The Apples in My Orchard

Happy Poetry Friday! Today our round-up is hosted by poet and author, Irene Latham on her blog, Live Your Poem. Thanks for hosting, Irene!

She also has the Progressive Poem line for today – be sure to check that out! I missed out on participating this year! Looks great so far, everyone. I am currently working with a refugee – as an online tutor – and the experience is joyful and daunting all at once! I am thoroughly enjoying it. The experience made me realize how small the world truly is.

Poetry Month has several purposes for me this year.

1. I have an anthology about to be released – If you care to back up over the last few days of my blog, you’ll learn more about it. I hope the third proof copy looks perfect and we will be online to purchase at KDP next week, and at IngramSpark shortly after, or at least by the end of the month.
2. I am celebrating Poetry Month by passing on a tip a day on this blog. The tips involve being an indie publisher and what I’ve learned during this experience.
3. Today’s tip is: Keep everyone in the loop!
4. Lastly, my goal for doing all these things is to help market the anthology! The market for this book is the homes, schools, libraries, and classrooms that serve middle-grade students (5th-9th grade). I’ve also tried to share this blog daily on my social media pages, including FaceBook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn. You are welcome to follow me on any of those sites as well. Thank you!

In writing the anthology it was important to me to try and keep everyone in the loop. While there is always room for improvement, I think I did a decent job of this considering some publications do not allow any contact between publisher and submitter after they’ve been notified about their work.

I did not want to be that strict. I also felt it was important to let people know where I was on the project. Lastly, each author-photographer was sent a proof copy of their pages in the anthology to let them know what to expect. While this was time-consuming, I felt it was a necessary component of keeping everyone in the loop.

I’m sure when participants get their copies, they’ll be as interested in seeing the work of others as well as their own. This interest in others is what a community is all about. And I think that poets are extraordinary at the inclusion of others. Thank you for being part of the anthology community whether you were a participant, a supporter, or a reader of the book once it’s released.

Ancient Plant Haiku

mossy ancient plants

thrive on this 12th-century street

yet are never seen

© Carol Labuzzetta, 2024

Today, on Medium I wrote an article about mosses and how they are one of the first signs of spring in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I thought I’d continue the theme here with a new haiku.