Very nearly time to submit

I am proofreading for missing spaces and little oddities that have passed me by. And to read this amazing document once more.

Although Christmas has slowed me down—if it wasn’t for Christmas I would be submitting now instead of in January—I am glad to really put a shine on this document.

No more big changes. There’s no need. It is complete. The Acknowledgements and Dedication are done. The References once more checked. Even the font sizes have been attended to (pesky little things they are).

I am SO proud of this document. I can hardly believe that I wrote it, that it came into being through my work. I understand now why people take “birth announcement” photos of their thesis. It feels like something new has come into the world and very soon it will move out from under my care and be set free.

I have just done this with my three young-adult children. I am glad for the respite from the work but, at the same time, it gave me structure. I knew what my days were about—wrestling chaos into order, and trying again the next day.

Until the day came when the children didn’t need me to order their chaos. They are capable—more capable than I was at their age—and are taking pleasure in learning how to manage chaos for themselves.

My thesis is at that stage, too.

I don’t need to watch as someone reads it, saying ‘this is what I really meant’ or ‘this is what that bit means’ or ‘oh, I was trying to be funny there’. No. It is now its own entity that will morph and change according to the reader.

It will go to my Assessors in January. They will read, and consider, and challenge, and think, before giving me their comments.

There are three possible outcomes:

1. The very unlikely fail. No supervisor should allow you to submit if you are at risk of failing.

2. The much more likely pass with additional work to complete. That might be some editing before submitting a library copy, or it might be an idea that requires further fleshing out, or some such thing.

3. A pass with very few touch-ups. A pass with no touch-ups is almost impossible. They want a clean copy as it will be publicly available (although not the whole project).

What I mean with that last parenthesis is that it is very likely that I will redact the poetry collection so that what is available is the exegesis only. This is a practical consideration as I have started sending the collection to publishers. It hardly fair to have something freely available that they would like to make money from.

The publishing process is slow. First, you must find a publisher who published your sort of work and find out when they are accepting submissions. Sure, you might be the next Banjo Paterson but publishers have processes that must be respected. Show that you know what their processes are and respect them.

Then, the collection must resonate with the person who initially reads it. They will be thinking about what else they have on the go, the brand that they are cultivating, and, of course, the quality of the work. Should they decide that the collection isn’t for them you go back to the first step. It’s a good idea to think about who you can send to next while the first publisher is considering the work.

After that..?

I’m not sure. I’ve just sent the collection to my first publisher and am waiting. I’ll let you know when one finally says yes.

You see, at this stage, I know it isn’t about the poetry. It’s about what will work for their businesses. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not telling you to send off your twenty unworked but loved favourites.

Dip your toe in the water and submit individual poems to journals. And let your skin get thick.

You send your darlings out into a competitive world without you. Some of them aren’t ready for that. Don’t take it personally. Work on them some more, write new, better stuff, read, read, read, and read some more. I hated that dictum but it is true. You write better when you are well read. Reading is an important part of writing.

I am planning to read this summer, a lot. I have some recent releases and a big pile of classics. That, and watch Australian movies. I watched The Dry yesterday. I felt like I could have been back in my own childhood. Eric Bana was brilliant.

I need to fill up my creativity tank. I have just finished Hannah Kent’s Devotion and have started Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in a Castle. And there is the garden.

The creativity here, the growth and what it adds to our lives, stems from the smallest of seeds. Even though my thesis is ready to launch, and I am sad/excited about that, new things will come. Seeds have been gathered that are ready for planting. In the meantime, it’s time to tend to the soil.