Q: What is your publishing policy?

A: “The Raving Poets will happily post your literary work on its site but reserves the right to post "as is", without spell checking, editing for intelligibility, or checking for blatant plagiarism. All rights remain with the wordsmith - except in the cases of plagiarists.  We get new age California shamen to regurgitate energy bars and sushi into a baggie, which we then mail to the plagiarist's grandmother.”

Q: I heard you will only post the work of poets who have performed their work with the Raving Poets band. What about other poets? Can we send our work in?

A: The whole point of the Raving Poets site is to feature the work of the Raving Poets, the people who perform their work with the band at the Kasbar. (Of course, the site is also to let you know what’s going on with the Edmonton performance poetry scene.) But we are also open to posting the work of kindred spirits the world over. On our Poet page, non-Raving Poets are designated “Guest Poet” – just above their name.

Q: Where do I send my work?

A: Send your poems to gord@ravingpoets.com

Q: Do I retain copyright when I publish a poem on the Raving Poets Web site?

A: Absolutely, yes. You retain all rights to your work. By sending your work to the Raving Poets site and asking that it be posted on the Web you enter into an informal contract that allows us to post your work. The Raving Poets has no legal or financial claim on your words. They remain 100% your property and you may ask that your work be removed from the site whenever you wish.

Q: What about if I want to publish them in a magazine or anthology later? Don’t I lose something by having them previously published on the Raving Poets site?

A: Yes. Some publishers want to buy the First Rights or Exclusive Rights to your work. If they have been published on the Web already, you obviously can’t sell the First or Exclusive rights to them.

Q: What about formatting? Do you accept attachments?

A: Send it any way you want. Poems can be in the body of the message, or as attachments. The important thing is, send it in a format that will ensure we can see is as you see it. If you have imbedded graphics, or lots of special indentations, it’s better to send it as a Word document. We can then do our best to format it properly for the Web.

Q: What all should I send? Do you want a photo of me?

A: Here’s what we prefer:
1. Poems
2. A brief bio
3. A photo of you or an image to go with your work.

If you don't send an image, we reserve the right to find or create one that will go with your words. If you don't send a bio, we'll be glad to make one up.

Q: How many poems can I send?

A: We want to feature your work, not be your personal publisher or misrepresent the vastness of your talent with one shrimpy haiku. Some people send too much, some people send too little. The ideal would be between 4 and 10 pieces that properly represent your style(s). If you're already on the site and haven't sent in anything for a while, fire us off a few to spruce up your page.

Q: If I screw up and send something with typos, can I fix it later?

A: Absolutely. We all make mistakes.

Q: How long will it take to post my work?

A: Currently, we’re posting new work on Fridays. Just don’t send it at 10:00 on Friday morning and expect it to be posted that week. Gord’s only got two hands – and one of them is holding a cuppa coffee.