Free Poetry and a Link to What Editors Want

62º ~ under the threat of tornadoes all day today, batten down the hatches, know the quickest route to your safe place, friends and fans of the Kangaroo

stormy days in Little Rock, River Market District

While I have a brief respite from end-of-the-semester grading, I'm mostly feeling worn down at the edges.  I'm happy that my school work is caught up at the moment, but more papers arrive tomorrow and onward we go into the massive grading that will consume the next two weeks of my life.  In other words, do not be alarmed if I miss a day or two of my normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday blogging. 

For today, remember that there are five days left to enter for a chance to win FREE POETRY: a copy of Blood Almanac OR Jesse Lee Kercheval's Cinema Muto.  That's right: two winners!  Click on the link and leave a comment on my previous post and you are entered.  Easy-peasy.  On Sunday, May 1, I'll use a random number generator to choose the lucky winners. 

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Many thanks to Jessica Goodfellow, who blogs at Axis of Abraxas, for the link to this wonderful essay "What Editors Want" by Lynne Barrett, published in The Review Review.  While the beginning of the essay focuses on short stories, the subsequent sections are filled with great advice for all writers.  My favorite part is this:

"So your job is to help the editor by sending work that is developed, complete, thoroughly revised, and—of great importance—appropriate for the magazine.

To do that last part of your job well, you have to read the magazines.

Yes, you do."

I tell my students this over and over, but it's always good to be able to show them that someone in the industry is saying it too.

It also reminds me that one of my top priorities, post final grading, will be to send out new and appropriate work to my well-research list of journals.  Ah, something to look forward to!