Poetry Getting Published For The First Time!!

Hi everyone!!
I have officially finished my first year in college, and bring you exciting news:

MY POETRY IS GETTING PUBLISHED!!!

For months I've been waiting to get that first 'yes' from a literary magazine. The magazines I'd submitted to back in the winter were all saying 'no', even to what I thought were my better poems. I was tired and frustrated, asking myself why they were saying no and if I'd ever be good enough to get published. Sounds a little harsh, but they say most authors are their own worst critic, and that just might be my case.

Anyway, moving forward a little bit, I heard about this literary journal called Eunoia Review through Authors Publish Magazine, which I subscribed to a few months ago. They send me an email every week with journals and other publishers accepting submissions, plus inspirational material for writing. When they sent information about the Eunoia Review, I looked at their main page and decided to give it a shot. Their content was excellent, and they had a commitment to respond to all submissions within 24 hours, which I think is spectacular,

I revised several poems and sent them off, feeling a little bit jittery. When I couldn't sleep that night, I checked my phone and saw I had a new email. It was from them! I opened the email, and it was a YES.

That's right. A short, sweet response in which they agreed to publish my poem "Petition on a Concrete Bench Saturday". Lauren Berry, author of The Lifting Dress, actually saw the very first draft of this poem and liked it!** I am so grateful for her support, and for the help and support given to me from my family, friends and the members of my Poetry Writing class last fall. I am also extremely grateful for the Eunoia Review for agreeing to publish my poem. I'll always remember the moment I saw their email and cried. It's only the beginning. If I got this yes, I can get another one.

For those of you who are struggling to get that first "yes", or simply trying to find a place for their work, know that you can do it. Your work deserves a place and, if you search enough, you can find it. I know I might receive more rejections after this. Okay, I know I will probably get rejections in the future. But I will also get acceptations, and in the long run, aiming for those acceptations, fighting for them and getting them is what matters.

It might sound funny, but I feel like this first "yes" wouldn't have meant as much if it had come earlier on. I remember this poem actually got rejected by the first literary magazine I sent it to, which felt especially awful, since it had been heavily workshopped in my Poetry Writing class, and I regarded it as one of my better poems. But I knew in my heart that this poem deserved a place in a literary journal. Now, it has found that place. And it feels absolutely perfect.


Thanks for reading my blog and supporting my work. I will post links to my work once it is published in late July. In the meantime, you should check out some of the other work they publish here. And keep an eye out for my work!! Late July will be here before you know it!


;)

Courtney

**For more information on how I met Lauren Berry, see this entry.



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