Garage Poet or Garbage Poet?

As I'm getting closer in looking for ways to publish my latest collection of poetry: Provoking la Piñata, I can't help but think of going through the "do-it-yourself" route. With the internet and the emergence of "publish on demand" companies, the temptation to send your work has come across all writers mind.

Here's where I stand. As of today, I have been working with a local publishing company in Omaha. I've be kind enough to help edit 6 manuscripts, two of which were outstanding and the rest complete rubbish. After sending some first drafts of my manuscript sometime in March, I received a letter sometime this summer saying my manuscript has been "recommended" for publication. Like any struggling writer, I was ecstatic with the great news. But I've come to conclude that being "recommended" can mean a lot of things.

Last year, I had two poems recommended for publication at Bilingual Review, but I still have not seen them in their journal, nor have I received a copy or any news of their whereabouts. More recently with the publishing company from which I received that letter this summer, I have emailed the publishing director just to see where in the process the manuscript is but I still have not received a reply. It's very frustrating to not get any news of a manuscript status. It keeps your feelings in limbo, not knowing what will happen to this pieced of art that you have worked so hard for.

As the months pass, I've been really contemplating publishing the book on my own. This wouldn't be the first time I have done a self-publication (Though this could be the first that I truly promote and looks to sell for profit). Detras del Biombo, was my first publication. I made 100 copies and distributed them as a wedding present to our guest. The majority of the love poems where in Spanish and I'm sure many of the guest were left feeling clueless about what to do with the chapbook, but damn it felt so good to hand someone a copy of my poems. Ever since then, I've been in pursuit to re-create that same feeling, over and over.

The second chapbook, The Traveler, was printed last May. I only printed 50 copies. Made of a series of vignettes, I printed this chapbook as a senior present for my students. I felt that if there was anyone who I'd like to give this book to, it would be to my students. I hope many of them read it and contemplated some of the messages it contained.

Provoking la Piñata could have the same fate. There are so many things that I like about self-publishing. The first and one of the most important aspects being that I have complete artistic control over what I'll be putting in my book. I would hate for someone to tell me what the title or book cover should be. Another aspect that I really enjoy about self-publishing is that I'll be able to price the book and make a much bigger profit from the sales. At this point in my career, I don't have the luxury of knowing that thousands of copies will be sold and I will make profit from the volume of copies being sold.

The big draw backs of self-publishing are obviously that I will not only have to front the expenses, but also do a lot of self-promoting/marketing to sell the books. And of course, the biggest draw back is....being labeled as "one of those" poets that self-publish.

I've thought long and hard about that label and I can't seem to find why it has such a bad taste in reader's minds. I've always thought of my poetry status as being that of a struggling rock-band. Both are lyrical/musical to some sense and both are considered a major art form, but one of the big differences lies in how the audience view self-promotion.

Many of the major bands today at one point started as nobodies. They probably began playing in someone's living room, then moving to play at local parties and finally knocking on the door of local pubs in search to get a gig. Eventually, they saved enough money to get some studio time to record their first album and from there on it was all about getting as many records into the hands of people in hopes that someday they'd get that big record deal.

The majority of people would think this would be an admiral process, even more, a natural process of making it big. Yet, in the literature world, for some reason this is frowned upon. People assume since your book isn't published through an official publisher, your work could either be crap, or worst, you want to come across as an author just because you made your own book. But isn't this essentially what rock-bands do. Granted there are many horrible rock bands (I've seen my fair share of them) as I'm sure there are numerous horrible self-publications, but isn't this what being an artist is all about. Self-expression, self-promotion, self-denial and self-destruction.

So, will I become a Garage Poet or Garbage Poet? Only time will time will tell, in the meantime, I'm gonna spend my mornings digging through some records instead.