Criteria for Guest Contributors to My Persuasive Presentations, LLC’s Website

The “criteria page” is a reference for people who want to submit poetry or very short prose (as in Twitter-size) to be considered for publication on my Guest Contributors’ page. This opportunity is available to people of all backgrounds, races, religions, and levels of writing experience (from zero to pro).

“Executive Summary”

Please:

• View The Occasional Poet and its subcategories for #Haiku and #vss365 #prompt for more details.
• Use the Memorandum of Agreement form if you want to submit entries. It must be signed to give me permission to post your goodies.
• Email me at MyPersuasivePresentations@gmail.com and put “Guest Contributor Entry” with questions or your submissions after you read the foregoing.

What Kinds of Writing Should You Submit?

Currently, I’m accepting submissions for:

• #Haiku poetry,
• other kinds of poetry and
• short stories or descriptions, and
• #vss365 #prompt works. (Again, if you would want them to appear on Twitter, they must conform to the number of characters that Twitter allows.)

I’m quite selective, but I’d love to share some SHORT works of poetry or prose written by people other than me!

While I enjoy spiritually uplifting pieces, I also treasure those that depict what it feels like to experience life’s challenges and vagaries or which describe beauty as found in nature or human nature.

The First Criterion

This criterion is simply that I like the work. After all, it is my business website that is hosting the writings, and I have a specific aesthetic, ethics, and types of messages/people I want to support.

Consequently, I shall exclude hate speech, pornography, expressions of racism and other bigoted views, plus most political commentary from this business website. The work can be about social justice issues. It cannot be partisan politics and propaganda talking points.

The Rest of the Criteria

Additional criteria are loosely based on some standard sources and elements, such as are found on the All Poetry website where you can go to learn details about the following categories. New Writers especially – don’t worry about the following lists, with the exception of the Technical Excellence description. Just write and send me examples of your best work, as you learn. However, generally, I’ll have these factors “in the back of my mind” as I review your entries.

This project is not a formal competition. It is intended to be fun and to give exposure to writers outside their normal spheres of communication. We shall have no “back and forth” in arguing whether and how well something meets the criteria and/or whether it should have been accepted on my website. My judgments will be purely subjective. Selections are subject to time, space, and effort constraints, as well as the quality and type of works that are presented to me.

Considerations

To give you a clue, below are some variables I may consider, as listed by All Poetry.

(1) beauty, power, education, or entertainment
(2) message & interest
(3) technical excellence
(4) rhyme and/or meter
(5) assonance and alliteration
(6) form & flow
(7) choice of words & readability
(8) overall impact
(9) originality
(10) polish & expertise

Technical Excellence

In terms of technicalities, I am not strict in terms of following many standard rules and teachings. Idiomatic language is acceptable. Here are a few general exceptions, as mentioned by All Poetry. I probably won’t accept the work if:

• the work contains grammatical errors, misspelled words, double negatives, wrong punctuation marks, incorrect usage of terms (e.g., your versus you’re).
• the submission does not have the proper form for the type of poem, e.g., Haiku, Villanelle, Sonnet, Tanka, Limerick, etc.
• The work does not seem to accomplish what it sets out to do (in my opinion).

Other Considerations

The following includes excerpts and paraphrasing taken from the list shared by Vanier College.

• The meaning of the poem. What happens in the poem? What is the poet trying to say? How forcefully does he/she say it? Which lines bring out the meaning of the poem? Note that the last lines of a poem are usually important as they either emphasize or change the meaning of the poem.
• Imagery: What feeling is given by which image?
• Use of effective, symbolic language or images that suggest certain concepts like love, youth, and death.
• Choice of words.
• Voice and tone of voice of the poem. Mood, persona, accurate depiction of a culture, demographic, geographic location.
• Is the poet trying to persuade, to amuse, or is he/she reflecting on the state of the world?
• Conflicts; heroes; resolutions; suspense; romance; philosophy
• Free verse, rhyme, specific format, such as Haiku?
• Determine the poem’s structure – regular stanzaic form (two or more equal clusters of lines) or irregular form?
• Format – the form of a poem (how it looks on the page) often contributes to its meaning.

Questions / Comments / Contact Me

For questions, to ask for a copy of THE REAL MEMO OF AGREEMENT, and to provide your submissions, write to MyPersuasivePresentations@gmail.com and put “Guest Contributor Entry” in the subject line.

Thanks for your interest, and let’s have some fun with it!

Do It the Write Way! Let My Fingers Do Your Talking!