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Step 1
Understand the current literary trends. Flowery language in poetry doesn't sell as well right now as raw emotion. People in this age tend to see overly romantic language as fake and too removed from reality. Keep it real and make the emotions come through without any obvious artifice.
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Step 2
Get poetry published by submitting it far and wide. You can't get poetry published by hoping that someone takes notice of it or submitting it to one or two publications. Send it to as many as you can find if you really want to get poetry published.
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Step 3
Use the Poet's Market to find publications that you never knew existed. The Poet's Market works like The Writer's Market, but it contains only poetry markets. The book has markets that would be difficult to find on your own, including small literary journals and publications that you didn't know printed poetry.
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Step 4
Keep at it. If you want to get poetry published, it's a numbers game as much as it is talent or luck. Your persistence will give you a far better chance that some editor somewhere connects on an emotional level with your poetry.
Comments
maestro49 said
on 9/6/2009 I agree! When I have submitted far and wide I have gotten some poems published. In addition if you have a particular slant i.e. military experience, or education, there will probably be an audience and hence a market for your poems.
rsking said
on 3/23/2009 I would add another step: Read, Read, Read! Most literary markets now have an internet presence where you can read samples of the poems they've published. So save yourself and the editors some time by determining the magazine's prejudices and style.
FrazzledNanny said
on 3/11/2009 Great tips. Thanks. 5*