Best Laid

These days I don’t lay my pen down while I think – it’s a computer mouse, which has reminded me of Robert Burns, his wee timorous Mousie and best laid plans. I have the messiest desk and study, with piles of correspondence, letters, poems to submit and paper to recycle, as well as my boxes of resources for the volunteer work I do at schools and libraries. There’s a small space for anything I need for exam marking and moderating… and then there’s the view of the garden, my constant inspiration.

The first thing I need to do is clear the desk and write a list of upcoming submission deadlines that I plan to meet before Christmas. Daily writing is easier as I have the prompts from dVerse and various other websites. The big plan this year is to get my children’s novel published. Despite being long-listed in the Mslexia Children’s Fiction Competition, I haven’t had much joy with agents and publishers, so I have made a New Year’s resolution in advance – I’m going to try self-publishing.

on the horizon
a new year sails into view
blank sails unfurling

Kim M. Russell, 2017

  Best Laid (2)

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Haibun Monday:  What are your plans?

I am sad to say that Toni is our haibun host for the last time today as she is stepping down from the dVerse team but not leaving dVerse – we will still see her sparkling poetry.

She tells us that she has plans for writing, going back to school and taking her old Ducati out of storage and getting it road ready, which all sounds good to me – I hope she has a whale of a time.

Toni wants us to write about our plans for our own writing in a haibun.

50 thoughts on “Best Laid”

  4. Wonderful plans! As to the self-publishing, it certainly is easier than finding an agent or publisher, until it comes to marketing. That’s been the hard part for me with my two poetry books. However, I did sell 6 copies to one person this weekend, more than 3 years after it was published!

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  6. I love your plans! I’ll be very interested to hear how you get on. It’s almost like we need a different site – a practical tips, experiences, support kind of place…You’ve made me look at my desk, which is a shared space, so at the moment it’s covered in pens, pencils, scissors, my advent calender plan, Anne of Green Gables, tissues, a pile of paperwork…where are the tidy up fairies when you need them?

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    1. Thank you, Sarah! I agree about the need for a site for tips and support – even reviewing and discussing experiences, books we’ve published, how to get published, etc. You’ve got Anne of Green Gables on your desk! I haven;’t read that for years. I’m currently re-reading Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop and a Joni Mitchell Anthology is waiting in the wings. My fairies are both reclining in the garden – they’ve turned to stone! 🙂

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  9. Your haiku is brilliant, hopeful, rife with positive winds. Self-publishing seems to be the topic of the day out here on the trail today; Bjorn digs it. I’m too old & cranky to deal with it. But I wish you well. So many dVerse poets have books for us to buy; a self-contained marketplace

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  17. Great to know that your children have a book ready to publish! I’ve learnt that self-publishing is a great option but when it comes to marketing it, you have to keep aside the writer in you and polish your selling skills 🙂 Good luck with publishing. Loved your haiku!

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  22. Put forth so succinctly like a true businessman/scientist. Love the haiku and much luck self-publishing. I suspect the publishers seek young talent from whom they can reap volumes…ergo, self-publishing is there for us. My problem–I don’t like to market myself.

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