Overnight Success at the Age of Fifty-One - Patrick Connors

Essay by Patrick Connors on the publication of his first major poetry collection, The Other Life, by Mosaic Press.

 

              On December 29th, 2018, Terry Barker, my editor, drove me to the home of Howard Aster, Mosaic Press publisher, to have lunch and deliver my first full poetry manuscript, then titled What Runs Through.

              It was the culmination of many years of hard work, refining my craft, making a name for myself, experiencing a lot of frustration and failure, and even some success.

              However, it was also the beginning of the next stage of my development.

              I had already published two chapbooks, dozens of poems, become established as both a poet and event host in Toronto and beyond, given readings in Texas and Cuba, and helped organize the Great Canadian PoeTrain Tour.

              All of this was worthwhile, and would contribute to an impressive CV, if I ever get around to compiling one.

              Putting together a good book length manuscript, really being able to call myself an author, is another matter entirely.

              The first quarter of the year is an overwhelming time for me. I do about $250,000 worth of business at my telemarketing job during this period. Between this, and the dreary effects of winter, I am generally exhausted in the evening. Activities like readings, volunteer work, and maintaining a busy social life fade into the background.

              However, I also had a part-time job in the first quarter of 2019.

              Revising my manuscript.

              Twice.

              By the beginning of spring, I thought I had it all figured out. Barker contacted me, and we arranged to go to dinner at the local establishment. I assumed we were going to discuss marketing and promotion.

              After the requisite small talk, we got down to the topic at hand. While the book was much improved, it was still not ready to go. He said that Aster was interested in the manuscript, but pointed out that he had not formally accepted it, and that he might not be inclined to in its present form. There was much to be done.

              First of all, the working title, What Runs Through, is the name of a piece which is very personal to me. However, having that as the title of a manuscript is chapbook thinking, not full collection thinking. Barker showed me that evening how important it is to present a book as a coherent whole in order to engage the reader. That's the night the title of my collection became The Other Life. This is a line from the poem "Madness", which is about my day job.

              Six months and several revisions later, the book was ready to go. I had created a clearer image of what my poetry was about, what I am about, and done so in a manner which created a dialogue with the reader.

              Howard Aster is a very busy man, and does a lot of travelling. So, while my book was pretty much complete in fall 2019, I had to wait patiently while he became available to have another meeting.

              On February 15th, 2020, Terry Barker drove me to the office of Mosaic Press, where I handed Howard Aster a hard copy of my manuscript. Having read a digital version earlier that week, Aster said he liked it, and accepted it for publication.

              Then, of course, Covid-19 came along, resulting in further delays.

              I took it as an opportunity to do more revision, fine tune certain poems, and really take pride in my work.

              Realizing I was doing this, Aster asked me to re-send the manuscript in June.

              However, the document was now rife with formatting errors. The version I submitted in December 2018 was done in Windows XP on a computer I don't own anymore. The newer version was constructed in Google Docs on a Chromebook. The two programs were not communicating with each other.

              Fortunately, my far more technologically competent brother Paul saved the day.

              None of us ever does this alone. I could not have gotten to this point without the help of Barker, Aster, my mother, my brother, Mick Burrs, Luciano Iacobelli, Richard Grove, James Deahl, and so many others.

I also could not have done this without overcoming those who have told me that I'm terrible or shouldn't bother, a few of whom clearly thought they were doing so with something resembling good intentions.

The Other Life is now available for purchase at a significant discount from the publisher: http://www.mosaic-press.com/product/the-other-life-poems-by-patrick-connors/

It is also available for pre-order on the websites of Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, as well as some European booksellers. The formal release of the book will be in July, by which time I will actually be 52.

However, this is also only a beginning. I am currently doing what I can to promote the book, despite the lack of live readings due to Covid. I have scheduled interviews, and am also actively pursuing reviews, fully aware that some are likely to be negative.

If you want to be a published poet, I recommend you read and write a lot of poetry, study books on process, and develop your own unique voice. But you also need to go to events, develop an effective reading posture, and build a network. And you better be willing to do something to help and promote somebody if you want somebody else to help you.

If you want to be an author, you must be able to handle criticism, including tough love from your closest supporters, and be ready to do more work on your manuscript and yourself, even if you think both are complete.

And then, even if there isn't a pandemic, you'll have to be patient. Nothing is going to happen on your schedule, your perception of when things are supposed to happen.

But, when it does come to fruition, it will have been worth the wait.

 

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