Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Muddles

A couple of months ago I entered poems for the Cinnamon Press Poetry Award competition. I thought the prize was pamphlet publication but then later realised it was for full-length book publication so embarrassingly I had to withdraw my submission. The publisher was very nice about it and wished me well in my poetry so I went ahead and submitted my poems elsewhere.

Well this morning I received a letter saying that I had made the top ten short-list for the competition which means they are going to print three of my poems in their stories and poems anthology to be published later on this year. The problem is that the three poems they've picked I've now submitted to three different poetry magazines. So this morning was spent writing embarrassing emails and probably hacking off editors of magazines I would like to publish poems in, in the future.

Normally I'm super-careful about such things and read submission guidelines very thoroughly but I don't know what's happened to me this month, I've been such a prize twit (I messed up with another sub also). Please someone tell me they've done something similar to make me feel better!

I do have exciting news which I don't know much more about but can't keep to myself any longer...Calder Wood Press are going to be publishing a pamphlet of my poems sometime next year!!!
I was delighted when Colin emailed me about it the other week. Calder Wood Press has published many Scottish poets I admire including Kevin Cadwallender, Morgan Downie, Jayne Wilding and Juliet Wilson. I met Colin at StAnza last year and he is such a lovely man, I'm really looking forward to working with him on putting together a pamphlet collection.

On the poetry readings front, I'm able to make it to the open mic night next month at the Aye Write Glasgow Book Festival. So I shall go armed with my poems and hopefully get a reading slot.

17 comments:

Rachel Fox said...

Lots of good news in there and well done Colin for picking you up (as it were). As for muddles...blame the baby? Two children under 5 I think you're doing well to get dressed in the morning.

x

Hugh McMillan said...

Such muddles used to be second nature to me. Sometimes I wonder whether poetry editors SOME of whom take 8-12 months to reply IF they bother to reply at all are worthy of all this respect and consideration and exclusivity you're meant to give them. I only submit to one or two now. In any case I wouldn't worry about it: they're lucky to have you sending poems to them at all.

Congratulations on your successes generally and with Calderwood in particular. Nae stoppin ye noo.

Marion McCready said...

thanks rachel, I was tempted to blame it all on the baby but not sure I could still get away with that!!

so glad to hear you've had your fair share of muddles, shug!! and thankyou, I owe you a pamphlet :)

McGuire said...

Good to hear you're getting a pamphlet made. I haven't read that much of you, post more poeyums! Please. Good on you for submitting, then with drawing, keep them on their toes.

Success eh, good to get it, I wonder if my dyslexic mess will ever find intrigued eyes.

I read you worked on a fish farm....I did too. I worked on a Salmon farm near Lochgilphead, Ormsary Estate, few years ago, for a couple of months. Some stories, intoxication, freezing, and chaos. Where did you work?

Keep up the hard rearing Mum/Poetess/Wife.

James Owens said...

This is wonderful news! It’s past time that some publisher found the good sense to offer a nice selection of your poems all in one place. Calder Wood is a good press, and they are lucky to have you!

Don’t worry for a second about the muddle. I’d done worse, believe me. I once had a poem come out in three different magazines at the same time, all through keeping poor records on submissions. The editors, you might say, were a trifle miffed….

Marion McCready said...

thanks mcguire! I worked at loch fyne oysters, full of mad folk!! the stories I could tell! I have good resistance to the cold from my time there. All the best with your writing, keep at it.

thankyou james :) I'm very excited about the pamphlet, I owe you one as well!! haha...I feel much better about my mishaps now!!

Jim Murdoch said...

Pleased to hear about the pamphlet. It’ll be interesting to see how a set of your poems works together. That’s your next problem I imagine, choosing not simply good poems but good poems that gel. Suffice to say if I’ve not packed all of this in and gone off to do something more interesting by then you can count me in for a review or something.

As for screwing up submissions. My biggest single one was never reading the magazines I submitted to. Even when I do I never know what to send and I never understand when, out of the four of five poems I do send, they pick the ones they do. Editors baffle me. I have sent out stuff to more than one place but not often. I keep track of my submissions on a spreadsheet but mistakes do happen. Some places aren’t too fussed about simultaneous submissions but I don’t make a habit of it.

Marion McCready said...

thanks jim :) sorting my poems out for the june reading has been helpful in thinking about how to plan my pamphlet. also, many of my poems are connected in groups of one sort or another which helps as well, I think.

swiss said...

it's like the buses. it's a bit cheeky of cinnamon to consider your poems after you withdrawing them but who cares! lol

well done!

Marion McCready said...

yes, for once I was glad not to have won, lol!

Titus said...

Aargh! Missed this entirely, and my youngest are both six and at school, so can hardly blame them.
Many, many congratulations on Calder Wood, and as for the muddles, well, they're not bad ones to have!

Marion McCready said...

thanks titus :) still cringing over the muddles though!

Anonymous said...

Just catching up with blogs today sorlil. Don't worry about the muddles, concentrate on the good things.
Colin

Marion McCready said...

thanks colin :)

Rob said...

I think, if you explain to the editors, they'll be fine about it. At least, I can't see any reason why they wouldn't be.

Michelle said...

Congratulations on your Calder Wood pamphlet news, Sorlil. Fantastic stuff!

Marion McCready said...

thanks rob, I don't like to mess people around.

thankyou michelle, I'm really excited about the pamphlet :)