I have a collection of poetry that I have compiled over the years. The poems within the collection are of a dark nature and reflect something that I have gone through as well as my own path of healing over the past 10 years. I would come out and say what it is, but I am not sure if it would be allowed on the forums and in the public eye. My biggest question is this. Poetry written somewhat like a memoir with intense imagery that may be triggering to some readers, are there agents or publishers out there for this kind of work? I would like to get published professionally as I want to help others who have gone through similar events. The problem is, this is such a delicate matter that I am not certain if an agent or publisher would feel comfortable pushing something along these lines. I have also thought of posting a poem or two in the poetry section, but again, they are very vivid and I do not wish to trigger bad thoughts or memories should other members have gone through similar experiences. Anyone able to help me out?
Posting them here will just make it so you can't get them published. As for wether or not a publisher will find them acceptable, the easiest way to find that out is to just submit them as long as you think they're good enough.
The only thing you can do is go to www.duotrope.com and look for publishers that accept collections, check out their guidelines and send a query. Never post work anywhere online that you are going to be submitting to a publisher though. You lose first digital publication rights and it can then only ever be sold as a reprint. Which is never good as 99% of places won't accept reprints.
If you post here, limit it to poems you have no intentions of publishing. That probably means you won't be posting your best work, but it may be the poems you've most struggled with, so it still may be worthwhile. As long as the material isn't gratuitously violent or graphic in its descriptions (e.g. graphic depiction of rape is not permitted), you probably won't violate the content rules. But potentially disturbing material that doesn't break the content rules should have a content warning in the title line.
My biggest question is this. Poetry written somewhat like a memoir with intense imagery that may be triggering to some readers, are there agents or publishers out there for this kind of work? not really... unless you're a major 'name' as a poet, or in some other field, no one will make any money on a collection of your poems, thus will not be keen on spending any money to publish them... that said, you may come across some small indie niche press that deals in similarly dark stuff and might take a flyer on yours, but there won't be any advance and royalties will most likely be minimal... check out duotrope and then spend some time in the biggest book store you can reach, to see if there's anything out there like what you have to offer [by unknowns] and if there is, query that/those publisher/s... as for agents, i seriously doubt you'll find any legit ones willing to rep such a book, since chances are slim to none they'll be able to snag a publisher and even if they did, there'd be little to no money in it for them... your best course of action is to get a significant number of the poems published in respected magazines/journals, to make a name for yourself and build a market for the future collection... but even then, getting a paying publisher for the book will still be iffy... sorry to sound so negative, but that's the nature of the beast... love and consoling hugs, maia
