LET'S PUBLISH A POETRY BOOK

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2007

Hello, Poets --

I'd like to gauge interest in putting together an anthology of AW Poets' poetry to submit for publication.

kdnxdr came up with the idea to publish a book of haiku by AW poets, possibly titled "5-7-5".

Great idea. Let's put some verse together and submit it for publication.

Who's interested?

I've been bandying the idea about already, and there are several good AW people keen to help from the editing/business end.

Here are some ideas so far:

TOPIC:
- haiku
- poetry on a theme:
>> Myths, Legends and Folklore (e.g. Trish and JRH's Pygmalion poems)
>> The Arts and Artists (e.g. Annie O's Pollock, JRH's Dali, my The Ancients)
>> A community (e.g. William Haskins' Blue Rock project or my Mendoza series)
>> A menagerie (e.g. NeuroFizz' Animalia series)
>> A travelogue (e.g. aspier's scenic poems)

The work would have to be edited or selected for publication, and I think it'd have to be, at least predominantly, unpublished work (as opposed to just taking poems from the Forum and printing them).

There's a lot to talk about if we want to do something like this. What about money? Do we identify the poets as AW members? Any profits split among the poets, proceeds to AW or an AW member relief fund? Graphic design, querying, promotion, getting an agent, etc. I don't know how long this piece of string is.

But it might be fun.

Are you interested?
Got any ideas?

Stew21 · Jan 21, 2007

very much interested. Can't wait to see what the conversation turns out.

kborsden · Jan 21, 2007

this sounds fantastic, great idea.

about finances...why not just donate all to keeping AW alive.

dahmnait · Jan 21, 2007

I'm interested. =) I think donating the proceeds to AW is also a wonderful idea. Topic on the other hand, I have no input, sorry. They all sound good.

Bartholomew · Jan 21, 2007

Sounds good to me. I'm game.

kborsden · Jan 21, 2007

if the anthology is to be themed, it would have to be something that could incorporate the theme and style of every poet. We could create a mozaic of poetry that meshes these themes and style. What if each poet submitted a work that told a personal or intimate tale about themselves? we could call it 'kalaidoscope' or somthing or other. Or maybe not, that's a dumb title.
what about 'behavioural musing'?
The whole thing would be about the poetic community of AW.

Rivana · Jan 21, 2007

Personally I think that if the book's supposed to be by AWrs it should be with stuff from the forums. Great idea though. ^o^

Pat~ · Jan 21, 2007

kborsden said:
if the anthology is to be themed, it would have to be something that could incorporate the theme and style of every poet. We could create a mozaic of poetry that meshes these themes and style. What if each poet submitted a work that told a personal or intimate tale about themselves? we could call it 'kalaidoscope' or somthing or other. Or maybe not, that's a dumb title.
what about 'behavioural musing'?
The whole thing would be about the poetic community of AW.

I kinda liked that idea and title!

Pat~ · Jan 21, 2007

Poet, are we talking about self-publishing? Because (not to throw a damper on things) getting a poetry book published by a traditional publisher can be somewhat of a challenge.

Otherwise, the idea sounds intriguing!

KTC · Jan 21, 2007

I like the idea. I wouldn't be crazy about haiku. I don't think it could sustain a full publication. That's just my opinion though. If it were a theme this would open it up to every poet and every format of poetry as long as it kept to the theme. Not everybody would be interested in reading a whole book of haiku and not all poets would be interested in writing haiku.

I'm also good with donating the proceeds to AW.

William Haskins · Jan 21, 2007

my opinion only...

if the unifying characteristic of the book is that it's an anthology of poetry by AW poets, then it would seem to me that form and theme would restrict more than it would liberate.

i would suggest considering a book by AW poets wherein the poets submit the work of their choice, theme and form notwithstanding, along with a paragraph or two about why they chose that poem.

that way it becomes a true reflection of this forum, allows each poet to preserve the voice and journey that we see here in the progression of their poetic lives. an outsider reading would have something that exists much in the way that the forum does, with all its diversity.

Bartholomew · Jan 21, 2007

William Haskins said:
my opinion only...

if the unifying characteristic of the book is that it's an anthology of poetry by AW poets, then it would seem to me that form and theme would restrict more than it would liberate.

i would suggest considering a book by AW poets wherein the poets submit the work of their choice, theme and form notwithstanding, along with a paragraph or two about why they chose that poem.

that way it becomes a true reflection of this forum, allows each poet to preserve the voice and journey that we see here in the progression of their poetic lives. an outsider reading would have something that exists much in the way that the forum does, with all its diversity.

Seconded.

*Doesn't like Haiku*

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2007

Rivana said:
Personally I think that if the book's supposed to be by AWrs it should be with stuff from the forums. Great idea though. ^o^

Rivana, do you mean that, if the book's meant to represent AW, then the poems should be the work done in the forums, and the forum itself? Or is there something I've missed?

The problem I see is that, if the poems are already here, why would anyone buy the book -- except ourselves? Then it's a vanity project. Which is fine, if that's what we want.

But I'd like to think we've got more poetry in us than what we've put on the boards. A book of mostly unpublished, unseen work would be more appealing, I'd think.

What I'd thought was, let's go and publish a book to sell to anyone.

I don't want to put words in your mouth, so please correct me if I've presumed your intention incorrectly.

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2007

Pat~ said:
Poet, are we talking about self-publishing? Because (not to throw a damper on things) getting a poetry book published by a traditional publisher can be somewhat of a challenge.

Otherwise, the idea sounds intriguing!

Of course it'll be a challenge! Maybe even impossible. But why not? If it doesn't fly, we can always self-publish. Of course, if traditional publishing isn't what you want, then let's not.

Pat~ · Jan 21, 2007

Sounds like a worthy goal to me! (I just wanted clarification on what you were thinking.)

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2007

William Haskins said:
my opinion only...

if the unifying characteristic of the book is that it's an anthology of poetry by AW poets, then it would seem to me that form and theme would restrict more than it would liberate.

i would suggest considering a book by AW poets wherein the poets submit the work of their choice, theme and form notwithstanding, along with a paragraph or two about why they chose that poem.

that way it becomes a true reflection of this forum, allows each poet to preserve the voice and journey that we see here in the progression of their poetic lives. an outsider reading would have something that exists much in the way that the forum does, with all its diversity.

Well stated, William. And, if that's what the book should reflect, then you're right.

The idea of a theme came forward as a way to distinguish this book from any number of other books out there.

But that's what this thread is for. In fact, why not put together more than one book? If there's enough work to fill two, that is.

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2007

Bartholomew said:
Seconded.

*Doesn't like Haiku*

Your choice. You are free not to submit to a haiku collection, if there is one.

But, judging from the activity in the haiku threads here, there are plenty of members who post poems regularly here, and who do like haiku.

Pat~ · Jan 21, 2007

There is a practical consideration, however...typically books are not written until a book proposal has been written and accepted and the book is contracted for...

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2007

Good point, Pat. This is where I'd defer to knowledge of other volunteers (there are several from the Stories of Strength team who've put a word in my shell-like).

But I don't see that as being an obstacle either way. If we propose a collection derived from the Forums, well, that's the premise of the collection.

On the other hand, if we choose a theme and write poems accordingly, then we've fit your model.

I'd think that the lead-time for a number of people writing a number of poems each is far less than the lead-time for one person writing a novel.

I realise that people may agree with William -- that the idea of a theme may be constricting. Two things we ought to discuss:
- whether we just want to see poems in print, or whether we want to organise the work to attract readers;
- whether a unified theme (beyond being AWers) would actually attract more readers (or buyers) than a general collection.

Ganesha · Jan 21, 2007

count me in, great idea.

JAlpha · Jan 21, 2007

Very ambitious idea, but no less a worthy one

And if per chance it turned out to be too ambitious, there's always the possibility of scaling the idea down in size, perhaps conducting a bit of a dress rehearsal ala a juried anthology of poetry by AW members that can be assembled into an on-line publication--perhaps the first volume being posted on Blogger. There wouldn't be any cost involved in that, just a volunteer editorial staff. If all goes well, it would serve as a good foundation to build a printed edition around.

dclary · Jan 21, 2007

I'm in, on the caveat that I get 1 penny sent via paypal for each copy of the book sold.

I gotta make SOME money from writing this year!

(Even if we have 300 poems, and you give each of us a one-cent royalty, that's still just 3.00... all other proceeds could go to charity or AW or whatever)

A. Hamilton · Jan 21, 2007

I think the idea of publishing our work is great. I think the suggestions made by Kborsden and William Haskins speak well to the nature of our community. I would enjoy participating.
Depending how large it is, perhaps collections like Blue Rock and Mendoza's could just have their own section, and another one for Haiku., and others...etc.
I have no preference between vanity or something to attract buyers except to say it would be nice to have something that includes all that are interested. Maybe both? I really have no clue how ambitious of a project it could turn into and I personally do worry about rejection and this would be a tough place to get it from. I would expect anything published for sale would have stringent expectations and certainly we would want to put out quality work. We should consider who would be making those decisions and how.
I know that if Blue Rock were considered, I would certainly ask for one last chance to edit my work if I choose.

Annie O · Jan 22, 2007

Count me in!

Annie O

Godfather · Jan 22, 2007

i agree with william.

maybe it's just me, but i can't write on cue. if i have to write a poem in a couple of days around a certain team, it probably won't get written.

if we were to include poems that have already been posted, we could maybe delete the poem from the forum.

but, it's a great idea. i'd love to see it go through

LET'S PUBLISH A POETRY BOOK

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