blotting himself out

Publishing and publishing more, he was publishing himself into anonymity.

time running out

He kept waiting for that one great run of poems.

not unless

The editor said he’d publish my poem if I would agree to strike the last line. I replied that I’d let him publish my poem that way if he’d legally change his name to Notable Dolt.

blurbs get behind me

The poet was pleased her reputation had risen to the point she was no longer obliged to gather blurbs.

not too much fidelity

Writers insist that editors be faithful toward their texts; but not faithful to their typos or other errors therein.

useful list of errors

The erratum slip made for a convenient bookmark.

naming rights

With his writing and publishing not going well, he hatched a scheme to begin copyrighting the works of Anonymous as his own.

don't be that guy

After the poetry reading he asks the poet to sign his book with an obvious remainder mark.

there for your protection

The Editors: Were they the gatekeepers or the quality control department?

his darlings murdered

A writer who lived off his kill fees.

true or trending

There is a real audience and a manufactured audience. The latter will not stay with the author even over her/his lifetime.

no rush

He was never accused of rushing to publish.

only the poem

Poet, never talk of publishing, speak only of poems.

drop trap

Books are just cages that get dropped over writing.

typo byproduct

If you haven’t suffered a bad typo, you’ve not published enough. To a publisher: If you haven't let slip an egregious typo, you're not publishing enough.

forward speaking

One hopes a book becomes a tongue that won’t be still.

adequate containers

Words just poured out of him, and thus his books were like buckets.

bestest mostest etc

Hyberbollocks: Exaggerated nonsensical praise, often evidenced by the author’s blurbs.

time lapse

Browsing through old anthologies should be enough to humble even the proudest poet. Not only because a few great poems remain…but because so many names have evaporated in time.

sales quotas

One way to cut back on the superfluous poetry books being published would be to make it a rule that you have to sell 75% of the print run before you can publish another title. For print-on-demand books, the rule would be you must sell 250 copies (not counting extended family) before you can perpetrate another title.