The Apples in My Orchard

Hold Everyone to the Same Standard is my tip for today.

While I was working on the anthology, I made sure that I kept the same rules for all, including myself.

What were my rules?

1. The poems and photographs had to be the author’s own work and not previously published,
2. The poem had to be inspired by the author’s photograph.
3. Both the poem and photography had to be grounded in nature.
4. The work had to be appropriate for middle-grade students (grades 5-9).

I had some authors want to use previously published work. And I get that because some of my previously published work (on my blogs) is better, in my opinion than what I have in the book.

But, if I made an exception for myself, it wouldn’t be fair.

Thus, Cathedral Trees and Debris – two previous ekphrastic poems I wrote, both based on nature topics, are not included in the book.

Recently, I noted that not all publishers hold people to the same standards. This is unfortunate.

I tried to be as fair as possible and treat all poet-photographers equally. No single work was held higher than others. All bylines and titles were standardized. I held all submissions to the same standards but tried to keep the authentic voice of the poets’ words and style. It worked.

I believe you’ll read beautiful words that remain true to each of the poets.

Holding everyone to the same standard was a great way for me to approach the anthology.

The anthology, Picture Picture Poetry: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Students, which I’ve been telling you about with these Indie Publishing Tips is now for sale on Amazon.