So, you wanna get published!

The following is an article i published last year in ART WITH WORDS magazine (now defunct). i thought that if anyone has aspirations to one day getting published, this might answer a few basic questions. i wrote it kind of out of self defense, to answer the most common questions that people ask me. here's the article...

So, you wanna get published!
by
John Yamrus

One of the questions i’m most often asked is “how does somebody go about getting their poems published?” you know the kind of stuff…someone will invariably come up to me after a reading and say something like: “my son wants to be a writer. he writes the nicest poems and wants to publish them some day…can you help him out?” my first response is always to tell that person to always have a fall-back, because if he or she thinks they’re going to make any money at this, then they’re deluding themselves or have been sorely misinformed. i’ve been publishing for 38 years and it’s only in recent years that i’ve made anything more than lunch money at it. no, poetry’s a game for amateurs. that’s not even true. an “amateur” is someone who does something solely out of love for what they’re doing. if that’s all you’re doing…if you’re not compelled to write poems…to dig into your heart and see if you can come up with something fresh and true and alive…if you’re only writing poetry because you “love” to do it then go post your poems on some internet site and be happy with everyone commenting on your words with statements like “thanks for the great read” and “well said” and “nice write”.
if you want to be a writer…if you TRULY want to be a writer (and i’m not saying “poet” here, because that term’s been so devalued these days by everyone and his brother calling themselves poets that it’s become practically worthless. even after 17 published books i refuse to call myself a poet because i feel i haven’t yet earned the term.)…anyway, if you TRULY want to be a writer who stands out of the crowd then you MUST be in print. okay, you can cut a lot of corners and go directly to people like Publish America and Lulu who will print your book for nothing or practically next to nothing…but if you don’t first do your homework and lay a good solid foundation, then i absolutely guarantee you that your book won’t sell more than a hundred copies and most of them will be to family and friends and few of those copies will ever get read because they’re only buying your book to be nice to you or to get you off their back. guaranteed.
no, the only real way to get published is to do it the hard way…one step at a time. and that takes work and dedication and perseverance. let me back up a bit right now. as a writer you have to be able to split yourself in two. there’s got to be the artistic “writer” side of you…the one who does the writing and thinking and loving and growing. then there’s got to be the level-headed “business” side to you as well. i can’t stress this hard enough or often enough that unless you work at it with a plan, and work at it as often as you can, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. let’s face it…becoming a published, respected writer takes a plan that’s followed and maintained and modified over the years just like any other venture. first of all you need to start sending things off to magazines…print magazines. and if you’re thinking right now “where do i find print magazines that publish poetry?” then stop reading this right now because you’re wasting my time and yours, because you don’t care enough to do what it takes. Go to Borders or Barnes and Noble…check out the magazines. there’s tons of magazines. buy a couple and start reading. chances are they have ads in them for other magazines. check those out as well. start doing your homework. start making lists of magazines you’re going to submit to. better yet, go into any one of those stores and buy yourself a copy of “Poet’s Market”. for someone just starting out it’s an indispensable tool. it lists thousands of small magazines and small publishers who publish poetry. and if you contact any one of them and they mention money…YOUR money…run for the hills. you’ve seen the ads…”Publisher looking for poets”…”let your poems earn big bucks”. the only thing these people are looking to do is part you from your big bucks.
Poet’s Market lists all sorts of good things…the magazine or book publishers who do poetry, and the listings contain all sorts of great information like the contact people, the type of poetry they’re looking for, the guidelines for submission etc etc etc.
like i said…have a plan. start small. don’t think that you’re going to get anywhere by starting off sending your work to The Paris Review or The New Yorker. you’re wasting your time. start small. take a small first step.
let’s talk about basics. it’s like anything else. the more you do it, the better you’re going to get at it. sending stuff out to the magazines is an acquired habit just like anything else.
do something every day. write something. send something off to a magazine. edit something you’ve written. send something off to another magazine. i don’t care what it is, but do something every single day. and don’t give up. and don’t send some poems off to a magazine and sit back and wait till you get an answer. no, put together another batch of poems (different poems. never have duplicate submissions circulating) and send them off to another magazine. keep records of what you’ve sent to each magazine and what the results were. this will keep you from duplicating efforts and also give you a better idea of which of your poems they liked or didn’t. chances are you’re going to start off by getting rejected. don’t worry, it happens to everyone and never goes away. like i said, i’ve been publishing for 38 years… i’ve had nearly 900 poems published in magazines around the world and still get more rejections than acceptances. if i had to make a guess, i’d estimate that over the years i’ve had something like 3000 rejections. that’s just part of the game. too often i talk to people who say “i want to be a writer, but i sent some poems to two different magazines and they got rejected”. tough. send more out. getting published is not brain surgery. anybody can get published if they want it bad enough and try hard enough. it’s strictly a numbers game. almost like sales. the more doors you knock on, the better your chances are. so, keep things in the mail.
and when you send things out to magazines, respect the editors. don’t send works in progress, or sloppy work. don’t expect the editors to do your job for you. they’re too busy for that. years ago i used to edit two different little magazines and while the circulation was next to nothing i used to get 15 to 20 submissions a day and anything that i opened up that didn’t look complete or professional didn’t even get a second look. it went right in the can.
i’m jumping around a bit here, but i’m trying to cover a lot of territory in a short space of time. so, that being said, let’s talk again about why i’m suggesting you start with the print magazines…because like it or not, no matter how small or ratty the magazine is, publication (whether you admit it or not) commands respect. that’s where the real audience is. unlike the internet, where everything’s free, people have to shell out their hard earned cash to buy a magazine. that means something. that shows they’re serious.
okay, so you start sending stuff out to magazines and you’re getting some feedback…usually at first it’ll be negative because you don’t know anyone and nobody knows you. when you get a rejection, don’t just throw it away and move on to the next one…send the editor a thank you letter or e-mail or note. thank him or her for taking the time to read your work and say “i know you didn’t like what i’d sent, but might you be interested in seeing something else? or, do you know of another magazine that you think might be a better fit for my poems?” network. build up your contacts. then, when you finally get something accepted somewhere (and i guarantee you will, if you try hard enough and look hard enough), use that to your advantage. send more poems out to other magazines with a note saying something like: “i recently had some of my other poems accepted by Buttcheek magazine. i’m hoping you’ll find something here that you like”.
it’ll take time. it won’t happen overnight. but, sooner or later you’ll start to build up a readership. people will recognize your name. then, after a while you’ll start to know which magazines also have a book publishing side to them and by that time you’ll be more familiar with the editors and you won’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask them if they’d be interested in seeing a manuscript for a book. that’s it. there’s no big secret to it. no mystery. it’s just a matter of hard work and determination.
then, when you finally get your book published, people will know your name. a few at least. certainly more than your Aunt Mary and your fat cousin Tony.
please, don’t let yourself be counted among those “artistes” who think the world’s going to beat a path to your door because you’re just so damned good and deserve to be published and known the world over. it’s just not going to happen. it’s up to you. you’ve got to make it happen.
when i was a kid, growing up, just starting out wanting to be a writer, the guys i hung with also wanted to be writers and they had so much more talent than me…but they couldn’t be bothered to look at the “business” side of this because they were above that…they were artists. they figured that they were so good that word would get around about them and people would come to them. they’re still very talented. and they’re still waiting.
that’s it. i’ve talked enough. now it’s your turn. let’s see if you’ve got what it takes.


Since 1970 John Yamrus has published 2 novels, 15 volumes of poetry and nearly 1,000 poems in magazines around the world. Recently, selections of his work have appeared in translation in the Romanian magazine Antiteze. His newest book of poetry is SHOOT THE MOON. John’s books are available online from barnesandnoble.com

Everything he says is true. I do not deny it.

My turning point was however in the buying the magazines and reading them. I found myself wasting money on crap. What is being published today was not material that I enjoyed. The books I was buying were being slammed into walls as I got completely angered by the poor writing. Note that I am speaking of fantasy literature and not poetry, so John and I surely have different attitudes.

For the last few years, the only consistent good material has been in children's literature (I have children, so was reading their books just to check on them). I was thoroughly entertained by Lemony Snickett and a few other children's books. In my own section I found a couple of books of quality by starting writers, then began tossing their following books against walls as they fell into the same writing style and patterns of the other writers. I began to not want to be published, because I saw myself as 'selling my soul' to find 'real' readers.

I went the PublishAmerica route simply to get my own 'voice' out to the masses. I went to conventions and started looking for 'real' readers seeking a change from the dreary repetition of what they were buying. I then lost my job and could no longer support my climb up the ladder. I continued my internet writing, just because it was my only outlet that I could afford.

I am now again working, and even in an industry that supports those that desire to be published (I am back in education). I am now considering again making my move, but simply tired of convincing the ignorant and stupid of what other writing styles are out there. I am making my plans, but exactly what scheme I settle upon this time I am not yet sure (I have a book with an editor, and am waiting to see what she says). I however am seriously considering staying 'off the radar' by supporting the independents.

Note that if any of you are considering the PublishAmerica or such routes, the work load is upon you. They will provide you with a good product, but they leave it entirely in your hands as to what you can do with it. What I found in going to PublishAmerica was however a two-edged sword. I got a wonderful book, but it was a flower amidst a swamp of really poor works. While the regular publishers put out a quagmire of pablum, there is a decent level of professionalism (I will not say 'quality') that can be expected. PublishAmerica will accept really horrid manuscripts. While I definitely believe that I have improved since my first novels, I can say as someone that has ready many other PublishAmerica works that my novels are WAY above the level of most others being put out by that company. I thus had problems getting respect for my book because those that knew of PublishAmerica had no respect for the general group of books.

John is correct that getting published takes work. Only if you are lucky enough to have parents that own their own publishing company can you expect to have an easy road to success (can we say, "Eragon"?). Each market has its own foibles, but the basic path is through magazines and then into books. I wish you all well.

for my last three books i turned to Publish America for entirely different reasons than most people. i had bounced around for many years in the small presses, having books published by this and that small press, always refusing to pay one single red cent to get my works into print and as such (as a writer of poetry) i found that the only publishers willing to take a chance were small presses and university presses with little or no distribution. refusing to pay to get my works published i literally searched worlwide for publishers...most of my books were published in the united states, but when times were lean i took offers from publishers in england as well as sweden. needless to say it did nothing to raise my public profile. since 1970, having published in the various literary mags that publish poetry, i've managed to build up a bit of a name and a readership. the only thing that was lacking was proper distribution (or at least the ability to put my books into position to be bought) and Publish America did/does that. they make your books available for purchase worldwide, and that's been a huge help for sales. the double edged sword with P/A is that if you don't already have an established name your books won't sell...that's because nobody's looking for them. but, if you have a name and if you also know how to market that name...they can be the best thing that's ever happened to you.