I am excited to announce a contest EXCLUSIVELY here on my blog. A poetry contest, to be more specific!
As many of you know, I am an Editor for a greeting card company called Blue Mountain Arts (BMA). We are a small organization located in Boulder, CO that has been dedicated to helping people communicate for over forty years. How, you ask? Well, our cards are written by people who do not work for BMA. Our writers are mothers, business professionals, grandfathers, students and daughters. Because our cards capture genuine emotions on topics such as love, friendship, family, birthday, and other real-life subjects, we suggest that you have a friend or relative in mind as you write.
Why should you participate in this contest? Because if your poem is chosen for publication into our line, not only will you have your name published on the card with your poem (which will be distributed across the country, and even internationally!)... you will also get PAID! ($300 for your first poem, and the rate increases with each poem that is published!)
Do you have a poem that you have already written for someone special in your life? Great, submit it! Don't have one written yet? No problem, take time to write a heartfelt poem to someone in your life TODAY!
Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty, shall we?
THE RULES:
1. You can submit anywhere from 1-10 different poems for consideration.
2. Poems should be written from personal experience that reflect the thoughts and feelings people today want to communicate to one another, but don't always know how to put into words.
3. The poem length does not matter, so long as it can fit on a card. We publish both long and short pieces.
4. NO rhyming poetry, religious verse, one-liners.
5. Try to avoid frequently overused words and phrases such as "special," "you were always there for me," "birthday wishes for you," etc. Consider writings that are refreshing and unique or that express age-old sentiments in new and different ways.
6. Popular themes include: love, birthday, thanks, motto/reach for your dreams, anniversary, congratulations, new baby, sympathy, get well, etc.
7. DEADLINE: October 4th, 2013.
8. Residents of any country can participate, we have authors all over the world!
Please submit your poems to: sstapley@sps.com with the subject: Poetry Submission Contest
FORMAT:
Please include your poems in the body of the email (no attachments, please!), with a clear title and separation between each poem.
PRIZES:
The top 5 poems will be included in our October Market Review Test, and put into test stores. If it does well in the test stores, it will be published into our line and you will get paid for your work. I will also feature the top five poems here on my blog.
Feel free to visit our website to get a feel for what our unique cards and products are like: www.SPS.com
I really look forward to reading your submissions! Please share this post with your friends and family!
