Stories of Chapbooks

Floating Bridge Press, a fabulous small press in Seattle, Washington has a series of essays and stories about the making of a chapbook by previous winners of the Floating Bridge Press Chapbook prize.

They feature poets:
Annette Spaulding-Convy
Michael Bonacci
Tim Kelly
and myself

If you are putting together a chapbook of poems there may be some ideas to help you or you may appreciate the process that these poets took. Also, it's good to know that most of the chapbooks took at least a few years before they were published.

Whenever you submit your work there is the possibility that you will be rejected and feel discouraged. So many times, I think we need to remind ourselves as writers that rejection is part of the process and nothing personal. The poets we will read are the ones who can be rejected, feel discouraged, and yet, continue to do what they are drawn to do--write...and submit.

I told a friend recently my favorite Wayne Gretsky quote: You miss 100% of the shots you never take. Life is uncertain and temporary--don't let a little rejection get you down.