to your words closely. See what doesn’t sound right or needs corrected now. Make these changes.
Day Three
Read your poem to yourself and then read it to someone else (whose opinion you value). Consider their comments. Edit your work again.
Day Four
Give your poem to someone else to read. This time you may want to choose a friend or family member, who knows something about literature and is not afraid to be honest with you. Weigh their words of praise and/or criticism. Re-write your work with a focus on their feedback.
Day Five
Read some of the poems in literary journals that you’re planning to submit your poetry to for publication. What made these poems good or bad in your opinion? How were they different from or similar to your work? What made these poems appropriate for this particular publication? Answer these questions and jot down your thoughts.
Day Six
Look over the notes you made about the positive and negative aspects of the other poems you’ve read. Read your poem a few times and make notes about it. Make any revisions you feel are required at this point.
Day Seven
Read your poem to yourself several times. Try to think of this as the last chance to edit your work. Make your changes.
Day Eight
Read your initial draft. Read the work and note any changes you’ve made in the last seven days. Re-write again. When you’re satisfied with this “semi-final” edition, share it with several friends or family members, whose opinion you respect.
Day Nine
Consider the feedback you received yesterday. Read your poem again. Choose to re-write or choose to let it be.
Day Ten
Read your poem one last time. Unless you suddenly see some glaring imperfections that you didn’t see before, print a copy of your work. Read your poem as it appears on the page as opposed to your computer. If you have no nagging doubts about problems that have plagued you or quirks that you can’t seem to get past as you read your work this time.
BE BRAVE! Submit it to several publications today!
Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp
What’s YOUR Angle
Written on 5 August 2008 by admin
So how can you make your article worth reading?
It’s all about the angle…
You are about to write an article. Your reasons are your own. Maybe it’s a promotional article to gain publicity. Maybe it’s a contribution to a company newsletter or journal. Maybe you just want to write articles for fame, fortune, or both…
No matter why you’re writing an article, it’s your responsibility to make it interesting.
So how can you make your article worth reading? It’s all about the ANGLE.
First pick your topic. For example, let’s say your topic
is something that many people may find themselves yawning about. We hear a lot about diet pills. How can you “spice up” your topic? You need an angle!
Then you need to decide what aspect of the thing you want to write about. Are you selling diet pills? Lots of people are. Is there anything new or particular interesting in the world of diet pills that people are interested in that you know about? Is it possible to buy pills that actually make you lose weight while sleeping? Do you have the inside scoop
on how the average guy or gal can stay at home and make money selling diet pills? Your job is to do the research, use some creativity, and come up with several different angles. Let’s take a look at some popular article types:
1. THE HOW-TO
People love how-to articles! They lead the reader step-by-step through how to accomplish their goals. They also sometimes offer resources the reader can contact for more information.
What expertise do YOU have that you could share? Turn that subject into an interesting how-to article. A few examples: How To Get Free Publicity for Your Website, How To Convince People To Join You In Joint Ventures, and How To Make Money With Your Computer.
Think of the titles that you could write about. Everybody knows something that they can share with others. Think about your profession or your hobbies. What are you really good at? Someone
out there could use your knowledge.
2. THE MINI CASE STUDY
Raise a provocative question and then answer it with three or four real-life examples. Example: For an article titled,”Can A Stay-At-Home Mom Really Make Good Money?” You could begin with a few stats on how today”s women are making fortunes without having to leave home. Then you could feature a few real cases, each with different outcomes to show all sides of the issue. Forums are excellent sources of information and interviews no matter what your topic.
You could use one similar to the essay in my “Instant Essay Creator.” It is called “Should School Uniforms Be Mandatory?” This was based on an actual survey of high school administrators that have mandated
school uniforms and swear by them.
3. THE SURPRISE
“Amazing New Product Claims To Erase The Signs Of Aging!”
You hook the reader by getting him interested in this revolutionary idea. For example, an anti-wrinkle cream. The cream is becoming famous because of its claims to allow anyone to erase the signs of aging
caused by too much sun. This is ideal to use when you’re discussing the drawbacks of a new practice or method that”s controversial right now. As the reader, you get all excited, thinking you”ve discovered an incredible new product. But the article reveals, point by point, that too much sun exposure is unsafe and that intelligent people will not just throw caution to the winds and risk getting skin cancer. They will purchase “Super Sunscreen Deluxe” from the given website! Now that’s marketing!
4. THE TREND
Whenever a trend sweeps the nation, you’ll suddenly see dozens of articles covering the topic. From the latest skirt length to the latest exercise gimmick. People want to know all about these trends their origins, benefits, and limitations.
5. THE STUDY
These articles report the results of a study or survey. If you do a bit of research, you can probably dig up a recent study on which you can base your article. Examples: “More Couples Admitting to
Have Met Online,” “Religious People Are Happier Than Others,” or “Most People Prefer Dogs To Cats.”
Now that you’ve gotten the idea, pick an angle and WRITE!
Kristi Sayles invites everybody to check out her
Instant Article Creator Software at http://www.writethatarticle.com It is an interactive, template-based program that teaches how to
produce professional “Sales-Pulling” articles to distribute to Ezines. The customer receives LOTS of valuable freebies-including a list of Ezine publishers that are just begging for your article! (This article is an example.) More of Ms. Sayles’ writing programs are at http://smartauthor.com
Ms. Sayles’ newletter can be viewed online at http://smartauthor.com/treasures.html