so i had this idea

after my wreck tuesday (see my journal) I was picking up what was left of my book of poetry on the side of the road and it occurred to me that had I died in that wreck, no one would have picked up all those words and no one would have published them...

so i had the idea that i'm going to go ahead and release my poems. the question is that considering modern trends, considering that poetry is almost a dead art... what do i, as the writer, need to do to grab the attention of the reader in the underground scene? i mean apart from the actual writing itself, what style publication, what do people out there want?
i will publish this book one way or another, but i'd like you guys to throw some ideas at me...please
here is a sample of my writing which actually pertains to the wreck...

( c0n7roL)
Brace yourself, you've lost control
And where you land, only God knows.
Brace yourself and hope to find
that in the end you're still alive.
Whisper a prayer to save your life
And pray that you might just survive
And when the fatal blow has passed
You might say that it went by so fast
And when they pull you from the crash
they pull you out whole from the steel and glass

There was no light before my eyes
Just the deafening sound of steel on concrete
And there was no great epiphany
Just the waking pains in my hands and feet
And as I fell out from my seat
There was no voice to comfort me
But silence broken by the sound of blood
Dripping from my fingertips
And as I looked around me
No one's eyes were upon me
Only my face reflecting in the broken glass
And the sound of wheels still rotating fast
And when the men pulled me from the machine
There was still blood stains on the grass
And the smell of a newly poured out tank of gas
I wasn't dazed, or in pain...
Just shook up and in the rain
Pulled the glass out of my pockets
and in the grass I found my glasses
And as I walked to leave the scene
I was stopped by the men who found it strange
That I walked away from that horrid machine
I went to catch a ride
It seemed as if I was just fine.
They made sure to let me know
"Hey kid, you're lucky to be alive."

It's all just stuff like that...about life and death and ME. haha anyways...
What would be a good format for a book now days?

the jackal...

How did you lose control at 40mph?

well, 40 or 90...it really doesnt matter when there is an inch and a half of water on the road, on a sloping curve...and a 2 foot crown off the left side of the road.

yeah it sucks...

im not a writer, but there are all sorts of DIY publishing outlets...I remember there being a magazine 'scenerio' that was ll about indie published writing... i think...there are quite a few though...

um...yer alive...thats pretty cool, huh?!

Maybe you should pick up a guitar and turn them into music. At least it might be profitable that way.

i do... i have a singer/songwriter project called "the commons" and i just started a politically active poetic art rock band. I'm just looking for another outlet ya know?

So while my experience in this area is some what dated (say more than 10 years) and I haven't worked on anything other than editing computer security books (which are deffinetly a different market), I may have a suggestion or two. So forgive me if I ramble, its a habit I can't seem to break.

During my last year of high school, the administration decided to put a complete hold on the yearly creative writing book (which I was the editor of). Their reasoning being that since teenagers write about nothing but drugs, sex and the crappy administration, it would just be a 'bad idea'. They went through each submission and help on to everything long enough that we couldn't possibly make the deadline for the printer.

With the blessing of the teacher who 'owned' the project, I went about gathering all the poems, stories that had caused the problems and did all the layout for a pamphlet sized book. With the help of Kinko's I got everything printed up (somewhere around 250-300 copies, I can't remember). I spent some time across the street from UNLV where they had poetry readings once a week, read some of mine, and had some of the other authors read some of theirs. Since I was able to wave the freedom of speech issue a bit, and knew a reporter from a local paper, I was able to generate some city wide interest. I did spend a great deal of time convincing local indy record stores to allow me to put some in their on consignment, which turned out to be a reasonable idea.

I would suggest trying to plug into the local 'artist' scene and generate interest by showing off some of the work, either through readings or giving out a few copies here and there. I like the pamphlet sized simply because it ends up being a pretty cheap way to go, and you can make a reasonable return on it. Of course you can always pick up the 2006 (I am pretty sure the 2007 isn't out yet) poets market books, which contains hundreds (if not thousands of publishers), and get some publishing credits under your belt. They don't generaly pay much but they might be willing to let you advertise, which with a quick website might not be a bad thing.

Zounds! Way to bump a four and a half year old dead thread to give advice to a member who isn't even on the site anymore...

-T

you'd think being a 2003er uriel would have caught that.

but aaah . . .

funny habit though

The boards are public.

But why would you want to read them if you're not a member anymore?

I my defense, I was on medication and half asleep. I will go back to my corner now, though for some reason it was listed as the top thread the one time I paid attention. *sigh*