The Hermit Poet

I sent out another batch of manuscripts to three more book contests.  I’ve been editing and revising as I go, tightening up the writing and trying to raise the overall force of the manuscript up another notch.

This newest version of the manuscript (with changes to 6 poems) is on its way as I write.  Today’s targets were:

• Benjamin Saltman Poetry Prize, Red Hen Press
• Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, CSU Fresno
• Elixir Press Prize, Elixir Press

I have another three to try in November:

• Dorset Prize / Tupelo Press (of course, everyone else is after this one)
• New Issues Poetry Prize / New Issues Press
• WordTech Communications (not a contest, but November is their reading period — lots of imprints here)

Several contests I skipped because I couldn’t meet their residency requirement (must be a US citizen or resident) or length requirement (must be 60+ pages — I’m at 57 pages and holding).  It’s not a bad thing to have to skip a few — I don’t really have the funds to try for everything.