Making yourself appealing to presses, part 2

6. Making yourself appealing to presses, part 2

II.) Find places to submit poems to literary journals/ reviews/ contests (cat 5).

~ Writer's publications, like Poets and Writers, often have lists of calls for submissions and contests.

~ If you want to submit to contests, for now, you should make sure they're "first book" contests, as opposed to the ones that well-established poets will submit to.

~ The Poets' Market isn't the best source for places to submit. They do, however, have good tips and advice on craft and on the submission process, including how to organize yourself and how to create a cover letter.

~ Find out where the contemporary poets that you enjoy reading are publishing their work. Most often they're publishing in smaller and bigger presses, magazines and journals. If you like their work, and their publishers like their work, there's a chance the publishers will like your work.

~ In addition to Poets and Writers, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) Literary Press and Magazine Directory is a good source