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Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: The Waiting Game (Redux)

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

waiting_roomAs I noted in a blog post last summer, in some ways, I’ve been drawn to a life–the writing-and-publishing life–for which I am temperamentally unsuited. And that’s because two of the things I have always found most challenging are these: rejection and waiting.

In an essay, I’ve explained how rejection has become much easier with time and experience. But as I mentioned in that post last summer, the patience project is still something more of a work-in-progress. It’s not merely a matter of waiting for the acceptance/rejection decisions. I’m also filled with anticipation (and, sometimes, anxiety) when I know that a new piece has found a home and–yes, after another wait–will be meeting readers. I’m aware that this is what my dad calls a “high-quality problem.” But that doesn’t necessarily make the waiting easier! Plus, in many cases, even while waiting for publication, I know that yet another wait lies ahead: a wait for the paycheck (which I’ll admit makes me appreciate the steady salary of my day job all the more).

Right now, I’m waiting for three accepted essays to be published and paid for (two memoir pieces, one op-ed). There’s also a book review waiting to make its appearance (part of the delay in this instance is due to a publisher delay in releasing the book in question). It’s possible that all four of these pieces will be out within the next month. But I’m not holding my breath!

Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: My First Poetry Chapbook Manuscript!

by Erika Dreifus on
12

A few print magazines where my poems have found homes.
There came a moment this past weekend–late Saturday afternoon, to be more precise–when I saved a file on my computer and realized: I have a poetry chapbook manuscript here.

It was a pretty nifty moment for me. After attempting to write a few poems as a teenager, I’d pretty much abandoned my poetry practice and become a prose-focused gal. But about five years ago, I decided to give poetry another go. I enrolled in a number of online classes (taught by Matthew Lippman and Sage Cohen), and began incorporating more poetry into my reading practice, too.

Over these past few years, I’ve been encouraged by some positive feedback from poetry editors, and some deeply meaningful poetry publications. It’s been slow-going, however, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever have a full chapbook (let alone a full collection) completed.

I was motivated to evaluate where my poetry stood by the impending deadline for a chapbook contest. I know that my chances of winning are minuscule. Beyond the possible merit (or lack thereof) of my manuscript, there’s the fact that I’ve already shared the contest guidelines with all of The Practicing Writer‘s readers (and have linked to them again in this post!), thereby doing my part to increase the competition (self-sabotage, anyone?). But this is a rare fee-free chapbook contest, and simply preparing the submission has been a useful learning experience for me. (Next weekend’s project: actually submitting the thing! A bit more proofreading–along with agonizing over sequencing–has to happen first.)

Sure, it’s likely that I’ll need to enter many more competitions before this manuscript becomes a published chapbook. But you know what they say about journeys–each one begins with a single step.

Any of you have experience with preparing poetry chapbooks? Any tips to share?

Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: J Journal Essay (and a Giveaway!)

by Erika Dreifus on
15

JJournalSpring2013coverMy contributor copies of the spring 2013 issue of J Journal: New Writing on Justice arrived last week. (My contribution, “My Life as a Bully,” is an essay describing one of the more shameful episodes from my childhood.)

In case you’re not familiar with J Journal, here’s how it is described on its website (which is in the process of being redesigned): “J Journal: New Writing on Justice examines its subject through creative work, directly and tangentially. Housed at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, one of the nation’s premier criminal justice institutions, J Journal’s contributors have included established and new writers, professionals in the law enforcement field, lawyers, professors in the humanities and social sciences, and prison inmates. Unlike other CJ publications, J Journal, which comes out twice a year, is the country’s first to present its analyses of contemporary justice issues through creative, not scholarly work. The short stories, poems, and personal narratives in each volume expand reflection on the question: What is justice?”

Since I’m a J Journal subscriber (and advisory board member) as well as a contributor, I’m awash in spring 2013 issues! And so I’m offering to mail one of my copies to one of you. Please just leave a comment below, and the random number generator will do its job one week from today (please note that I can send only to mailing addresses in the U.S.).

Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway! And for some other coverage of J Journal, please check out the following:

  • American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Spectrum on J Journal
  • NewPages on J Journal
  • The Review Review on J Journal
  • Utne Reader on J Journal
  • An article of mine on themed/niche literary journals, with comments from J Journal‘s editors.

    • UPDATE: The Random Number Generator chose our giveaway winner–Commenter #1, Michelle Tackabery! Congratulations, Michelle, and thanks to EVERYONE for the interest in playing along.