Since December of 2006, I have been making attempts at compiling chapbooks and I have been sending them out. The results so far have been pretty slim, but I did get a little better news today–not spectacular news but something decent.

My first chapbook I sent to one location before I knew I was accepted at Queens. It was not accepted. After that during 2007 I tried two others that were also only sent out to one contest each. Each one within a few months of having been sent out I knew they weren’t ready and they were never the same group of poems.

The last one I sent out at the end of 2007 was to Shadow Inks Poetry Contest which is a more themed group of poems that I was specifically working on for a chapbook. The poems were a variety of old poems and newer poems that I began revising with the chapbook in mind. Since I sent that out I have had some of the poems critiqued and the chapbook does need work. With that being said, I just got notice today that, while I didn’t place in the top three of the contest, I am listed as 8th out of the 31 entries. Not bad!

I’m currently working on another chapbook project that I am actually going to simul submit sometime this week to at least three contests. Once I have sent those three out I am going to pull the chapbook I entered with Shadow Poetry and I am going to revise it with the comments i have received on about 5 of the poems during critique groups. I’m pretty excited about actually have material that works together, and that perhaps has some promise for publication.

Looking forward to working harder this year at the craft of writing!

And…. WAY TO GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1