Wriging

Get a copy, or subscribe online to, "The Writer's Market." It will give you lots of information on literary agents and markets that are open or closed for submissions.

Fair warning, though. Publishing can be a bitch, and while many of the agents and publications will tell you not to submit simultaneously, they'll also be unhelpful enough to not send you a reply for months, thus leaving you in limbo over one piece for ages. It will also likely get rejected. That's nothing against you, it's just the market's tight and competitive and given a bit to the need for elbow rubbing.

Just a warning, though. If you've got the time, patience and thick skin to deal with it, go for it. Otherwise, see about publishing it yourself, either through a local distributor (contact a local newspaper, I reckon; they'll usually be connected to a larger publisher or know of one) or through an online service like Lulu.

Good luck!

Thank you @leliathomas, I have made an attempt three times very foolishly in the past, in that I sent my work without an agent, and recieved letters with my rough copies back from all three telling me I needed an agent in order to send my work out in the first place. I had no idea that I even needed one at that point, so I learned something from that experience. (Not to mention one of the publishers I sent it out to was Scribner) talk about reaching for the stars haha. I appreciate your input very much, and will definately check into The Writers Market. :)

First off, listen to what leilathomas said. Very, very solid advice there.

The only thing I'll add here is in regards to self publishing, and that mostly depends on your goals. If you have a goal of making a career of writing, self publishing may not be the best way to go, insofar as mainstream book publishers are concerned. They don't like it when you start self publishing and agents will be leery of that. (Note that this only applies to services like Lulu. I'm not sure what the sentiment is regarding newspapers.) The poetry market may be different about this so you'll have to research. Also, other markets (comics, video) consider self publishing a plus.

Sometimes the trick is getting out of the "catch 22" agents will sometimes put you in. Most agents won't really even look at your stuff unless you've already sold something, and you cant' generally sell something unless you have an agent. Oops! Unfortunately, it's often about who you know, so I recommend getting into situations -- clubs, organizations, conventions -- where you can meet people who can introduce you to the right people. This ups your chances at getting an invitation to submit your stuff, which is where you want to be.

Finally, always remember this: money should only flow one way: towards you. There should never be money flowing from you to the agent/publisher (unless you're self-publishing, in which case there is no agent).

Good luck.

Hi dieseldelicious,

I think Leliathomas and Gnorb are spot on, especially the bit about the one way flow of money.

As a songwriter I met some record companies a few years ago (reasonable similarity?) and although I didn't get signed they made me realise that you should never have to pay to get your material listened to/promoted.

I don't know what other people think but how about entering some of your work into industry/nationally recognised competitions. It could generate good free publicity and if you do well it could help bridge the gap for agents wanting to have some reassurance in your work. Just a thought.

Whatever you decide just make sure you keep at it. You know I like your work :-)

In the UK we have the Writers and Artists Year Book which lists them all with the publishing criteria so you can see if they represent for poetry biographies or whatever. They also say how many pages to send in, a synopsis if appropriate, biography etc. If you get a rejection you can ask for them to recommend you to another. That's how I got my agent.

Thank you all so much for your responses so far...
@clarkey, I was with The National Library Of Poetry for a few years when I was younger. I really enjoyed it, and for a teenager it was a great boost for self esteem, and motivation to write harder. I had about three poems published in a few different books and one posted up on a cassette/cd. It was a lot of fun, and I was even invited to their annual Best Poets banquet one year, where I had the opportunity to read off my work to the crowd. Sometimes I think had I gone, there may have been an agent or two waiting for that magic poem to be read so they could wisk me away to the world of being a professional poet. lol (Kind of like the scouting agent for major league baseball who sits in the shadows at a hometown baseball game, waiting for that diamond in the rough.) But I never went. Poo.
To everyone else, this information is so very helpful, I really appreciate every last bit of it, and I am beginning to look at my options on a broader spectrum because of it, so thank you!