Pause for the Cause (6.0) ... Bertram's Blog, Grinnell College, and eBay

I have the honor today of being a guest blogger at Bertram's Blog, novelist Pat Bertram's helpful compendium of advice and how-to's for writers. Thanks for the opportunity, Pat. My article today on Bertram's Blog is titled "Submitting to Literary Magazines 101: Professionalism." It is the first of a set of articles I will be writing for Pat Bertram based on my experience as a poetry editor at the North American Review as well as at other magazines. The purpose of these articles is to help make it easier for you to get your poems (and other writing) published. The basic question of these articles: how might you be hurting your chances of getting published by not knowing the "unwritten rules" of submitting your work? Sometime in the next couple of days, I will host an article by Pat Bertram on promoting one's books. I'm looking forward to that. It's the first time I will have a guest blogger on The Man with the Blue Guitar. Tomorrow (Thursday, 4/30), I will be visiting Grinnell College to give a poetry reading as part of the "Writers@Grinnell" reading series. For more on that event, check out the college's website, which has my blue smurfy mug gracing it today. This reading is truly a treat for me because my oldest daughter Amanda is a student at Grinnell College. She is in her senior year and will be graduating from Grinnell in the next few weeks. I am truly glad to have the distinction of giving a reading at Grinnell College while she is still a student there. Also, do you remember that hilarious eBay auction selling Michael Martone's leftover water that I featured on April 4? The entire text of that auction listing is now available in that post. All eBay auctions expire after 90 days . . . meaning they disappear from the eBay site. But, with the permission of Martone-water seller madcabre, The Man with the Blue Guitar has the honor of hosting that auction text forevermore, so that it will be available to Michael Martone's fans from now till Judgement Day. Why don't you take a look at that auction text now? The clever and fun questions and answers alone are more than worth the price of admission! Okay, friends, that's all for today's "Pause for the Cause." I hope you are having a great "hump day." Don't forget to watch the 100th episode of the TV show Lost later tonight. The most intelligent TV show ever!