Poetry Publishing Post, Part I

Ok, I promised y'all a breakdown of my publishing process. So, buckle up, it's story time!

My publishing journey started in August of last year, when I happened across a call for manuscripts from my publishing company on Submittable. Yes, it was really that simple! For many other publishers, you have to do your research and know when they're open for submissions.

A helpful link for those of you looking to submit full-length poetry manuscripts is this handy blog: https://thelinebreak.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/presses-with-open-readings-for-full-length-poetry-manuscripts/ There is a lot of information to sift through, so I recommend following other poets with similar styles to yours on social media to find the "right fit."

For me, and other Spanish-language poets, the process is a lot more limited. There simply aren't very many presses in the U.S. that accept Spanish-language poetry manuscripts. Simply put, I got lucky. I searched for "spanish poetry" on Submittable and the ONLY result was the call for manuscripts from my publisher.

Now, this particular poetry collection has been collecting dust on my shelf for over 15 years. I started writing it back in college (I double majored in Education and Spanish Literature for my undergrad). When I saw that this press was looking for full-length poetry manuscripts, it felt like a long shot. Luckily, I didn't have much time to second-guess myself- the reading period was closing in a week. So, I brushed the dust off the collection, did a few haphazard revisions, and sent it off.

I was SHOCKED when I got a response almost immediately from none other than the internationally famous poet, Fernando Valverde. I had no idea at the time that Fernando was the acquisitions person for Valparaíso. Here's a little blurb about Fernando, so you can see how big a deal this actually was:

Fernando Valverde has been voted the most relevant Spanish-language poet born since 1970 by nearly two hundred critics and researchers from more than one hundred international universities (Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, Princeton, Bologna, Salamanca, UNAM and the Sorbonne). His books have been published in different countries in Europe and America and translated into several languages.

He has received some of the most significant awards for poetry in Spanish, among them the Federico García Lorca, the Emilio Alarcos del Principado de Asturias and the Antonio Machado. His last book, The Insistence of Harm, has been the most-sold book of poetry in Spain for months and has received the Book of the Year award from the Latino American Writers Institute of the City University of New York.

For his collaboration in a work of fusion between poetry and flamenco he was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2014. He directs the International Festival of Poetry in Granada, one of the most important literary events in Europe, that has received more than 300 authors, including several Nobel Prize laureates.

After falling out of my chair at his email, I picked myself up and scheduled a call with him. Before I did that, however, I knew that I had to go in to the meeting prepared to represent myself as an author, without an agent or lawyer to advise me. That process was scary, and I'll get into it more in my next blog post!

I think I'll leave it here for now, and continue on the journey of the meeting and subsequent negotiations for the next post. Thanks for reading!

November Updates- NaNoWriMo and More!

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've checked in, so I wanted to fill you in on my publishing journey!

In October, I worked with a proofreader and copy editor to revise and edit my book, and then sent it over for formatting. I got back the first proof last week, and oh my goodness- it's starting to feel real, y'all!

Once I get the second proof back, I'll send it over to my editor and mentor for final approval. Then it will go to print (eep!). We are still on track for a February release!

In other news, I participated this past month in my first ever #nanowrimo. While I went into it never expecting to meet the 50k word goal, I am proud to say that I started and finished an entire new book! Suprise!

I never would have believed that I would be able to write an entire book in a month, but in the end I somehow pulled it off. 10k words, 110 pages, 70 poems and interludes, a prologue and an epilogue later- it's done!

Seven Legendary Monsters is my Guaraní mythology epic, which tells the story of the legendary monsters from the point of view of the gods, monsters and mortals who came into contact with them. It consists of 9 chapters- one for each of the monsters, and one for each of the women who made and destroyed them.

In the midst of all of this, I got COVID, which has set me back a bit. But I was still able to prep and send out all my winter poetry submissions this past week. My final submission stats for this year are:

- 48 lit mags queried

-4 acceptances

-2 withdrawn

-18 declined

-24 pending

All in all, it's been a busy year! Hoping to keep up the momentum through the new year and beyond!

Happy Holidays, y'all!

Big News!

I am beyond thrilled to announce that I have officially signed with Valparaíso Ediciones to publish my debut poetry collection, Juego de Palabras.

Valparaíso is one of the top Spanish-language poetry presses in the world, and it’s the honor of a lifetime to be a part of their catalog.

Among their catalog are distinguished poets such as Maya Angelou, Warsan Shire and more!

My book will be available for purchase in bookstores in Spain, Mexico and Colombia as well as through several online retailers in 2023.

More details to come soon!

-CE