Poet’s Ink Review accepts work by both beginning and more experienced poets.

Submission Guidelines

You may submit 3 – 5 poems at a time.  We will now accept previously published poems, but you must inform us of the publication and when it was published. Please make sure you still retain the rights to poems which were previously published elsewhere before submitting them here.

Poems must be submitted electronically. They may be included in the text of your email or sent as a Word document. Please do not use any html, fancy fonts, or other special formatting, as it might make your work difficult to read. If I can’t read it, I’ll have to reject it.

Theme Issues

Theme for October 2008- short poems, 4 lines or less
I will be accepting submissions for the October issue until September 15

Theme for December 2008- Winter poems, any length or style
I will be accepting submissions for the December issue until
November 15

What kind of poems are selected for publication on Poet's Ink?

Poems may be in any style, although I have a preference for free verse.  Any rhyme must be extremely well done.   Poems may be of any length, but don’t be long-winded in longer poems.  Poems may be about any subject, but if you choose to write about a broken heart, you’d better make it interesting!  I’m looking for poems with strong images and something new and different to say.

What's all this about abstractions and concrete imagery?

I avoid poems that contain lots of abstractions. Abstractions are vague concepts that we can understand intellectually but we cannot see, hear, touch, taste or smell them. They can mean different things to different people. Things like love, fear, beauty, pain, and hope are all abstractions.

Instead of abstractions, poems you submit to Poet's Ink should contain concrete imagery. Concrete images are things that we can see, hear, touch, taste or smell. When you use concrete images, you describe the beautiful thing so that the reader can decide for him or her self that it's beautiful, rather than just telling the reader something is nice-looking.

Readers can relate to concrete imagery much better than they can relate to abstractions. Email me if you have questions.

Other stuff to know

The best way to learn about the type of work featured in Poet’s Ink Review, is to take some time to browse through the work previously selected for publication here.

I sometimes publish theme issues.  Those themes will be listed here, so check before submitting your work.

There is currently no payment for poems published in Poet’s Ink Review, but this is an opportunity for writers to promote their work, gain exposure, and earn publication credits. Contributing poets also receive discounts on e-classes and editoral/agent services. Email me for more information.

Poetry selected for publication will be published on Poet’s Ink for about a year.  The poet retains all rights to their work.

Articles

I am currently looking for articles on the following topics:

* How to Market Your Poetry Book

* Poets Market- A Must-Have for Poets That Want to Get Published

* Short Poems

* Sonnets

Payment for articles is $5, plus a discount on e-classes and agent/editorial services. Please email me if you are interested in writing one of these articles, or if you would like to suggest another topic.