October Wrap-Up

By Michael Seese

Those of you with really good memories might recall that in early October, I set a goal: to submit something, somewhere every day that month. At the time, I said I didn't think I could. The biggest challenge, I felt, was finding places to submit. Plus, I missed the first few days. Well, guess what...

I did it!

In fact, I managed to submit 33 distinct "things." I say "distinct," because when you submit poetry, they generally ask for 5 - 15 poems.But I'm counting that as one.

In the interest of full disclosure, some of them were what you call "low-hanging fruit." For example, if you submit something to ReadWave, it's accepted. 

So here is a high-level breakdown, in no specific order:

- Literary agents: 4
- Podcasts: 1
- Contests: 3
- Short story collections: 6
- Online short stories:5
- Poetry collections: 3
- Online poetry: 8
- Book publishers: 2
- And one non-fiction magazine article.

I'll talk about some of the victories and some of the defeats in a future post.

So, what should I do next? I have some ideas...

City Of Light

By Michael Seese

Last year, I entered a poem in the (radio station) WCLV annual Valentine's Day Love Poem Contest.

I didn't win. I didn't even place in the top 10. Did that stop me from trying again?

Nope!

So here is this year's entry, "City Of Light."

September stroll, Champs-Élysées,
Mona Lisa, café au lait,
Place du Tertre, al fresco dine,
Le Moulin Rouge, fountains of wine.

Our honeymoon down by the Seine,
"We will return. Some day." And then...

The babies came: one, two, then three,
Bottle feeding, Band-Aid knee,
Soccer practice, violin,
Homework, laundry. What's that? Sleep in?

Play, bath, story, then kiss goodnight.
Our home, our own City Of Light.

(Gee, I wonder why I thought of Paris.)

My wife said "Awwww" when she read it.

It's due tonight (or was it last night? no matter; I sent it Saturday) at midnight. Wish me luck.