About Sonnets

Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash

In the last blog post, I said I would write more about sonnets.  I believe there is something attractive about sonnets, so I write them.  This is how I go about writing a sonnet.  What are sonnets? Basically, a sonnet is a 14 line poem.  There are many different types.  I don't go about limiting myself to one certain type, I do what's going to work best for what I want to write. 

Most of my sonnets contain 3 quatrains, (a paragraph made up of 4 lines,) and 1 couplet, (a paragraph made of 2 lines,) at the end.  Shakespearian Sonnets have an ABAB CDCD EFEF rhyming scheme in the quatrains and an GG rhyming scheme for the couplet.  Many different sonnet types count the syllables in each line.  In the following example of one of my sonnets, "The Discussion", I have used 10 syllables for each line.  When coming up with a sonnet I write a template looking like this:

1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  A

2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ B

3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A

4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ B

5. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C

6. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ D

7. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C

8. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ D

9. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E

10. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ F

11. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E

12. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ F

13. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ G

14 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ G

Each underline, or dash, represents each syllable that I want to use.  A syllable can best be described as a beat of a word, usually indicated by a vowel.  For example, 'frog' is one syllable.  It has one vowel, so the word frog would be written across one part of the line above.  'Discussion' would be 3 syllables indicated by the i, u, and io.  Since it is three syllables, I would write that across 3 parts of the line.  To put 'frog' and 'discussion' together, I would write across 4 parts of the line to look like: frog-dis-cus-sion.  To write one line of the sonnet, I still need to come up with 6 more syllables.  It's not the easiest thing to do, but it is doable. 

Iambic pentameter is also part of a sonnet, and it is also hard to do.  I am not good at iambic pentameter, so I don't do it.  The rules in poetry are meant to be broken!  If you are interested, I found the best description iambic pentameter here: https://classicalpoets.org/2015/12/02/how-to-write-a-sonnet/#/ 

In order to come up with writing rhymes and a subject, I do a free write.  I write all words I can think of and then see if I can put any two together that rhyme, or if a word might inspire a rhyme.  The words can create a guideline of a potential subject.  Sometimes, as in the case below, I come up with the subject first.  For "The Discussion," I wanted to come up with a poem that fit in the category of speculative (relating to fantasy or science fiction).  I thought talking frogs would work for a speculative poem.  I did try to write "The Discussion" for publication, however I do not think it's good enough for that.  I do think it's good, just not that good, so I am sharing it with you for free now.

The Discussion

 

Now it is dusk, we are frogs, we arise.         

Time for our meeting, time for our chatter.                                                                    

When it is colder, we fear our demise.                           

We must discuss an important matter.        

                                                          

Among the dark it is time to discourse.                                                               

Us, waking, nocturnal socializing.            

Like you, we try to discover the source.                                             

Knowledge gleaning, avoid criticizing.                                                                

                                                                       

Our music reverberates among us.             

Ponds, our water, it is disappearing.                                                                   

Asking what can we do, who can we trust?                                                                   

Not understanding, others are jeering.                                                        

                                          

Can you understand the amphibian?                  

Shivering, dying now, to our chagrin. 

                                                              Photo by gary tresize on Unsplash

I encourage you to revel in this beautiful form of poetry, whether you be reading sonnets or writing them.

 

Learning How to Publish and Promote

                                                         

                                                         Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

First, right now, 10/15/22, until the 18th of October, the "U)n-Clenched Emotion," kindle book version, is on sale for 99 cents on Amazon.  It normally costs $2.99.  It's always free on Kindle Unlimited.  If you haven't already found the link on this blog, it's at: https://www.amazon.com/Clenched-Emotion-Natasha-Gruss-ebook/dp/B01LZNVH4Y   This book is authored by Natasha Gruss, which is me,  even though I am now Natasha McKinley.  Amazon does not let people change the name of the author of a published book, which makes sense.

                                              

                                              Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

I found some other interesting things about how I can edit and promote the books I write.  Even after it was published way back in 2016.  I have not yet had my 2 of the same books, (the kindle version and the print edition,) linked.  Hopefully this is in the process of happening.  I thought that I had messed up by not originally linking my books.  Well, I just found out it wasn't my fault.  Author's used to publish their books with Create Space.  That's where I published my print book. Now, you can not publish your books with that.  I had to go into Create Space and transfer the print book to Kindle Direct Publishing, where are where all book versions are published now.  I had published my delightful book when Amazon was making this change, so my linking got lost in the cracks.  I have changed the book descriptions, the subtitles, and the keywords to match.  Hopefully this will get my books linked in a few days; after my promotion ends.

                                            Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

Kindle does not let you price your book at 99 cents all the time.  You have to do a promotion to do that.  You get one count down deal during a promotion period which lasts for a few months.  Hopefully I will be able to do another free promotion for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Amazon also added another way to promote my book.  I was able to nominate it for Prime First Reads.  That's where Prime members get to download a free book, out of a list of a limited amount of books, once a month.  I doubt they will choose my book, but it was an easy click to nominate it.  Doing is risk-free.  I hope I have given authors some good information on Publishing and promoting their books.  And if you are not an author, I hope this was still an interesting read.

Thunderstorm

https://youtu.be/67HAVaT4VZ0

 

Poetry Writing Prompts

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Often, authors encounter writers block.  I am fortunate that I rarely encounter this when writing poetry.  The reason for that is because I have some go to writing prompts to help me out.  I used to volunteer to teach poetry classes and the following prompts are what I used when I needed to come up with ideas quickly.
I would have people write about colors, things that happen in the calendar year, music, teach a specific form of poem, and use published poems and authors as inspiration.  Writing about color is a little self-explanatory, so I will only go in depth on the other prompts I have listed.

Photo by Renáta-Adrienn on Unsplash

Calendar Year

I often had my students write about things that happened in the calendar year.  Things like seasons, the weather, holidays, and the specific months.  It was easy to look outside and prompt my students to write about what the weather was doing, or to have them write about the specific season we were experiencing at the time of the class.  Writing about the month we were in was also effortless.  I always felt holidays were especially inspirational.  I wrote so many of these types of poems that I am working on making a book out of them.  I currently have 42 poems typed up, and I am not even finished!

Photo by Eric Nopanen on Unsplash

Music

I have written a little bit about this in previous blog posts.  In my classes, sometimes I would simply have the students write a poem about their favorite song.  Sometimes I played the same song for everyone and had them all write a poem about that song.  You might think that you would get very similar poems doing this, but actually, they came out very diverse.  I always did want to be careful with this prompt because I did not want to infringe on any copywrites.  If you are simply writing this for yourself, that doesn't matter.  Done carefully, poems written inspired by music can still be published.  I found a call for submissions for poems that are inspired by the Rolling Stones.  Sometimes I would play music on glass bottles.  You could also play your own instrument, if you have one, for inspiration.  In this case, you do not have to worry about plagiarism.  I am of the belief that music is poetry.  I've seen some lyrics of various artists printed out and they look like wonderful poetry.

Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash

Forms of Poems

I really like to write sonnets, haikus, and acrostic poems.  I like them, therefor I teach them.  Haikus are pretty straight forward.  Write a poem with 3 lines.  The first line being 5 syllables, the second line being 7 syllables, and the third line being 5 syllables again.  I know that some people argue that Haikus should be about certain things like nature, or that it should be conveyed in a different way, but I don't think that has to be the case.  I was teaching poetry to beginners, so simply saying to write a 5-7-5 syllable poem was good enough for me.  I also love to do Acrostic Poems.  These poems are poems where the first letter of each line spells out a word.

For example:

Next

Akin

To

Amazing

She

Happily

Ascends

 

I actually made money at some craft fairs charging people to have me write out an acrostic poem of their name.  I did not charge much, and yet, a surprising amount of people wanted to have this done.

 

Sonnets are a little harder.  I must admit that I still don't understand iambic pentameter very well, so I don't bother with it.  The great thing about poetry is that you don't Have To follow the rules.  There is a lot I can say about sonnets, so I will write about them in a future blog post.

Photo by Taha on Unsplash

Using Published Authors and Poems

Most of the time in my poetry class, I would choose 3 poets and their published poetry for inspiration.  I went to a poetry website, printed the author's bio, and a poem they had published.  We would read these bios and poems out loud and use them as inspiration to write our own poems.  This exercise took a little preparation, but I learned how to do it so well, it did not take much time to prepare at all.  Now when I am working on poetry, for fun, or to try to publish, I often read poetry ezines.  I have learned a lot from doing this.  For example, I knew about acrostic poetry, but I did not know there was a form of poetry where you start each line with a letter of the alphabet.  Finally, if none of these prompts work for you, you can find other prompts all over the internet.  There are many tweeted prompts every day, and Writer's Digest sends out writing prompts.  Writer's Block can be overcome!                                                                                                                                  

The Importance of the Pause

 

Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash

In all writing, not just poetry, where the writer puts pauses into their piece is very important.  In prose, the pauses are easy to indicate with commas and periods.  Paragraph breaks are also another form of pauses.  A pause in writing allows the reader to stop and think about what they just read, and perhaps prepare for a new idea.   The pause allows the reader to have time for what they just read to sink in.

Photo by Hrayr Movsisyan on Unsplash

 

Commas and periods can be a way to indicate a pause in poetry too.  Poetry is not exactly like prose, it has it's own set of rules.  Also unlike prose, in poetry, it is okay to break some of the rules.  Sometimes there will be no commas or periods in the piece at all.  In that case, line breaks are something that indicates a pause.  Why would you want to incorporate pauses in your poetry at all? You don't have to, but it can really help if you or someone else is reciting the poem.  Most poems are written to be read or performed, (with the exception of some visual poetry).  The spacing between words can indicate a pause as well.  In poetry, you can put as many spaces as you want between words, or even letters.

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash

Perhaps you don't write poetry, but only read it.  In that case, notice the pauses if there are any.  It will help with the comprehension and emotion of the poem.  Reciting a poem, whether you are the poet, or the reader, can help you get the best feel for the piece.  Next time you read a poem, notice the pauses.  It will help you better understand what the writer is trying to convey.

Photo by Isabella and Zsa Fischer on Unsplash

Sleep, Interrupted

By Natasha McKinley

 

She,

            Sleeps,

                           Softly.

 

There is a patter of

                                    footsteps that She

dreamily hears.

 

Awaken now.

            See what disturbs your slumber.

 

She wakes.

            It is only the footsteps of her family.

 

                                    Rest easy.

What to do for Poetry Month

It is the month of April, and the month of April is poetry month.  There are many things people can do besides write poetry.  Most obviously, they can read poetry.  Of course, you can read the classics like Shakespeare or Dickon's, but you can read current day poets too, (like me).  If you read a poet's work on your kindle, they would appreciate a review or at least a star rating.  All you have to do is click a star.  I decided to read a poetry book for this April.  

This month I decided to read Misha Collins poetry book: "Some Things I Still Can't Tell You."  Misha Collins is not famous for being a poet.  He is famous for playing the character Castielle (an Angel), on the T.V. show Supernatural.  I was very excited when I found out he was into poetry.  I saw him recite some on my Instagram account, thought it was great, and asked my husband for his book for Christmas. My husband got for it me!  Misha Collins is a very good poet, and I am very glad that I have his writing in my possession.

If you are a poet, and are published with Amazon, you can give your book away for free for up to five days.  You won't get any royalties when you do this, but you might spread your work around the world a little more.  I chose to give my book away for 3 days at the beginning this month.  Four people took advantage of the offer.  I may give "Un-Clenched Emotion" more free days in following months.  It is on Kindle Unlimited, so if you have that, it is always free.  I found out that I do get royalties if someone buys my book that way.

Naturally, if you would like to, you can write your own poetry in the month of April.  There are many poetry challenges online where they ask you to write a poem a day for the whole month of April.  I have done this in years past, but did not do a poem a day this year.  I did write a few poems this month, which I plan to submit to publication.  They are speculative poems, poems that follow a fantasy or science fiction theme.  I have a title for the other poetry chapbook, (or perhaps whole book), this time, and some more of this book to put together. The theme for this book is the Seasons. I still have a long way to go to get this finished.

I challenge you to read and/or write poetry this month.  Promote what you have already written, or write a review for an author you have read.

April Poetry Month- Free book April 1st-3rd

It's been two years since I posted anything in this blog. Some good things have happened since then. I got my first Amazon rating for My Kindle E-book, "Un-Clenched Emotion". 5 stars, hooray! I had my friend with Kindle Unlimited download my book in the summer of 2021.  Last time I ran a free promotion for my poetry book, 6 people downloaded my book.

It's April, and April is poetry month. In honor of that, I am coming back to this blog.  I am offering "Un-Clenched Emotion" for free at: 

https://www.amazon.com/Clenched-Emotion-Natasha-Gruss-ebook/dp/B01LZNVH4Y

Surprisingly, I have a lot of traffic to this blog for not working on it for 2 years. I have played around with Twitter. I have over 500 followers and have never sold my book from there as far as I know. Yet, maybe someday! I do think it was Twitter people who downloaded my book for free last time.  If anyone wants to follow me there, my handle is: @natasha_gruss

In 2020, I got married and my name changed. It's actually Natasha McKinley now.  "Un-Clenched Emotion" is published under Natasha Gruss. As you can see that my Twitter handle is also still Natasha Gruss. If I publish more books, they will be under Natasha McKinley.

I am also on Goodreads. Once again my name is still Natasha Gruss there. I have a total of 7 reviews on Goodreads, which is great! Unfortunately, so far, it hasn't really helped in selling my book.  They are all positive reviews however, which makes me feel good. Goodreads has helped me give away my book for free! You can see my Goodreads profile here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15863356.Natasha_Gruss

I am happy that I have gotten my this book out there so people can enjoy it.  I hope more people will take advantage of this free offer this time!  If you take advantage of this offer, I hope you post a review on Amazon. I could always use more reviews there.  Thank you for your time in reading this post!

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😁😀😁😀😀😀😁😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

How to Read Poetry

It's been awhile since I added a blog post.  I have however, been working on my blog page.  Some may have noticed that I added a page to this blog called "The Written Poetry of Natasha Gruss."  It's very hard to see when you go to the home page of my blog, just a small link on the right hand bar under the pages heading.  I will post the link here so you can find it easier.  It's: https://authornatashagruss.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
While it says "written poetry", I also added YouTube Videos of me reading my poems.  I've been thinking about writing a blog post on how to read poetry for awhile, but I didn't want to do it until I was able to give samples of me doing it myself, out loud.  When posting the videos, here is the one that had the most likes when I shared it:

What to Pay Attention to While Reading Poetry

The above is an example of how to read poetry out loud.  There are two ways to read poetry: silently and out loud.  When you write poetry, it is really important to pay attention to how the poetry would sound if someone were to read your poem out loud.  Even if they read it silently, they may hear inside their head how it sounds.  There's not much to say about how to read a poem silently, it's just done.  Pay attention to punctuation and line breaks.  Like in regular grammar, a comma or period indicates a pause in the material.  Less known is that at the end of a line of poetry there should also be a pause.   Poetry can also have less conventional grammar like odd spacing, it should be self explanatory that extra spacing indicates a pause.  Emphasis should also be placed on capitalized words when reading poetry.  These things need a lot of attention when you decide to read a poem out loud.

What to Do When Reading A Poem Out Loud

So why would you put a voice to a poem?  Many people have been called on in class to read it, and they don't have a choice.  This would normally be someone else's poem, but it may be your own.  You may decide to go to a poetry reading and want to share your poem with a group.  I have experience doing both of these things.  I've been to many poetry readings through out my life, and they have all been well received.  If you can, read through a poem before you speak it.  Read through it as many times as you can so you can get a feel for it and what you are going to perform.

When sharing your poem with your voice, one of the most important things to do is to make sure your voice is loud enough to be heard.  For some people this comes naturally.  Some people need practice.  If you need practice making your voice louder, you may try speaking over the sound of a fan and see how well you can hear yourself.  Also look at the back of a room and pretend like you are speaking to someone there.  While you want to be heard, you probably don't want to shout unless your poem calls for it.

If you are going to read a poem, a good idea is to stand up and go to the front of the room.  Sometimes, like in a classroom setting, we don't get the opportunity to do this.  A sitting position can work as well, but make sure you sit up straight.  In the Poems "My World" and "Untitled Coffee Poem," I was sitting while I read the poem, but I was doing a video with a camera close to my face, so it was easy to be heard.  In my Haiku, that begins "Slip, Slip to the waves" I was standing.

Untitled Coffee Poem

Memorizing a Poem

Finally, if you are going to read a poem you have written out loud, the best thing to do before 'reading' it is to memorize it.  I have been to poetry competitions where everyone had the poem they were "reading" memorized and performed it memorized.  This is by far the best way to experience a poem.  However, if you are like me, you've written too much stuff to memorize it all.  I have sold some of my poetry, and I have felt funny not knowing my exact wording when the person has recited my words back a loud to me.  Excited that someone wanted to memorize my work though.  In the videos I did, only the Untitled Coffee Poem was memorized when I recorded it.  The Haiku that begins "Slip" I read while recording, but since it was so short, I did have it memorized.  "My World" was read and not memorized, and yet it was well received.  Memorization isn't mandatory, merely a
suggestion.

Ocean Haiku

Things to Remember

Poetry can be read silently or out loud.  It can be memorized.  It is important to read through poems before performing them and to pay attention to grammar like line breaks, odd spacing, and capitalization.  Volume and posture is important when reading a poem aloud.  I hope this post helps anyone if they encounter a situation in which they need to read a poem.

Catching Up: Finalist in Poetry Contest, New Book with Images, And Reviews

Finalist in Poetry Contest

Greetings!  It’s been awhile since I did a blog post.  Funny, since the last blog post I did I got a lot of hits.  I just needed a break I guess.  So, let’s get too it.  First, I wanted to brag that I was a finalist in the June 2018 poetry contest on Goodreads Poetry! Group, with my poem “Talking Walls.” I didn’t win, or get many votes, but a couple people posted they liked it, and I’m glad that my poetry was able to reach somebody.  To see it along with the other 6 finalists (out of over 200, Wow) you can go to https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/19356279-please-vote-for-the-june-2018-poetry-contest  If you don’t want to click on anything here it is for you:

Talking Walls

We are painted on the walls.

A stale empty white expounds character,

like full chaotic colors.

Memories encased in drywall.

Bleeding out to eyes searching the

multitudes of expression.

The memory of a friend passed on,

hangs a dragon by the door.

A blue Angel flies above the television

pondering the traveling friend who painted her.

The deer by the church are uncertain

of their wintering creator,

wondering if it is a dead relative.

The flutist gazing at the caged Nightingale remembers

the living family that gifted her.

A photograph of a daughter much younger

stares at passerby’s with her name in ceramics

next to the TV.

She has spoken to the walls in handprints

intentionally placed, and accidently.

A mother experiments with her creative process,

hanging pieces of her soul for various eyes seeing…

Strangers, Lovers, Her Own.

Her walls are an exhibition of her life,

they speak of her pronouncements in confidence.

What do other walls among other dwelling speak?

Curious minds must stare and extract.

Minds meld personalities.

Walls for examiners to notice insights of soul and life.

Using My Own Poetry Exercise

On a somewhat related note, I haven’t entered any poetry contests since then and I haven’t really written any more poetry.  I am proud, that this poem was written in one of the exercises I wrote about previously in this blog: looking at your surroundings and writing about them.  This is written about the things I have on my living room walls.  I didn’t really do any edits to this.  I have started editing and rewriting my other poetry though.  I discovered this cool thing in Word, where you can go into the review section and click “Read Aloud Speech” and it will read your work back to you.  No fancy editing programs needed! 

Public Domain Images and Poetry Reviews

I’d like to say that breaks are good for the soul!  I didn’t take a complete break, I did find a lot of poetry I have written and started making a new book about the cycle of the year and seasons.  I’m not sure if I’m going to self-publish it or not, but I was kind of hoping I could find a publisher who could do all the marketing work for me.  I’m just not good at doing that kind of thing.  My published poetry book “Un-Clenched Emotion” doesn’t have any pictures except for the cover, and I regret that, so I’m going to try to add pictures to my new one.  I was always afraid that if I used something from the internet, people would consider it stealing.  Well, I found out that there’s this thing called “Public Domain Images” where you can use the pictures in anyway you want for sale or for fun.  There are a couple of websites you can go to, to find these kind of images.  I’ve started doing this with my blog to make it look better too.  I also did reviews of 5 poetry chapbooks so far, and got my book reviewed too.  Only one person was able to post the review on Amazon so far, but I do have 3 four-star reviews on Goodreads at  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32320363-un-clenched-emotion.  I hope you have learned something from this post, or just found a little enjoyment from it.  Until next time! 

Discovering the Marketing and Promotion of an Author

After the publication of my first poetry book in 2016, I became very discouraged when I didn’t make a sale, or seem to be able to give away my poetry for free.  I stopped writing poetry for a long period of time.  Last month, April 2018, I somehow got motivated to write poetry more.  I didn’t write a poem everyday, yet the month of April was still full of poetry.

Submitting Poems for Publication

I discovered many new things about the publication and marketing of poetry.  Back in March, I had checked out a couple of copies of “Writer’s Digest” and discovered a few publications that would pay poets for their poems if they were accepted.  I made it a goal to write poems that I was proud of and submit them for publication.  I succeeded in this goal and sent out two poems, one each to the publications “Contrary” and “Poetry Magazine.”  I probably won’t know until November if they’ve been accepted, and I don’t have much hope they will be, but I am proud I attempted to at least.  I know there still is a chance. 

I also joined the Goodreads “Poetry!” Group and entered a poem for the May contest.  I was not a finalist, so I will share it now:

If I Saw the Perfect Me

Another Past, an Alternate Dimension.

-Blink- She has everything I ever wanted.

Eyes of Ebony, Shimmering Hair in Shades of Gold,

and Skin like Tanned Cream.

If only I had fallen in Her Footsteps.

Walk softly with pitter pattering feet.

Our destinies tied together.

She thrums to the heartbeat of Her Love.

Eyes everchanging as the Ocean,

Eyebrows: dark drawing perfect curves to Gentle Face.

He is mine here, this dimension, something we share.

My love vibrates to my soul.

For a moment, I stop regretting being Her.

Rubbing dull brown eyes, I see She’s found a Purpose,

while I write resumés that blow away

to crumbling and quitting, never finding purchase,

while I stand precariously, Her Feet Perfected Toenails,

Rooted with Joy.

I hold glittering Fool’s Gold while Hers Sparkling Pure is Solid.

She bites it with Pristine White Teeth, doesn’t distort. 

Biting mine with stained teeth and too small lips, melts to glop.

Her green with Luck, me green with Envy.

I wonder if the Money God is really evil,

or if it’s just a matter of success.

-Blink- We both see an Empty Soul, green with decaying,

wearing poverty as pride. Her eyes also ebony,

but no life there, orbs glinting of malevolence.

Us Others release our benevolent breath,

taking comfort of Our happy dispositions.

Looking at Another’s problems through a looking glass of speculation,

I come to the realization:

It doesn’t matter how magnificent Her life is,

mine could be as the Other; much worse.

Reviews of Poetry

In March or April, I also became an Author on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15863356.Natasha_Gruss).  I’m not sure how I discovered I could do this.  I joined some review groups on Goodreads this April and exchanged reviews of poetry books.  I reviewed and got reviewed by four poets.  I didn’t review them, but I also read more poetry books that were listed for free on Amazon and twitter, just to celebrate poetry month.  I submitted my book, “Un-Clenched Emotion” to be reviewed on other websites as well.

Twitter

I discovered twitter by tweeting my blog posts and promoting my poetry book (@natasha_gruss).  Tweeting, liking, and retweeting things gained me a lot of twitter followers.  If other authors, or poets, (or just interesting people,) followed me, I followed them back.  I did tweet one old haiku of mine, and someone used it as inspiration to make a haiku page on their website.  On twitter, I found a book on marketing and used that for poetry month.

Amazon, KDP Select, and Giveaways

For Marketing, I really examined the Amazon page of my book.  Doing this, I learned that authors were allowed to give away their kindle books for free every 90 days.  I thought I had unsuccessfully done this one time, and that I couldn’t do it again.  I was happy I was wrong.  When I discovered I could give away my poetry book away for free again, I decided I would do that in celebration of poetry month.  To do this, I also figured out how to fix the kindle version of my book. (The formatting didn’t come out right the first time).  It felt good, trying to get my poetry book out there.  I didn’t know when I did my free promotion before that I could find out if I gave away any books.  This time I discovered KDP select makes a marketing graph of how many books were sold or given away.  I was happy six people took advantage of my giveaway.  Amazon’s Author Page (https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01LZE8CKO) also graphs sales rank and author’s rank.  It only ranks sales, not giveaways, so my free book promotion didn’t affect rankings at all.

For the future, I tried to figure out how to help my rankings and studied print book giveaways.  Everyone said Amazon’s print book giveaways weren’t worth it, but Goodreads was.  I bought 6 print books of “Un-Clenched Emotion” (https://www.amazon.com/Clenched-Emotion-Collection-Poems/dp/1537725327/) which I hope to give away in the future.  I also wondered if doing a giveaway of an item, like a coffee pot, would help my Amazon Author ranking, if people were required to follow me as an Amazon Author.  What do you think?  If you could follow me for the chance to win a coffee pot, Edgar Allen Poe mug, dragon stapler, or tea basket; would you do it?  Which thing would you want?

I am proud of all I did in April to celebrate poetry and learn about the marketing of it.  There is still much more work to do.  There are many more discoveries I made on marketing and blogging, but too much to write in one post.  I may write about them in the future.