Quick Hits

The poem posted on Thursday took a few days to write. As a result, it threw me off my blogging schedule. Actually, it threw me off all schedules. If I have a poem brewing, I tend to put everything aside to finish it. So , I have a few blog posts that are waiting to get out. And, if I can eke out a little more time, I may flesh out one more poem this weekend.

****

To the spammers and advertisers out there: I'm glad that you like my blog, but I have no desire whatsoever to advertise here. Don't care if it's mommy products or diet products, I'm not interested.

Is anyone else being asked to advertise on their blogs? I find it annoying and invasive.

****

Does it bug you that lit journals are relying more and more on contests to generate revenue? I miss the days when I could enter without a fee. I know that the revenue goes to supplement print and production costs. But I've simply stopped entering contest because 1) I can't afford it, and 2) the practice simply bothers me. We put too much value on contest winners (spoken like a person who has only won one in her life—but it was no-fee contest). I will say that I'm more inclined to enter a contest that offers a copy of the publication or subscription with my fee.

****

(Unrelated to the post above) I got an acceptance to Crab Creek Review. Woo hoo! I've been trying to send out a few submissions a month and it seems to be paying off. I like the idea of poems being out there working for me.

****

Oscars, BABY! The Academy Awards are my Super Bowl. Will be posting my picks and my take on this year's presentation later today.

Comments

Collin Kelley said…
I've been approached by companies wanting me to write about certain products, shows, etc. and have turned many of them down. I've written for BBC, MTV and Showtime, mainly because I dig their shows and was happy to help spread the word.

Yeah, the whole contest thing just stinks. I've sworn off them completely.

Hobble Creek Review is looking for submissions of poetry, FYI. It's a great online journal and you can email your poems.
January said…
Now if BBC or MTV asked me to write something, that's different. Sadly, none of the offers have been that good.

And thanks for the tip about Hobble Creek.
Anonymous said…
I agree that contests can be really off-putting, but I wanted to let you know about one I think is worthwhile: Narrative Magazine's First Annual Poetry Contest. This is a free, online, non-profit literary mag dedicated to promoting good literature & new writers - so their fee goes to making that happen. It makes sense to me & I really like what I am seeing from them. Here's info: http://narrativemagazine.com/node/53403. Deadline is July 18.
January said…
I will check out the contest. Thanks.

Popular Posts