Sometimes You Just Have to Do What You’re Told
You’re here because you heard me kicking and screaming, right? So sorry, but I have been having an epic tantrum about the “need to establish a social presence” if I want to be a successful writer…which for me means a writer who creates narrative and poetic stories that others enjoy reading.
“You can write a fabulous novel or reams of poetry, but if no one knows about them, what good are they,” claims every source I have ferreted out in a feeble attempt to find a place to hide.
The truth is, I adore people, but I would rather meet you face to face than through social media. Coronavirus has put a bit of a damper on the face to face possibilities, so I am trying to overcome my apprehensions, put aside my private nature, and jump in.
I am now “on” Facebook and Instagram, and although I have no idea how to post anything, it certainly is fun to add “likes” to other people’s witty ideas and wonderful pictures, and I have to admit it’s delightful to see fast-forwarded faces of friends from fifty years ago. Twitter? #NoIdea #MightSkipThatOneAltogether (Was I supposed to put spaces between those words?)
Creating a website has been another challenge. At least here, I can hope that readers help me out by telling me what works, doesn’t work, and how I can improve.
I tend to resent anything that cuts into my writing time, so I’m hoping that by getting all of these “online presence” to-do’s checked off my list my time will be my own again to blissfully sharpen my pencil and create a story or poem worth reading.
No Illusions
I have no illusions of grandeur. During the past two years, I self-published twenty-three books and had several poems and a creative non-fiction piece published in literary magazines. Most recently I published my first Poetry Collection. Tiny drops in the literary bucket.
I also wrote lots of poems that the world will never see, simply because that is how I make sense of life's joys, love, losses, thrills, and times of confusion and angst as I experience them.
I believe in the power of words––to cut, tear down, and shred as we so often see and have all experienced, and to lift up, encourage, and celebrate others if we embrace them as respected fellow travelers during this brief time we share the Earth.
So, regardless of how small my contribution, I will continue to try to write books for the youngest among us, because I hope that the stories will, above all, make them smile and maybe even laugh out loud. But I also strive to help them build vocabulary so that they can express their thoughts at increasingly high levels and in a way that shows kindness at its heart. I dream of helping them to be able to express the unique, potentially impactful ideas they have. The world need to hear their voices.
I appreciate your support!
THANK YOU ALL for helping to make “Nana Posy and the Midnight Mockingbird” the first of nine of my books to make #1 on Amazon’s lists of “Hot New Releases!” Crazy!
I promise to keep working hard to create the best children’s books that I can in order to deserve your continued support.
It is important to me to help children build vocabulary and literacy skills, increase their emotional intelligence, and strengthen their connections with Nature. I appreciate you understanding how much I value your children, too.
'Bout to Find Out
The thing about putting an intention out to the universe is that there you are out on that limb with all the upturned faces below and only your heart to trust with knowing which ones are rooting for you to soar with your dream and which ones are kinda hoping that the branch you're clinging to snaps so they can watch you tumble back to Earth and maybe break your high fallutin' neck in the process.
Those are the times you truly find out who your "Friends" are, because they are the ones who will not only catch you if you fall, but whose love and support makes dang sure that you don't.
The Power of Kindness
One of the hazards of deciding you want to have your writing reach a larger audience than your handcuffed friends and family is the repeated ego blows of rejection. Takes me right back to high school where a crush kept asking my friends out, but not me!
I know that it's "part of the process," as the author sages point out. So, I keep working hard to become a better writer and poet, and the optimist within keeps bubbling up and enticing me to submit anew.
For my books, I eliminated the rejection cycle, although it wasn't much of a "cycle," really. I only submitted about five different titles to about five different publishers until deciding to take matters in my own hands and go "Indie," a term I had to look up at the time, thinking it had something to do with dance-themed Bollywood movies from the 80's. (Wish I were making that up, but it illustrates just how steep a learning curve I have faced.)
For poetry I began by submitting to a few National Poetry Society state competitions to see how my work might stack up against others. Once I gained the confidence that poet judges sometimes considered my lines worthy, I selected three magazines that I hoped would want to publish my poems.
The first, The Lyric, is the oldest magazine in North America in continuous publication devoted to traditional poetry. For 100 years they have showcased traditional forms. They were a beautiful fit for me, since in addition to writing free verse, I love the challenge of expressing what's in my heart using rhyme and meter.
The current editor in a century-long line of dedicated poetry lovers is Jean Mellichamp Milliken. Her kindness in the way she explained why certain of my poems didn't work for her magazine gave me the courage to continue to submit, until two of my poems reached her standards and were published this summer in Volume 101 of The Lyric.
The second magazine I admire and chose to pester with submissions (in spite of their intimidating 2% acceptance rate) is Sky Island Journal, an online journal with 90,000 readers in 145 different countries. It was love at first sight when I discovered them.
I was hooked when I clicked on "About" and read:
"Isolated yet inclusive, sky islands are home to the lean and the rugged, the specialized and the independent, the tenacious and the beautiful. They are home to the native as well as the exotic. They are home to those who would rather see than be seen—home to the wild and the wild at heart. They are our favorite places because we can relate to them; sky islands embody everything we appreciate about writers and writing."
---Sky Island Journal,
Jason Splichal and Jeff Sommerfeld, Co-Founders and Co-Editors-in-Chief
It became the whole line and sinker when I went on to read their mission:
"Our mission is to provide readers around the world with a powerful, focused, advertising-free literary experience that transports them: one that challenges them intellectually and moves them emotionally.
We believe in removing barriers between readers and access to high quality literature—especially in regions of the world that have traditionally been underserved by English language journals or completely ignored by the literary establishment."
---Sky Island Journal,
Jason Splichal and Jeff Sommerfeld, Co-Founders and Co-Editors-in-Chief
And under Submission Guidelines you find these magical words:
“Every submission—regardless of whether we accept or decline it—receives a prompt, respectful response from our team that details what we appreciated as readers. We do all this in an average of 9 days. This is what every writer deserves. This is what you deserve.”
---Sky Island Journal,
Jason Splichal and Jeff Sommerfeld, Co-Founders and Co-Editors-in-Chief
I was over the moon to make the remarkable discovery that this dynamic duo of Fine Human Beings and Editors backs up their claims. I would gladly suffer 5,000 rejections in exchange for the one Sky Island Journal acceptance letter I received for a creative non-fiction piece titled "Caught." Their sincere praise for the piece had my feet dancing across the floor and my heart soaring like a desert sky island hawk. Their extremely kind acceptance letter was followed, remarkably, by a postcard with additional accolades and a message of "Welcome to the Family."
As for the third magazine where I wanted to be published in 2021, well, that will just have to wait. Not because of procrastination, by any means. Simply because I'm in love, and I've always been a one journal type of girl. Until Sky Island tells me to turn off the tap, my creative non-fiction and free verse spigot will be riding the wave of their encouragement and kindness.
P.S. "Caught" can be found in the Fall 2021 Issue # 18 in the company of delightful literature from amazing poets and writers from around the world. I hope you have the time and the inclination to relax and enjoy.
There’s No Place Like Home
Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, I finally had the sense to tap my ruby slipper heels. Spending thousands of online hours searching through talent-for-hire websites for an artistic person to illustrate my children’s books has been like a futile trip to the Land of Oz. Along the way, I met the cowardly lion who disappeared after being paid; the Scarecrow who was committed until grasping the scope of work; the Tin Man who might have lacked the heart to expand from little greeting card pictures; and the Wizard herself, who kept putting me off from behind her lovely flowing curtain. I even met a few flying monkeys and a wicked witch or two. Maybe the most disappointing encounters were with talented artists whose prices were out of reach for me as a novice author.
For a person who simply wants to take the multitude of ideas swirling in her brain to create stories and poems that I hope children will enjoy, it has been a grand, circular, discouraging quest that I have resented for cutting into my writing time.
Cue the ruby slippers. I looked very close to home and have now secured the most creative, artistic person I know. One who is willing to somehow fit into a ridiculously full schedule the time to illustrate my Nana Posy series. Thanks to this absolute miracle, the first book in the series, “Nana Posy’s Project,” will be coming out within a few months. I want to surprise you with the identity of this miracle artist, but in the meantime, I can tell you that Dorothy was very wise when she said, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
Update! Since undertaking that first colloaboration,
Nana Posy’s Project
Nana Posy and Quail Pie
Nana Posy and the Christmas Concert
Nana Posy and the Midnight Mockingbird
Nana Posy and the Baby Bobcat
Nana Posy and the Rosy-Faced Lovebird
Nana Posy and the Halloween Javelina
are complete and available on Amazon.
The illustrator is my amazing son, Tyson Myers.
To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme
In the same way we might over-simplify people by placing them into two convenient groups like dog people or cat people, chocolate or vanilla lovers, morning people or night people, it’s often the case that poets and readers of poetry divide into groups based on a preference for Free Verse or Rhyme and Meter.
If I had to choose, I would say that am a dog-loving, chocolate-preferring night person, but when it comes to poetry, I am happily in both groups. No need to pick a favorite. Reading lines from long ago masters as well as modern day verse puts me in awe of the magical way poets use words to create powerful, lasting images that make us feel something compelling enough to pause, or to want to read again and again.
As for writing poetry, for me the form usually depends on my purpose. When I want to tell a brief story, I often use rhyme and meter. I love the challenge of keeping the tale concise by working it into a well-defined structure.
Part of me feels that by writing poems with meter and rhyme I pay homage to long-ago kindred poet spirits and show respect for their art, even though they would probably be appalled at my scrawls. It pleases me to feel that connection and to think that forms they created hundreds of years ago can still be used as a means of poetic expression today.
Free Verse, to me, feels more like an unstructured conversation with a friend. Whether it be over a morning cup of coffee, a noisy lunch group at a sidewalk café, or with a best friend and an evening glass of wine, writing Free Verse feels like I’m accessing innermost thoughts and feelings to share an interpretation of the world with people I care about, as we go through life trying to piece together a sense of understanding.
When I write poetry for children, however, I have a strong preference for Rhyme and Meter. I know that kids are drawn in by the ability to predict what the ending of a rhyming line might be, and I also know they find comfort and joy in the musicality of meter.
I try to write children’s poetry that amuses, helps build vocabulary, brings them a sense of delight, and hopefully nudges them, without being preachy, toward choosing to act with kindness in their lives.
If you know any kids with an interest in poetry, please tell them they might want to visit my poetry-for-kids website, NanaPosy.com
www.nanaposy.com