Finished manuscript.

It's been almost a month since I last wrote. It's been for many reasons. I have been busily editing my poems for Flying Through Houses but yesterday I finally got it neatly placed into the template that the publisher uses and sent back to them. Getting the poems into the template was a further learning curve. It is one that they use, a particular size, shape and font size. Therefore there was a lot of cutting/copying and pasting to do. Then of course, on some of the longer pieces the line endings weren't the same as the original poems so everything had to be checked for that. As you know, where a sentence ends and what punctuation ends it, can be very important so I had a lot of checking to do. I admit there has been a fair bit of dithering on my part. How do you know where to end? It's the same question a painter has. Is this the last dab of paint or not? and a musician-should this be the last note of a composition? Well. I bit the bullet and ended the whole thing and as I say It's now in the hands of the publishers. I know there will be further edits on their part. They might find some of the pieces too long for their printing-run budget.The collection has run to 51 pages. they might choose to ditch a few of the poems, I don't know until they get back to me.So, what am I doing now? I'm working on a set for Buzzwords Cheltenham next Sunday where I am one of two guest poets. I like to time my material before reading it and to write out and time my in-between blurb that explains the poems. My view is keep it short. I think that if a poem needs a lengthy explanation then it needs simplifying. I feel that most audiences want to understand, not walk away puzzled. My work is certainly not over-intellectual and I like it that way.I am also taking the poetry workshop and have had to time that too and find an exercise that is both interesting and stimulating. Buzzwords has a lot of very intelligent and thoughtful poets who write wonderful stuff. I want to give them an exercise that they will enjoy. I've also been asked to take part in the final selection heat for Gloucestershire's Poet Laureate. I need to find at least three poems to read for that in August. Sending of the collection free's up some time to do these things. It's lovely to be asked to take part in the Poet Laureate selection. I don't know though whether I am well enough to be able to do everything that a poet laureate does. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out what would be expected of the winner so I shall wait and see. I don't expect to win. I never expect to win anything. I do have hope though and for me that is enough. People either like my stuff or they don't and that's fair enough.

Back at last.

Well, leaving my blog for a few days turned out to be a wild miscalculation. My surgery to put a new knee joint in my left leg left me feeling like death for two months. I have only recently been able to sit on an ordinary chair for more than ten minutes and my brain has been so fuddled with feeling ill and taking lots of drugs that I haven't been able to do anything writerly at all. I had a bit of a shock when my publisher emailed to say that they needed a cover from me. I had thought that they would sort out cover art. They will if needed but I thought the challenge might be good so I enlisted Harry's help(he's much better on the PC than I am) and we set to to create a few cover mock-ups using Word Images and other functions I hadn't known existed. What a learning curve! We ended up with six reasonable cover mock-ups that have been sent off to the publisher. I'm waiting to hear whether they will think they are ok or just plain rubbish. Time will tell. Of course my jumbled head had forgotten that publishers deadlines fall well in advance of actual publishing. Thankfully I had done a lot of work before going into hospital so I don't have a huge amount to finish. I have edited a number of times and will soon be sending the manuscript off. H is helping by casting his eye over it too. He's very good at punctuation and pacing so he's a great ally. I have done a bit of poetry writing and entered a couple of competitions. The crime story though has ground to a halt. I'm not concerned as it was, and is, a winter/ rainy afternoon project. I will finish it by the end of next winter but for now the poetry collection has priority. I've missed not going to poetry readings and workshops and can't wait to get out and about again. This brain needs stimulation. I can't be too bad though. Graffiti magazine recently accepted a poem written post-op so that cheered me up immensely. I hope all you other writers are going strong-or are you being pulled by the lure of the sunshine. I know I am.

Busy few days.

My new website is up and running on a number of search engines. I have written over two thousand more words on my crime novel and I'm still waiting for a response on the self-help book. I have decided to leave my new poetry collection for a week or so while I go in to hospital. I think if I see it with fresh eyes I shall be able to edit the new poems more judiciously.I'v been a little too close to it recently. Today I have sent out submissions to three poetry magazines. I must admit though, it's getting harder to sit and work when the sun is out and the spring flowers are beckoning me to the garden. I have a Hyacinth on my desk and its perfume is filling my office. My gaze keeps going to the window and I long to be outdoors.

Work continues.

I have now completed my revised collection. It consists of thirty-six poems now. I've just run through them editing and checking punctuation etc.It's amazing how you can read a poem through countless times and think it's ok, then go back and spot a glaringly obvious error. It's as if we go word-blind from looking at them too hard. I'm sure that if I leave them for a couple of weeks and go through the whole process again, I will find even more changes to be made. I have till October to finish this collection so now I'm glad to have a few months to simply finish off and polish the poems. I completed and returned the review I was writing. I was pleased to see that it was well-received and hope it helps the sales of the authors collection. I have received a few rejections this week and one acceptance. all in all quite a productive few days.Almost forgot. My old website has expired but the new one is up and running at www.mikibyrnepoetry.co.uk.

Today's bits of stuff.

In all honesty I couldn't find the impetus to work on poetry today. First off I was fed up waiting for a plumber to arrive this morning. The cistern had sprung a leak and was causing puddles on the floor. As usual the time-scale for the said plumbers arrival was between 8am and 12 midday. I don't know about you but I can't settle if I'm waiting for a work-person to arrive. I know that if I do sit down and try to concentrate they will arrive and if they don't I get impatient because I want to begin work. In the afternoon I couldn't settle because Harry was at the dentist for quite serious treatment. Although he isn't afraid of the dentist,(brave man) I am. Very. So I projected my fears onto him and worried until he came home. I did manage to add a little bit to my crime novel though. I was cheered by receiving an acceptance of four poems by a magazine then fell back into the pit when Mslexia arrived through the post. Every time I read that magazine with all the comments about how hard it is for women to succeed and all the high brow expectations they have to live up to, it seems like they are actually reinforcing the difficulties we have to face. I go away thinking I'll never write again because no-one will ever want what I write. We need more encouragement and self-belief. Still in fairness I haven't read the whole magazine yet. Maybe it will improve. Still, today is International Women's Day, so to all women everywhere. Keep on doing what you do. Do as well as you can. Keep the faith because, as they say 'You're worth it.'

New website.

I forgot to mention that my old website will cease to be on-line from March 12th. There are compatibility issues between my PC and the host site. I am working on another website and will let people know on Facebook and on this blog once it's up and running. Hope you like it.

Still working on it.

Since the last entry here I have been in touch with my publisher to ask a few more questions regarding the forthcoming collection. They sent me a template which ,I have to admit, I didn't know what to do with. That's been cleared up and I simply have to cut and paste my poems into it. That will give me good idea of how it will look when finished. I have also added a few more poems and started writing a couple more to add. I went to Buzzwords Poetry last Sunday and the workshop really got my brain working. It was great to have such a stimulating time. In addition to the collection I am reviewing a book of poetry by an american poet who I had not previously heard of. It's an interesting and challenging thing to do and I am enjoying it. I'm also grateful to the publisher who sent me the book to review and to Alison Brackenbury for pointing me toward the Happenstance website. This is an excellent place to check for tips and advice on making a review. My crime thriller is progressing but I am still waiting for a response to my self-help book. I don't expect to hear anything for a few months on this. So, as usual, there is plenty to work on. I want to get things up to date because I go into hospital again in three weeks for my knee replacement. I don't know how difficult it will be to sit at the PC or for how long I might be away from the computer. Leaving things tidy will put my mind at rest. Besides that, as soon as the sun becomes a little warmer, I shall want to be outside, in the garden.